116 NATURAL HISTORY READER. 



seven. In these the queen deposits eggs on successive 

 days, so that when she leads oft' the new swarm another 

 queen will be ready to take her place ; and also that, if 

 the swarm be vigorous enough to throw off several colonies, 

 each may be provided with a leader. About the time the new 

 queens are coming out the old queen seems to be possessed 

 with a complete frenzy, fiercely attacking the royal cells 

 and stinging the occupants to death. The first new queen 

 that comes out also shows the same rage, and endeavors to 

 kill all the larvae in the other queen colls. At this time the 

 instinct of the workers seems reversed ; they no longer im- 

 plicitly obey, but, gathering about the royal cells, they in- 

 terpose their bodies in such a manner as to frustrate the 

 intentions of the queen until the paroxysm of her anger has 

 passed. Their resistance is entirely passive, and as soon as 

 she becomes quiet they again become faithful and obedient 

 subjects. 



7. If a swarm of bees finds itself suddenly queenless, 

 the workers immediately select the larva of a worker bee, 

 not over three days old, and enlarge the cell by cutting 

 down the partition-walls between it and two adjoining cells, 

 destroying the inmates, and then they supply the larva thus 

 selected with royal jelly. The nursery of the royal heir is 

 thus elongated, and is capped over with a peculiar covering. 

 In sixteen days from the time it is hatched it becomes a 

 queen. Under such circumstances, the new queen, upon her 

 birth, is allowed to kill all her possible rivals in the royal 

 cells. Should two queens emerge at the same time, the 

 workers form a ring, so as to insure fair play, and let them 

 fight until one is killed, wdien they give their adhesion to 

 the other. 



8. If a strange queen be introduced into a swarm pos- 

 sessing one of their own. the workers surround her and 

 quietly detain her as prisoner until she perishes with hunger, 

 but they offer her no direct violence. Should the strange 



