12 BEES AND BEE-KEEPING. 



to the rest of the colony what they shall and what 

 they shall not do, with that pomp and dignity sup- 

 posed to be the prerogative of earthly potentates gen- 

 erally; but for the humble position and for the sim- 

 ple purpose of laying eggs from which the young are 

 reared, and thus becomes the means of extending and 

 perpetuating her species. 



In discussing this part of my subject, my expe- 

 rience will necessarily lead me to differ, on some 

 points, from writers whose ipse dixit is generally re- 

 ceived as orthodox. 



DESCRIPTION OP THE QUEEN. 



The queen, or mother bee, is easily 

 distinguished from all other bees in the 

 colony, by a more measured, sedate 

 movement; the greater length of her 

 body, which tapers gradually to a point ; 

 the proportionate shortness of her 

 the queen. wings, which reach but little beyond 

 her middle, ending about the third ring of her ab- 

 domen, but are very strong and sinewy; her head is 

 rounder, her trunk or thorax more slender and but 

 little more than half the length of that of the com- 

 mon worker bee ; her legs, though longer, have nei- 

 ther brushes nor baskets for collecting pollen ; she 

 differs in color from all other bees in the colony, as 

 much as in shape — the upper part of her body is of a 

 much brighter black, the under surface and the legs 

 are of a dark orange or copper color, the hind legs 

 being rather darker than the rest. 



