GENERATION OF THE HONEY-BEE. 21 



the workers meanwhile looking quietly on, not only not interfer- 

 ing to put a stop to the conflict, but actually, should one or both 

 appear anxious to give up the struggle, hemming them round, 

 and will permit of no compromise, but compel the rivals to bring 

 the affair to a deadly issue. It very rarely happens that both 

 queens perish in the encounter, for such is their instinctive dread 

 of leaving the community unprovided with a sovereign, that 

 should they, in the engagement, get into such a position in refer- 

 ence to each other, as would permit of mutually plunging their 

 stings into each other's bellies, the only point where they are 

 vulnerable, they hastily disengage, and do not use their stings un- 

 less when one queen can take the other at a disadvantage. 

 Even, however, should such a casualty occur as the death of both 

 queens, or should any other accident occasion a hive to be de- 

 prived of its queen, the bees possess a most wonderful power of 

 supplying the deficiency. 



The bees do not at once discover the loss of their queen, but 

 when they do, all is tumult and confusion, these insects humming 

 loudly, and hurrying hither and thither over the combs in a state 

 of apparent distraction. If there be any royal nymphs ready to 

 be released, one is at once set free — if only royal larvae exist, 

 their attention is at once devoted to them ; but now comes the 

 wonderful portion of the matter. If the bees possess only the 

 larvee of working bees they at once enlarge their cells, converting 

 them into royal cradles, for which purpose they pull to pieces 

 whatever cells are in the way, unhesitatingly sacrificing life after 

 life to the great end they have in view : these larvae, by peculiar 

 feeding, become converted into queens. It was that close ob- 

 server, Schirach, who first made this singular discovery, the 

 truth of which was subsequently confirmed by Huber I quote 

 his account : " I put some pieces of comb, containing worker's 

 eggs in the cells, of the same kind as those already hatched, 

 into a hive deprived of the queen. The same day several cells 

 were enlarged by the bees, and converted into royal cells, and 

 the worms supplied with a thick bed of jelly. Five were then 

 removed from these cells, and five common worms, which, forty- 

 eight hours before, we had seen come from the egg, substituted 

 for them. The bees did not seem aware of the change ; they 

 watched over the new worms the same as over those chosen by 

 themselves ; they continued enlarging the cells, and closed them 

 at the usual time. When they had hatched them seven days, 



