THE HONEY-BEE. 
137 
attention to her wishes from every member of the 
community. She is their common mother, and is 
never opposed by them, and might destroy all the 
embryo-queens without any opposition. And this, 
in fact, does sometimes take place ; for if the wea- 
ther at this period set in- and continue intemperate 
and stormy, no swarming takes place, for the old 
Queen destroys the whole of the royal brood. But 
it is otherwise in ordinary circumstances ; and while 
she is left at perfect liberty to act as she pleases with 
regard to the unhatched queens, we are led to be- 
lieve that she is induced to emjgrate, not on account 
of the presence of her embryo rivals, but in obedience 
to the wise provision of nature for the increase of 
the species. Whatever may be the real cause, the 
proceedings of the Queen and the workers at the 
approach of summer evidently show that matters are 
ripening for some great internal movement. About 
the beginning or middle of May, the bees, as if 
aware of the necessity, begin to form large cells, in 
which the Queen immediately deposits the eggs of 
males, and continues to do so for about thirty days. 
At the same time, some royal cells are formed ; for 
there appears to be a secret relation between the 
production of the eggs of inales and the construction 
of royal cells ; and about the twentieth day of her 
laying this species of eggs, the Queeu, discovering 
the royal cells, deposits an egg in one of them, and, 
at intervals of a day between each, in all the other 
cells of this description. The bees know to close 
them at the moment when the larvae are ready to bo 
