I 1 8 The Honey-Makers 



be shorter: her tongue not half so long as theirs: for 

 whereas they gather with the one nectar, with the other 

 ambrosia; she hath no need to use either, being to be 

 maintained, as other princes, by the labor of her subjects : 

 her wings of the same size with a small bee's, and therefore 

 with respect of lier body long, they seem very short, re- 

 sembling rather a cloak than a gown ; for they reach but 

 to the middle of her train or nether part : her legs pro- 

 portionable, and of the colour of her belly, but her two 

 hind legs more yellow ; her nether part so long and half 

 so long as her upper part." 



We know that the queen does receive peculiar attention 

 from the other members of the hive ; as Langstroth says, — 



" The queen is treated with the greatest respect and affec- 

 tion by the bees. A circle of her loving offspring often sur- 

 round her, testifying in various ways their dutiful regard : 

 some gently embracing her with their antennae, others offer- 

 ing her food from time to time, and all of them politely 

 backing out of her way, to give her a clear path when she 

 moves over the combs." 



So strong is the feeling of the workers for the queen 

 that if for any reason she is removed, the whole hive is 

 filled with consternation and dismay, and speedily falls a 

 victim to despair. Her death, when it is too late in the 

 season to raise another cjueen, means the final extinction 

 of the colony. The bees know that a terrible calamity 

 has befallen them, their family is doomed, and they lose 

 all heart and all their eagerness to work. 



Huber experimented upon his bees by carefully remov- 

 ing their queen, and he tells us, — 



" Bees are not immediately aware of the removal of 

 their queen: their labors are uninterrupted; they watch 

 over the young, and perform the whole of their ordinary 

 occupations. But, in a few hours, agitation ensues, — all 



