58 Longevity of the Honey-Bee. 
bees was from seven to ten years : in later times, writers on bees 
have regarded it as not much exceeding a year ; but the notions of 
both ancients and moderns, upon this subject, have been purely con- 
jectural. Indeed it appears to be somewhat doubtful, whether the 
length of life which the former seem to have attributed to indivi- 
dual bees, was not meant to apply to the existence of each bee-com- 
munity ; though the language they make use of fully justifies the 
former construction, excepting in the case of Columella, who clearly 
regarded the ten years as applicable to the latter. " Durantque, 
si diligenter excultse sint, in annos decem, nee ullum examen hanc 
setatem potest excedere, quamvis in demortuarum locum quotannis 
pullos substituent. Nam fere decimo ab internitione anno, gens uni- 
versa totius alvei consumitur." 
An intelligent critical writer in the Westminster Review, when 
remarking upon my own reference to the length of the bee's life, 
in my Treatise on that insect, expressed his regret that we posses- 
sed no positive evidence which could throw light upon it. This 
gentleman's observations induced me to direct my attention more 
closely to the subject, first theoretically, then practically ; and I shall 
now proceed to give the result of my inductive reasoning, as well as 
of my actual observation. 
A good family of bees being known to consist of from 1 2,000, to 20,000, 
and a fertile queen to breed that number, at least, every year, which, 
under favourable circumstances, is usually thrown off by swarming, 
it appeared to follow, as a matter of course, that if swarming were 
prevented by affording hive-room to the bees, the number during 
the breeding season would often be more than doubled, and that, if 
their lives were extended even to the shortest period hitherto as- 
signed them, they would remain in a crowded state till the following 
spring. But repeated experience has clearly shown that the popu- 
lation of families, which have been thus accommodated with room, 
if examined in the following winter, do not consist of more than 
2000 or 3000. After receiving a great increase in the ensuing spring, 
they again suffer a similar reduction before the succeeding winter ; 
and this regular alternation of increase and decrease will go on for 
years, keeping a family that has been duly supplied with hive-room, 
at about the same average amount at each respective period of the 
year. This reduction to the smaller number above stated, every 
successive winter, can only be produced by the old bees dying, and 
leaving the business of the family to be conducted by young ones ; 
and it affords, I think, conclusive evidence, that the working-bee's 
life is regularly cut off in less than a year. 
