The Swarm 
harmonies to which our ears are not 
attuned. We soon shall see with what 
startling rapidity they are able to under- 
stand each other, and adopt concerted 
measures, when, for instance, the great 
honey thief, the huge sphinx atropos, the 
sinister butterfly that bears a death’s head 
on its back, penetrates into the hive, 
humming its own strange note, which acts 
as a kind of irresistible incantation; the 
news spreads quickly from group to group, 
and from the guards at the threshold to 
the workers on the furthest combs, the 
whole population quivers. 
; [14 ] 
It was for a long time believed that 
when these wise bees, generally so pru- 
dent, so far-sighted and economical, aban- 
doned the treasures of their kingdom and 
flung themselves upon the uncertainties 
of life, they were yielding to a kind of 
55 
