The Life of the Bee 
insects, drops of water, all of which also obey 
invincible laws—that she must of necessity 
arrange for this union to be as brief as 
possible. It is so, thanks to the startlingly 
sudden death of the male. One embrace 
suffices ; the rest all enacts itself in the very 
flanks of the bride. 
She descends from the azure heights and 
returns to the hive, trailing behind her, like 
an oriflamme, the unfolded entrails of her 
lover. Some writers pretend that the bees 
manifest great joy at this return, so big with 
promise, Biichner, among others, giving a 
detailed account of it. I have many a time 
lain in wait for the queen-bee’s return, and 
I confess that I never have noticed any 
unusual emotion, except in the case of a 
young queen who had gone forth at the 
head of a swarm, and represented the unique 
hope of a newly-founded and still empty 
city. In that instance the workers were all 
wildly excited, and rushed to meet her. 
But as a rule they appear to forget her, 
even though the future of their city will 
often be no less imperilled. They act with 
consistent prudence in all things till the 
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