6 MINEE S AMKEICAW 



upper surface, but her belly is of a dark orange color. 

 It is this latter hue that enables one to easily distinguish 

 her in a cluster, even without seeing any other part of 

 " her body. 



WHEN SEEN, AND HOW FOUND. 



It is only in particular instances that the queen is to 

 be seen, such as during swarming, or on her serial excur- 

 sions, which takes place on the second or third day after 

 being hived, or upon some occasion of her being found in 

 a cluster of bees upon the alighting board. In this latter 

 case, which occurs with recent swarms only, as a gene- 

 ral rule, and very seldom, a close cluster of bees is seen 

 about the size of a hen's egg, remaining quiet, and when 

 the feather end of a quill, or a stick is used to separate 

 them, and they instantly re-form into a cluster again, it 

 is almost certain that the queen is in the centre. The 

 kind of cluster that I allude to, is very different from 

 ordinary clustering upon the side of the hive, or on the 

 bottom board, when the bees are driven out by heat ; 

 then the bees cluster with their heads upward ; but in 

 clusters where the queen is to be found, nothing of such 

 a regularity is to be seen. 



STING OP THE aUEEN. 



The queen is armed with a sting which is curved, but 

 she seldom uses it, except against rival queens. Indeed, 

 she may be taken with the bare fingers, at any time, 

 with perfect impunity ; but a worker taken in that man- 

 ner, would be dropped as a piece of hot iron. 



