Insects. 3779 



Each cell contained a single egg, of a pale pink colour, and was filled with a green 

 wingless Aphis. The egg in the lowest cell was much larger than the others. In 

 August last I dug another female out of a stump of whitethorn ; in this instance the 

 nest was provisioned with the black Aphis which infests the bean, and which had ap- 

 parently been used as a matter of convenience, the adjoining field bearing a crop of 

 beans, which were much infested with the Aphis. — Thos. John Bold ; Long Benton, 

 Newcastle-on-Tyne, December 2, 1852. 



Hive Bees in want of a Queen. — In your October number (Zool. 3627) are some 

 remarks by Mr. Filleul on the subject of " Bees welcoming a new Queen." I can 

 fully corroborate my worthy apiarian friend's statement on this head. About seven 

 years ago, in the month of June, I had a strong stock of bees which showed symptoms 

 of being in want of a queen, by at least half a peck of them hanging under the alight- 

 ing-board ; and this continued for a fortnight. My attention was at this time turned 

 to a very weak stock, in fact, almost dying. I turned up this unlucky stock, and found 

 only about a hundred bees in the crown of the hive. The queen, apparently a lively 

 beautiful bee, seemed to differ entirely from the workers, for they appeared dispirited 

 and without energy. I seized the queen, took her to the outlying strong stock, and 

 placed her on the only vacant place near the entrance ; the guards rushed out and 

 surrounded her, but after a few seconds of seeming consultation, they began to show 

 strong indications of friendship ; they made way for her, and she was gradually con- 

 ducted into the dense p|pulation of bees : this was about noon. On the next day, at 

 11 a.m., an immense swarm came away from the hive, and was safely housed. Hu- 

 ber, the great apiarian, differs from Reaumur on the subject ; but we need not won- 

 der at this, when we consider that Huber was blind, and trusted to his servant, Francis 

 Barens, for a great deal of his practical knowledge. 



" Aliquando dormitat bonus Homerus ; " 



and the same may be said of many great writers, — they most of them have their 

 crotchets. I will mention another attempt to introduce a fresh queen. A swarm went 

 off and was hived : about an hour afterwards I discovered a bunch of bees on the 

 ground, and on disturbing them I found a queen. I attempted to introduce her to 

 another hanging-out swarm, but although the bees offered her no violence, they would 

 not admit her, and she was literally " bowed out " until she fell off the board to the 

 ground. Probably she may have had defects which the bees discovered. Bees, as 

 Mr. Filleul says, are not confined by strict rules; they are most capricious insects at 

 best. As he is a persevering experimentalist he finds it so ; but I wish him every suc- 

 cess : one so hearty in the cause is sure to succeed in the main. In the simple expe- 

 riment mentioned by me, it is plain that even bees with one queen at swarming time 

 will not reject a second; and it is a strange thing that some stocks will go on two or 

 even three years and never throw off a swarm ; the cause can be only a matter of con- 

 jecture to the apiarian. —H. W. Newman; New House, Stroud, December 15, 1852. 

 Do Bees look out at Swarming-time for a Place to go to P — I am of opinion that 

 they do, but have never been able to ascertain that every swarm went off without first 

 settling at a short distance from the hive, thus showing their dependance upon man 

 in their state of domestication. The illustrious French naturalist, Reaumur, ridicules 

 the idea of hive-bees looking out for a place to go to ; although he was a great ob- 

 server, particularly among the Bombinatrices, I believe he was wrong in his conjecture 



