1876.] Lubbock’s Observations on Bees and Ants. 149 
bees: “* Once,” he says,! “ I assisted at a curious contest which 
took place between the queen and the worker bees in one of m 
hives, and which throws some light on the intellectual faculties 
of these animals. A set of forty-seven cells had been filled, eight 
on a nearly completed comb, thirty-five on the following, and 
four around the first cell of a new comb. When the queen had 
laid eggs in all the cells of the two older combs, she went several 
times round their circumference (as she always does, in order to 
ascertain whether she has not forgotten any cell), and then pre- 
pared to retreat into the lower part of the breeding-room. But 
as she had overlooked the four cells of the new comb, the work- 
ers ran impatiently from this part to the queen, pushing her, in 
an odd manner, with their heads, as they did also other work- 
ers they met with. In consequence, the queen began again to go 
around on the two older combs ; but as she did not find any cell 
wanting an egg, she tried to descend, but everywhere she was 
pushed back by the workers. This contest lasted for a rather 
long while, till the queen escaped without having completed her 
. work. Thus the workers knew how to advise the queen that . 
something was as yet to be done, but they knew not how to show 
her where it had to be done.” 
I have already mentioned, with reference to the attachment 
which bees have been said to show for one another, that though 
I have repeatedly seen them lick a bee which had smeared herself- 
in honey, I never observed them show the slightest attention to 
any of their comrades who had been drowned in water. Far, 
indeed, from having been able to discover any evidence of affec- 
tion among them, they appear to be thoroughly callous and ut- 
terly indifferent to one another. As already mentioned, it was 
necessary for me occasionally to kill a bee; but I never found 
that the others took the slightest notice, Thus on the 11th of 
October I crushed a bee close to one which was feeding, — in fact, 
80 close that their wings touched ; yet the survivor took no notice 
Whatever of the death of her sister, but went on feeding with 
every appearance of composure and enjoyment, just as if nothing 
had happened. When the pressure was removed, she remained 
by the side of the corpse without the slightest appearance of ap- 
prehension, sorrow, or recognition. It was, ‘of course, impossible 
or her to understand my reason for killing her companion; yet 
neither did she feel the slightest emotion at her sister’s death, 
nor. did she show any alarm lest the same fate should befall her 
In a second case exactly thesame occurred. Again, I have 
1 Nature, June 11, 1874. 
