26 
BEES AND BEE-KEEPING. 
ing hither and thither with the rest. The would-be 
emigrants are not, apparently, unmindful of the neces- 
sity for preparing to the utmost of their ability for 
the contingencies of their expedition, as every bee 
about to depart fills to repletion her honey-sac (pages 
1 8 and 6o, Vol. I.), by which, with economy, she 
will be able to supply her true stomach with food for 
at least a week. There is also abundant proof that, 
in premeditated swarming (if such a form of expres- 
sion may be allowed), the wax-secreting organs 
(page 155, Vol. I.) have for some days been under 
stimulation, and that wax plates are already being 
formed under the abdominal rings. The interior 
excitement has the evident advantage of making 
every bee aware of what is to transpire, so that 
all can prepare and act in concert. They now rush to 
the entrance, literally pouring forth in an impetuous 
current, which sweeps into it toddling youngsters, yet 
too weak to fly, and which are simply dropped to 
the ground from the alighting-board. A cloud of 
merry hummers, circling widely, fills the air with an 
indescribable rustling murmur. More are yet crowding 
through the narrow doorway, and, as we watch, we 
may catch a glimpse of the queen herself as she 
takes wing to join her children ; for the common idea 
that the queen issues first, and the bees follow, is, at 
least as applied to first swarms, quite erroneous. We 
note that the giddy multitude now begins to some- 
what concentrate, and to make a progress in a definite 
direction, and, taking this as our cue, we glimpse the 
chosen spot for alighting already blackening with 
bees, the mass each moment growing, until nearly all 
