230 
SUMMER. 
a small glass box, where there was room for but one 
comb, which allowed me to see all particulars. 
THE MANNER. * 
After the first queen was matured, and had left her 
cell, I caught her within six hours, taking advantage 
of her younger sisters, which were yet sealed up, and 
of course could offer no resistance. She first made an 
opening that would allow her to reach the abdomen 
of her competitor (probably this is the most vulnera- 
ble). As soon as this was sufficiently large to admit 
her body, she thrust it in, inflicting the fatal sting. 
This was then left for another, that soon shared the 
same fate. If quick and spiteful movements are any 
indications of hatred, it was manifested here very 
plainly. The bees enlarged the orifice and dragged 
out the now dead queens. 
Now, if I should say that all queens were dis- 
patched in this way, merely because I witnessed it 
in this case, it would be carrying out the principle I 
am endeavoring to avoid: that is, judging all cases 
from one or two solitary facts. As it is, it is some- 
what confirmatory of what some others have said. I 
will suppose, then, until further evidence contradicts 
it, that the first perfect queen leaving her cell, makes 
it her business to destroy all rivals in their cradle, as 
soon as it is decided that no more swarms shall issue. 
By keeping grass, weeds, &c., away from about the 
stock, these dead queens, as they are brought out, 
may be frequently found. Such as are removed during 
