84 INTRODUCTION OF DRONES TO A HIVE. 



be placed in the hive. The ancients adopted this method, 

 and it was strongly recommended by Varro, and some of 

 the more modern apiarians. A more simple and efficacious 

 method has however been adopted, which is, instead of put- 

 ting into the hive detached pieces of combs, to place under 

 it the hive of a colony, the bees of which have died during 

 the current year. The brood of this hive will hatch from 

 the warmth of the bees, and thus the colony will be increased 

 in numbers, and the queen receive an additional number of 

 cells in which to lay her eggs. 



We do not mean however to recommend this plan on 

 general principles, as it is in its success so very uncertain ; 

 and so well are we acquainted with the character of the 

 queen bee, as to know, that when once she has determined 

 to leave the hive, it is no human skill nor device which can 

 retain her. On one occasion, a queen bee left her hive, 

 taking with her all her subjects : we returned her eight times 

 to the hive, adopting every expedient which our experience 

 could devise to induce her to remain, but she had made up 

 her mind to go, and go she did, leaving us in entire igno* 

 ranee of her ultimate destiny. A similar circumstance oc- 

 curred to a swarm which we had in the year 1838. We had 

 hived the swarm, as we supposed successfully, when on a 

 sudden, we observed the bees rushing out of the hive, and, 

 taking to their wings, settle on a goose-berry bush. Again we 

 hived it, and again the bees left the hive. Again and again 

 we hived them, but the bees would not stop. We therefore 

 conjectured that the queen might have been lost, and we 

 carefully examined the swarm, when the mystery was at 

 once solved. There were two queens in the swarm, and one 

 of them, knowing that she was an intruder, determined to 

 take a certain number of bees with her to found a colony of 

 her own. We reluctantly killed one of the queens, and the 

 bees afterwards remained quietly in their hive. 



In Pliny, and almost all the ancient writers, the queen 



