THE HONEY-BEE, 
53 
strikes the Bees motionless.”* This discovery of 
Huber has been brought forward on his authority by 
Naturalists, as a conclusive evidence of the existence 
of the auditory faculty in Bees. And so it would 
be, if Huber was not mistaken in his supposed dis- 
covery. A voice of sovereignty producing such 
powerful and instantaneous effects on her subjects, 
is so remarkable a property of her Bee-majesty, that 
it would be desirable to have its existence proved 
beyond doubt by succeeding experiments. With 
much confidence in the accuracy of this distinguished 
Naturalist’s observations, we entertain some hesita- 
tion on the subject of this magical sound. We have 
seen the queen in all the circumstances, and in all 
the positions observable within a hive ; (with one 
exception, viz. combating a rival queen,) we have 
observed her very frequently in the particular situa- 
tion described by Huber when he first heard the 
commanding voice, endeavouring to tear open the 
cell of a rival, and angrily repulsed by the workers ; 
then standing at a little distance on the surface of 
the comb, with her wings crossed ovct her back, 
and in motion, though not fully unfolded, and emit- 
ting the clear distinct sound which is heard in a hive 
for a day or two before the departure of a second 
swarm ; and certainly we never witnessed any such 
effect produced on the Bees as Huber speaks of, and 
which, had it taken place, could not possibly have 
escaped our observation. On the contrary, the Bees 
seemed not in the slightest degree affected by her 
* Huber, 162. 
