ERRONEOUS STATEMENTS OF DUNCAN. 137 



in the same cell, but the bees will always remove or destroy 

 the superfluous ones, leaving only one in the cell. Huber 

 affirms, that, in general, the bees pay great respect to the 

 eggs of the queen, in whatever situation they may be found ; 

 it is, however, no great proof of such profound respect, if 

 they fall to and devour them. Further, he asserts, that if a 

 comb filled with brood from any other hive be placed in 

 another, the bees in that hive will adopt the brood as their 

 own, and pay the requisite attention to the future nourish- 

 ment of it. We do not deny that this may take place in an 

 individual case ; but as a general principle of action, it has 

 not the slightest foundation in truth. We have frequently 

 placed in a hive a piece of comb filled with larva?, for the 

 purpose of strengthening a weak hive ; but so far from the 

 bees taking the proper care of it, they have treated it with the 

 most marked hostility, tearing the larvae from the cells, and 

 then destroying the combs altogether. 



In regard to the ovipositing of the queen, it is rather 

 singular that few naturalists are of one accord as to the 

 exact period when she lays the different kinds of eggs, from 

 which are to spring the various species which form the com- 

 munity of the hive. It is, however, but rational to suppose, 

 that it is to the later writers on the natural history of the 

 bee, that we are justified in looking for the fullest and most 

 correct information on that interesting part of its physiology. 

 If, however, we consult the editor of the " Naturalist's 

 Library," in what a tissue of error do we find ourselves in- 

 volved, in regard to the laying of the eggs by the queen, 

 Mr. Duncan says, " that about the beginning or end of May, 

 the bees, as if aware of the necessity, begin to form large 

 cells, in which the queen immediately deposits the eggs of 

 males, and continues to do so for thirty days; at the same 

 time, some royal cells are formed ; for there appears to be a 

 secret relation between the production of the eggs of males 

 and the construction of royal cells." Now, in the foregoing 

 g 5 



