SOCIALISM AMONG BEES. 





mm. 



mm. 



>M 



hive already 



Soon after 



a circle of 



round about, 



QUEEN BEE AND CELLS. 



When the queen leaves the nursery, 

 the workers tear down the cells, drag 

 out the victims, and cast them out 

 of the hive. Huber introduced a 

 fertile queen into a 

 provided with a queen 

 she was introduced, 

 workers hemmed her 

 not to compliment her and pay her 

 homage, but to prevent her escape. 

 While they were doing this, other 

 bees assembled around the legitimate 

 queen and kept her prisoner also. 

 Whenever the last mentioned queen 

 appeared inclined to move toward 

 the stranger, the bees made way for 

 her. As soon as she saw the strange 

 queen, she rushed furiously upon her, 

 seized her, and at once stung her t% 

 death. Sometimes a strange queen 

 will attempt to enter a hive. The 

 gate-keepers, which are always on 

 guard, will not allow this, but will 

 hem her in closely. They some- 

 times keep her prisoner so long that 

 she starves to death. They never 

 sting her, however. She is royal, con- 

 sequently sacred. 



If bees lose their queen through 

 death or otherwise, they will not 



accept another until their period of 



mourning is over. This lasts a: 

 24 hours. If at the end of this time 

 a stranger queen is introduced into 

 the hive, the inhabitants receive her 

 with joy and immediately elect her 

 communal mothei of the colony. 

 When this is very large and 

 swarms must Leave, the 1 how 



an almost human intelligence. As 

 has been said before, the old queen 

 leads the first swarm. Now, if ti 

 are 2 more swarms to go out, 

 there must be furnished 2 more 

 queens to lead them. 1<. provide 

 against the murderous onslaughts 

 of these insect Semiramises on the 

 nursery, is the worker-bees' cl 

 duty. As soon as they discover 

 thata young queen has cut through 

 her cell lid, they fasten down the lid 

 and keep her prisoner. She t hi 

 out her tongue to show that sin 

 hungry, and they give her honey. 

 They keep her shut up for a da) 

 two until she is strong enough 

 fly. Then they let her out, and she 

 leads her particular swarm from the 

 hive. The next queen to lead oi 

 swarm is treated in like manner. 

 Thus all the swarms are provided 

 with queens and leave the hi. 



The first queen to come out, 

 the last swarm has left, becomes the 

 queen of the hive. She 1- permit! 

 to murder all the young queens still 

 remaining in the royal nursery. 

 Kirby and Spence say that, " Wl 

 bees' thus delay the ent 

 young queens into their world, tl 

 invariably let the oldest oul 

 Thev probably know th- 

 young queen to the fractional ; 

 of a second, but how. we know • 

 Huber marked all the I m 



a hive as SOOn a- tin- wo' 



them in. and they were hi' 

 cording to seniority. 1 1« 



covered that tl 

 tin- piping ( ry first. Hub 

 from this that the 1" 

 ages of the young <|u< 1 

 I am inclined to I 

 r, that this 1 

 elusion. The queens 

 workn larvae are dumb, yet tl 



