676 THE STUDY OF INSECTS. 



with a goodly portion of her subjects swarm out, and they 

 go off to start a new colony. 



This swarming of the honey-bee is essential to the con- 

 tinued existence of the species ; for in social insects it is as 

 necessary that the colonies be multipHed as it is that there 

 should be a reproduction of individuals. Otherwise, as the 

 colonies were destroyed the species would become extinct. 

 With the social wasps and with the bumblebees the old 

 queen and the young ones remain together peacefully in the 

 nest ; but at the close of the season the nest is abandoned 

 by all as an unfit place for passing the winter, and in the 

 following spring each young queen founds a new colony. 

 Thus there is a tendency towards a great multiplication of 

 colonies. But with the honey-bee the habit of storing 

 food for winter, and the nature of the habitations of these 

 insects, renders it possible for the colonies to exist indefi- 

 nitely. And thus if the old and young queens remained 

 together peacefully there would be no multiplication of colo- 

 nies, and the species would surely die out in time. We see, 

 therefore, that what appears to be merely jealousy on the 

 part of the queen honey-bee is an instinct necessary to the 

 continuance of the species, 



The sting of a queen-bee is no ignoble weapon, but it is 

 never used except against a rival queen. When several 

 young queens mature at the same time there is a pitched 

 battle for supremacy, and the last left living on the field be- 

 comes the head of the colony. One morning we found the 

 lifeless bodies of fifteen young queens cast forth from a 

 single hive — a monument to the powers of the surviving 

 Amazon in triumphant possession within. 



The materials used by bees are wax and propolis, which 

 serve as materials for construction ; and honey and bee- 

 bread, used for food. 



The comb is made of wax, which is an excretion of the 

 bee. When a colony needs wax, many of the workers gorge 

 themselves with honey, and then hang quietly in a curtain- 



