The Life of the Bee 
[33 ] 
There is one simple experiment which 
proves the readiness with which the bees 
will recognise their queen, and the depth 
of the attachment they bear her. Re 
move her from the hive, and there will 
soon be manifest all the phenomena of 
anguish and distress that I have described 
in a preceding chapter. Replace her, a 
few hours later, and all her daughters will 
hasten towards her, offering honey. One 
section will form a lane, for her to pass 
through ; others, with head bent low and 
abdomen high in the air, will describe 
before her great semicircles throbbing with 
sound; hymning, doubtless, the chant of 
welcome their rites dictate for moments 
of supreme happiness or solemn respect. 
But let it not be imagined that a foreign 
queen may with impunity be substituted 
for the legitimate mother. The bees will 
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