28 BEES AND BEE-KEEPING. 



fertile, I opened the hive and took her majesty away ; 

 on the next day I observed that they had founded 

 five royal cells in the usual way, under such circum- 

 stances; and in the course of the afternoon four more 

 were founded on parts of the comb where there were 

 eggs only a day or two old. Two of the royal cells 

 advanced more rapidly than the rest, probably from 

 the larva being of an egg the fittest for the purpose ; 

 four came on more slowly, and three made no pro- 

 gress after the third day. On the seventh, the two 

 first were sealed, two more were nearly so. On the 

 morning of the fourteenth day from the old queen's 

 removal, a young queen, differing in no respect from 

 one produced in the natural way, emerged from her 

 cell, and proceeded toward the other royal cell, evi- 

 dently with a murderous intent. She was immedi- 

 ately pulled back by the workers with violence, and 

 this conduct was repeated on their part as often as 

 the queen renewed her destructive purpose ; at every 

 repulse she appeared sulky, and cried 'peep,' 'peep;' 

 the unhatched queen responding, but in a somewhat 

 hoarser tone, owing to her confined situation. This 

 parley, as Butler calls it, continued for several hours 

 together, with intervals of about a minute. In the 

 evening of the same day the second queen was hatch- 

 ed, or emerged from her cell. I saw her, says Mr. B., 

 come forth in majesty, finely and delicately formed, 

 but smaller than the other." 



In this case it is very evident that they designed 

 one of these queens to go off with a swarm. I 



