HISTORY AND PHYSIOLOGY. 27 



rival in the family, that I have known them fro 

 quently to rush to the queen cells, and if permitted 

 by the bees, destroy the contents of every one, from 

 the larva of a day or two old up to those in an ad- 

 vanced stage; and they are just as ready to do this, 

 and will do it, if permitted, as certainly, at the 

 swarming time, as at any other. This I have tested, 

 by removing the queen from a strong stock, and im- 

 prisoning her in a queen cage, keeping her in another 

 hive for a few days, until several queen cells were 

 commenced, then placing the cage containing her 

 back in her own hive, where she remained until the 

 queen cells were advanced to the desired point. I 

 once kept a queen in a cage in a hive having a fer- 

 tile queen, for over three weeks, the bees feeding her 

 all the time. If any one doubts that they (the work- 

 ers) feed the queen, try this experiment; then set 

 her at liberty in the hive, when she will immediately 

 hunt out every cell and destroy it, thus taking the 

 workers by surprise, as it were, they supposing, per- 

 haps, that she is still in her prison, and not being 

 prepared to guard the embryo queens, which they 

 doubtless intend in part to use for the purpose of 

 supplying swarms that might go forth, if circum- 

 stances are favorable. This is on the supposition that 

 the experiment is instituted in the swarming season. 

 Bevan relates a circumstance just in point here. 

 "In July, when the hive (one of Dunbar's mirror 

 hives) had become filled with comb and bees and well 

 stored with honey, and when the queen was very 



