6;6 
THE STUDY OF INSECTS. 
with a goodly portion of her subjects swarm out, and they 
go off to start a new colony. 
This swarming of the honey-bee is essential to the con¬ 
tinued existence of the species ; for in social insects it is as 
necessary that the colonies be multiplied as it is that there 
should be a reproduction of individuals. Otherwise, as the 
colonies were destroyed the species would become extinct. 
With the social wasps and with the bumblebees the old 
queen and the young ones remain together peacefully in the 
nest; but at the close of the season the nest is abandoned 
by all as an unfit place for passing the winter, and in the 
following spring each young queen founds a new colony. 
Thus there is a tendency towards a great multiplication of 
colonies. But with the honey-bee the habit of storing 
food for winter, and the nature of the habitations of these 
insects, renders it possible for the colonies to exist indefi¬ 
nitely. And thus if the old and young queens remained 
together peacefully there would be no multiplication of colo¬ 
nies, and the species would surely die out in time. We see, 
therefore, that what appears to be merely jealousy on the 
part of the queen honey-bee is an instinct necessary to the 
continuance of the species, 
The sting of a queen-bee is no ignoble weapon, but it is 
never used except against a rival queen. When several 
young queens mature at the same time there is a pitched 
battle for supremacy, and the last left living on the field be¬ 
comes the head of the colony. One morning we found the 
lifeless bodies of fifteen young queens cast forth from a 
single hive—a monument to the powers of the surviving 
Amazon in triumphant possession within. 
The materials used by bees are wax and propolis, which 
serve as materials for construction: and honey and bee- 
bread, used for food. 
The comb is made of wax, which is an excretion of the 
bee. When a colony needs wax, many of the workers gorge 
themselves with honey, and then hang quietly in a curtain- 
