STINGING OF THE ROYAL NYMPHS. 209 



egotist, and declares that this observation of his is both very 

 new and very singular. We dispute neither of the positions ; 

 it is indeed both new and singular, but, at the same time, it 

 is both false and absurd. It is, in fact, an actual impos- 

 sibility that the case can occur as Huber has represented 

 it ; notwithstanding his servant informed him, that he had 

 completed the necessary experiments in confirmation of it. 

 It will, however, be seen in the sequel, that both master 

 and man discovered that what they had seen was not, nor 

 could be true, and rather than acknowledge themselves in 

 an error, they invented a system still more preposterous and 

 absurd than that which they had discarded. 



In regard, however, to the stinging of the royal nymphs, 

 it must be remembered, in the first place, that the royal cells 

 are of an acorn shape, wide at the base, bulging out in the 

 centre, and diminishing gradually towards the orifice. The 

 nymph of the young queen in its cocoon entirely fills the 

 cell, with its tail towards the base. Allowing then Mr. Huber 

 all the benefit of his imperfect cocoon, we will suppose one 

 of these nymphs to be the destined victim of an infuriated 

 queen just emerged from her cell, and whose death is to be 

 accomplished by her sting. Huber admits that the head 

 and thorax of the nymph are proof against the sting, and 

 therefore it is only in the last rings of her body that the 

 attack can be made. Now the question naturally presents 

 itself in the first place, what is the extreme length of the 

 queen's sting ? It is not the eighth part of an inch, and 

 therefore it is an actual impossibility, that the queen can 

 make any attack in the quarter as described by Huber, 

 unless she be endowed with the power of projecting her 

 sting to any length she pleases ; which in this case must 

 extend to nearly three fourths of an inch, being almost the 

 whole length of her body. Huber will not be so bold as 

 to assert that it is possible for the queen to insert any part 

 of her body into the cell of the nymphal queen, who is to 



