PERFECT SOCIETIES OF INSECTS. 163 
of a project that will not be put in execution before noon, 
or some hours later ? For why should bees, who worked 
the day before with so much activity, cease their labours 
in a habitation which they are to quit at noon, were they 
not aware that they should soon abandon it?? The ap- 
pearance of the males, and the clustering of the popula- 
tion at the mouth of the hive, (though this last is less to 
be relied upon, being often occasioned by extreme heat, ) 
are also indications of the approach of this event. A 
good deal depends, however, on the warmth of the at- 
mosphere and the state of the weather either to accele- 
rate or retard it. Another sign is a general hum in the 
evening, which is continued even during the night,—all 
seems to be in a bustle, the greatest restlessness agitates 
the bees. Sometimes to hear this hum the ear must be 
placed close to the hive, when clear and sharp sounds 
may be distinguished, which appear to be produced by 
the vibration of the wings of a single bee. This hum by 
some has been gravely construed into an harangue of 
the queen to animate her subjects to the great undertak- 
ing which she now meditates—the founding of a new 
empire. There sometimes seem to happen suddenly 
amongst them, says Reaumur, events which put all the 
bees in motion, for which no account can be given. If 
you observe a hive with attention, you may often remain 
a long time and hear only a slight murmur, and then, 
all in a moment, a sonorous hum will be excited, and 
the workers, as if seized with a panic terror, may be 
seen quitting their various labours, and running off in 
* Reaum. v. 611. 
M 2 
