Entomological Society. 7907 



circulated, the Entomological Society would obtain permission to publish it in their 

 ' Transactions.'* He considered Mr. Gregson's remarks as important, with reference 

 to the question of modification of species dependent on the food of the larva, which 

 he had so often insisted upon, with reference to many so-called species of Micro-Lepi- 

 doptera. The question as to the proper term to be applied to variations in the colour 

 of flowers was at the present moment under discussion, all variation from the normal 

 colour being considered by some writers as monsters, and in that view Professor 

 Westwood fully concurred, considering that every species possessed a normal condition, 

 which it had retained ever since the period of its creation, and that every modification 

 of size, colour or markings was monstrous. 



Mr. Lubbock would like to see the experiments of Mr. Gregson continued for many 

 successive generations of the insects; he felt convinced that important and interesting 

 results would be arrived at by so doing, and hoped that Mr. Gregson would persevere 

 in his experiments. 



Bees and the Art of Queen Making. 



Mr. Smith read the following communication: — "At the November Meeting of 

 this Society, Mr. Tegelmeier called the attention of the members to a theory lately 

 propounded by Principal Leitch, in an article published in the August number of 

 ' Good Words,' entitled ' Bees and the Art of Queen Making*' I beg to lay before 

 the Society the opinion of a correspondent, Mr. Woodbury, of Mouut Radford, Exeter. 

 This gentleman, one of the most practical bee-keepers in this country, has published 

 some observations on the new theory, and has also added to them in a communication 

 addressed to myself, in answer to some inquiries of ray own. I have extracted the fol- 

 lowing from Mr. Woodbury's communication to the 'Journal of Horticulture and 

 Cottage Gardener:' — ' After noticing the power which bees possess of increasing the 

 temperature of any part of their hive by an accelerated respiration, Dr. Leitch says: 

 * Viewing this power in connexion with the isolation of the queen's cell, we have a 

 clew to the mystery of development. We soon see why the bees should be at so much 

 paius to drag the royal larva out from the midst of its companions and place it in an 

 insulated position, where a special temperature may be applied. Were the royal 

 larva allowed to remain in its original position, a higher temperature could be 

 applied only to the end of the cell, and the end of the cell is so small that it would 

 be difficult to apply a differential temperature to it. To meet this difficulty, the 

 queen is made to slide out of her old position into a new one, where she can be com- 

 pletely suirounded by the hatching bees, and have an elevated temperature applied to 

 all parts ; and when you look into a hive, you see the bees constantly clustering all 

 over the insulated cell. 



" * The suimise that temperature furnished the clew to the secret was confirmed by 

 actually testing it; small thermometers were inserted iuto the hive, one in contact with 

 the queeu's cell, the others iu different parts of the comb : we found that the diff rence 

 of temperature bore out our hypothesis, that a higher temperature was steadily applied 

 to the queen's cell. The inference is then legitimate, that temperature, if not the 

 cause, is one of the causes which account for this, the greatest marvel of insect 

 life.' " 



* The paper to which this refers is published in the February number of the 

 'Zoologist' (Zool. 7903). 



