BEES Am) WASPS — SWARMING. 
163 
in course of development, and matters are so arranged by 
the foresight of the bees, that one or more young queens 
are ready to emerge at a time when otherwise the hive 
would be left queenless. But the young queen or queens, 
although perfectly formed, must not escape from their 
royal prison-houses until the swarm has fairly taken place ; 
the worker bees will even strengthen the coverings of 
these prison-houses if, owing to bad weather or other 
causes, swarming is delayed. The prisoner queens, 
which are fed through a small hole in the roof of their 
cells, now continually give vent to a plaintive cry, called 
by the bee-keepers 6 piping , 5 and this is answered by the 
mother queen. The tones of the piping vary. The 
reason why the young queens are kept such close 
prisoners till after the departure of the mother queen 
with her swarm, is simply that the mother queen would 
destroy all the younger ones, could she get the chance, 
by stinging them. The workers, therefore, never allow 
the old queen to approach the prisons of the younger 
ones. They establish a guard all round these prisons or 
royal cells, and beat off the old queen whenever she 
endeavours to approach. But^if the swarming season is 
over, or anything should prevent a further swarm from 
being sent out, the worker bees offer no further resistance 
to the jealousy of the mother queen, but allow her in cold 
blood to sting to death all the young queens in their nursery 
prisons. As soon as the old queen leaves with a swarm, 
the young queens are liberated in succession, but at 
intervals of a few days ; for if they were all liberated at 
once they would fall upon and destroy one another. Each 
young queen as it is liberated goes off with another 
swarm, and those which remain unliberated are as carefully 
guarded from the liberated sister queen as they were 
previously guarded from the mother queen. When the 
season is too late for swarming the remaining young 
queens are liberated simultaneously, and are then allowed 
to fight to the death, the survivor being received as 
sovereign. 
The bees, far from seeking to prevent these battles, appear 
to excite the combatants against each other, surrounding and 
