HATCHING AND FERTILIZATION OF QUEENS. 



33 



\ho purpose of fertilizatior. This once accomplished, the work- 

 ers, awaiting her safe return, greet 

 her with a reverence and an-oction 

 never shown before. They hasten 

 to prepare the cells to receive her 

 tiny eggs, and seem to realize that 

 on her the existence and perpetua- 

 tion of the family depends. There 

 is also a perceptible change in the Unta »^- W *— • 

 queen's form, her abdomen being a little swollen and somewhat 

 lengthened, but not as much as at the height of the breeding 

 season. She now remains the fruitful mother of the prosperous 

 and happy colony. 



Fertile Queen. 



SECOND AND THIRD OR AFTER SWARMS. 



After the first swarm leaves the hive, if bees are still numer- 

 ous and the yield of honey continues good, the workers will often 

 decide to protect the queen cells, and thus cause the issue of one 

 or more after-swarms. Small knots of bees cluster about the 

 cells, and thus prevent their destruction by the first emerging 

 queen. At this she seems greatly enraged and utters a peculiar 

 sound, like the "peep," "peep," of young chickens, though on a 

 very fine key. This is often answered in a hoarser note, from 

 the eldest of the still enclosed queens. The senior queen con- 

 tinues "piping," as it is called for a day or two, meanwhile mak- 

 ing every effort to engage in "mortal combat" her royal rivals. 

 Being frustrated in every attempt, she finally leaves the hive in 

 a "huff," accompanied by a considerable body of workers. It 



