i66 THE LORE OF THE HONEY-BEE 



by the wings or legs being sharply rubbed together, 

 much as a cricket or grasshopper utters its cry. 

 The louder note is made by the old queen, and 

 there is no doubt of its import. Jealousy and the 

 lust of battle are on her, and she is trying to get 

 at the young princesses in their cells. The cry is 

 one of baffled fury as she strives with the guards 

 about the cells, and the answering notes come 

 from the imprisoned queens who are just as eager 

 for the fray. The old skeppists are never far out 

 in their reckoning. When this state of affairs has 

 begun, the crisis is imminent ; and the morrow is 

 sure to see the emigrating party setting off for 

 its new home, carrying the old queen irresistibly 

 with it. 



It has been said that the nurse-bees, who have 

 the entire charge and care of the young brood, 

 feed the larvae from their mouths with a thick 

 white fluid, which is aptly called bee-milk. All the 

 time the nurses are engaged on this work, they are 

 themselves hearty eaters of both honey and pollen ; 

 so that at first sight it appears as if the bee had 

 the power of instantaneous digestion, feeding her- 

 self at one moment, and, at the next, regurgitating 

 this food, changed into a totally different substance, 

 to feed the young grubs. Moreover, there is 

 another wonderful thing regarding this bee-milk. 

 It has been proved by careful analysis that its 

 composition varies considerably. The male, female, 

 and queen-larvae are all fed with it, but its con- 



