14 
MANUAL OF THE 
before the Hive was full, but during more than nine 
years’ observation, I have never seen an instance of the 
kind, and I am led to believe that it is contrary to the 
nature of the Bee. 
The old Queen always goes out with the new colo- 
ny, and leaves the old colony, retaining the Hive des- 
titute of one. But it appears that they have a knowl- 
edge of their wants, and the capacity and most com- 
monly the means of supplying them. They remove 
the Larva or Grub of the common working Bee to roy- 
al cells; and feed them on royal jelly, which produces 
female or Queen Bees. This may seem incredible to 
some, but it is a well attested fact, that as soon as they 
discover that their Queen has forsaken them, they set 
themselves to work to fill the vacancy, by constructing 
several royal cells into which they remove the grubs 
which would have been workers, and by feeding them 
on what is called royal jelly, they soon come out per- 
fect Queens. These grubs may be removed to the 
royal cells at different stages, and by receiving this food, 
(which others do not receive,) they come forth different 
persons from what was intended, when the Queen (the 
only female in a colony of from 15 to 30,000) deposited 
her eggs in the dry comb. 
One of the best Apiarians of the age, J. M. Weeks, 
remarks that “the eggs are commonly laid in litters, 
about three times a week, during the breeding season ; 
and the Bees to be more sure of succeeding in their 
experiments, divide themselves into squadrons, and 
undertake to make more than one, by taking them from 
different litters, and thus avoid the confusion of having 
a number of Queens hatched at the same time. This 
accounts for having more than one Queen at the same 
time. Two Queens cannot exist together long in the 
same hive. Nature has implanted an implacable ha- 
tred between them, and as soon as the notes of the 
first hatched Queen are heard, they are answered in 
tones of defiance by the nymph Queen younger, which 
is yet in her cell, and has not seen the light; and if 
not prevented by the workers, she is torn from her 
cel! by her elder sister, and immolated to her love of 
