356 
BEES AND BEE-KEEPING. 
worker, indicated by her race being apparent, and 
known as a fertile worker by the attentions paid her 
by the surrounding bees. Her ovaries were in like 
manner developed. The stomachs of all three con- 
tained the same character of material, while other 
South African workers had only the usual aborted 
ovaries, their stomachs showing, under the microscope, 
multitudes of pollen grains. 
The strange fascination these pseudo-mothers had 
for the workers was extremely remarkable, for the 
dissecting - knives, the fingers, the spilt juices, &c., 
could not be freed of the stray bees in the operating- 
room ; and in this the pseudo did not seem at all less 
attractive than the true queen. Since the former has 
not copulated, the idea is dispelled that here can lie 
the reason ; but as virgin queens, and those out of 
laying, are less acceptable to bees, and so not so 
easily introduced as those with active ovaries, it would 
appear that some emanation from the latter has about 
it the, to us, unintelligible charm, the effect of which 
is, under certain circumstances, extremely singular. 
If, e.g., a box which contains a laying queen, or which 
has very recently contained one, be placed over the 
frames of a hive having no fertile worker, and which 
is hopelessly queenless, the bees will soon begin to 
congregate upon it, while a gentle wing-flapping 
spreads through the entire colony. Then, by raising 
the box and allowing time, the bees may be gathered 
suspended from it almost after the manner of a swarm. 
Bees so behaving may be trusted with a new queen 
immediately. 
