206 
THE HIVE ANT) 1IONET-BEK. 
began to piece out and repair the comb which needed a 
corner. The queen at once commenced laying, and soon 
filled the unoccupied cells, when she was again removed, 
and the bees once more began the construction of queen, 
cells. 
“ ‘ The young bees now began to hatch forth, and in two 
weeks the family increased so first as to make it necessary 
for them to prepare to emigrate. They had built six queen- 
cells, and in about twelve days the first queen was hatched. 
As soon as she was fairly born, she marched rapidly, and 
in the most energetic manner, over the comb, and visited 
the other cells in which were the embryo queens, seeming 
at times furious to destroy them. The workers, however, 
surrounded her, and prevented such wholesale murder. 
But for two days she was intent upon her fell purpose, and 
kept in almost continuous motion to effect it. On the 
fourteenth day, the second queen was ready to come out, 
piping and making various noises to attract attention. 
“‘A part of the colony then seemed to conclude that it 
was time to take the first queen and go, but by some mis¬ 
take she remained in the hive after the swarm had left. 
The second queen came out as soon as possible after the 
others had gone, and then there were now two hatched 
queens in the hive! they ran about on the comb, which 
was now nearly empty, so that they could be distinctly 
6een. But they had not, apparently, noticed each other, 
while the workers were in a state of great uneasiness and 
commotion, seeming impatient for the destruction of one 
of them. The mode they adopted to accomplish it was 
of the most deliberate and cold-blooded kind. A circle 
of bees kept one queen stationary, while another party 
dragged the other up to her, so that their heads nearly 
touched, and then the bees stood back, leaving a fair field 
for the combatants, in which one was to gain her laurels. 
