The Colony and its Organization 
41 
the colony. She has for her sole duty the laying of eggs and 
all the individuals normally develop from eggs laid by her. 
They are deposited at the bases of cells of the comb in that 
portion of the nest devoted to the rearing of brood, the brood 
nest. The eggs are fastened to the cell base by the poste¬ 
rior (future caudal end of the larva) end by means of a secre¬ 
tion of the queen. The number of eggs laid by the queen 1 
varies from a few daily in early spring and late fall in the 
northern regions to about 1500-2000 a day at the height of 
the egg-laying season. Under special conditions, usually 
artificially produced by the beekeeper, she may lay as many 
as 4500 to 5000 eggs a day and maintain this rate for several 
days. The weight of the maximum number that can be laid 
in a day is equal to about twice the weight of the queen at 
any time during the period, indicating a marvelous rapidity 
in metabolism. 
The queen is not, as her name would indicate, the ruler of 
the colony. It has for ages been known that there is one 
large individual in the colony and the ancients gave the 
name “king” to this supposed ruler. When it was learned 
that the supposed monarch laid eggs it became necessary to 
change the name. It is now known that the queen is men- 
1 In 1903, the author had occasion to study the egg-laying of normal 
queens. Queens were introduced to a small colony in an observatory hive 
on an empty comb. These queens usually deposited about four or some¬ 
times six eggs a minute, passing quickly from one cell to another. The 
abdomen is inserted in the cell, the legs are braced firmly on the edges of 
adjacent cells and the wings are placed flat against the edges of cells to the 
rear. During egg-laying, the queen is often surrounded by a circle of 
worker bees with their heads toward her, rubbing her with their antenna. 
Frequently this rapid egg-laying is continued without interruption for 
20 to 25 minutes and at times for a longer period. There then is usually a 
resting period, often of about five minutes, during which time the queen is 
fed by the workers. Whenever the queen comes to rest, she is surrounded 
by a circle of workers and, as she walks over the comb, each bee turns to¬ 
ward her when she gets within half an inch. This is probably a response 
to the stimulus of odor. 
Some curious traditions have arisen about this circle around the queen, 
one of the most interesting being the claim that there are always twelve, 
the number being associated with the twelve apostles. The turning toward 
the queen is often ascribed to the affection of the workers for her, but this 
is probably as well grounded as the tradition of there being always twelve. 
