PRACTICAL TREATISE 
ON THE 
MANAGEMENT OF BEES, 
THE CIUEEN BEE. 
The queen bee is much larger than either of 
the other bees, and of different structure, her abdo- 
men being much longer than that of the males, or 
neuters ; she is about eight lines and a half in 
length, while the drones are seven, and the work- 
ers six. The queen is furnished with five yellow 
rings around her abdomen, and with short wings 
that scarcely reach the third ring. She is slow in 
her movements, and is characterized with a great 
degree of gravity in her march. She never leaves 
the hive except in leading out a swarm. The 
government of bees is truly monarchical, as the 
will of the sovereign is law. She is the mother 
of the three different kinds of bees that inhabit a 
hive ; and it is to this prerogative that she is in- 
debted for the extreme affection she enjoys from 
her subjects. The queen being the parent of the 
hive, it is from her alone that a complete swarm, 
