1,54 Mr. Hunter's Observations on Bees. 
fix the time when the eggs hatch : I have been led to imagine 
it was in five days. When they hatch, we find the young 
maggot lying coiled up in the bottom of the cell, in some 
degree surrounded with a transparent fluid. In many of the 
cells, where the eggs have just hatched, we find the skin stand- 
ing in its place, either not yet removed, or not pressed down 
by the maggot. There is now an additional employment for the 
labourers, namely, the feeding and nursing the young maggots. 
We may suppose the queen has nothing to do with this, as 
there are at all times labourers enough in the hive for such pur- 
poses, especially too, as she never does bring the materials, as 
every other of the tribe is obliged to do at first ; therefore she 
seems to be a queen by hereditary, or rather, by natural right, 
while the humble bee, wasp, hornet, &c. seem rather to work 
themselves into royalty, or mistresses of the community. The 
bees are readily detected feeding the young maggot ; and in- 
deed a young maggot might easily be brought up, by any per- 
son who would be attentive to feed it. They open their two 
lateral pincers to receive the food, and swallow it. As they 
grow, they cast their coats, or cuticles ; but how often they 
throw their coats, while in the maggot state, I do not know. 
I observed that they often removed their eggs ; I also find they 
very often shift the maggot into another cell, even when very 
large. The maggots grow larger and larger till they nearly 
fill the cell ; and by this time they require no more food, and 
are ready to be inclosed for the chrysalis state : how this period 
is discovered I do not know, for in every other insect, as far as 
I am acquainted, it is an operation of the maggot, or caterpillar 
itself ; but jn the common bee, it is an operation of the per- 
fect animal ; probably it arises from the maggot refusing food. 
