206 THE FAIRY-LAND OF SCIENCE. 
number of her subjects with her. If you watch the 
hive about this time you will notice many of the bees 
clustering together after they have brought in their 
honey, and hanging patiently, in order to have plenty 
of wax ready to use when they start, while the queen 
keeps a sharp look-out for a bright, sunny day, on 
which they can swarm : for bees will never swarm on 
a wet or doubtful day if they can possibly help it, and 
we can easily understand why, when we consider how 
the rain would clog their wings and spoil the wax 
under their bodies. 
Meanwhile the young princess grows very impatient, 
and tries to get out of her cell, but the worker-bees 
drive her back, for they know there would be a terrible 
fight if the two queens met. So they close up the 
hole she has made with fresh wax after having put in 
some food for her to live upon till she is released. 
At last a suitable day arrives, and about ten or 
eleven o'clock in the morning the old queen leaves the 
hive, taking with her about 2000 drones and from 
12,000 to 20,000 worker-bees, which fly a little way 
clustering round her till she alights on the bough of 
some tree, and then they form a compact swarm ready 
for a new hive or to find a home of their own. 
Leaving them to go their way, we will now return 
to the old hive. Here the liberated princess is 
reigning in all her glory ; the worker-bees crowd 
round her, watch over her, and feed her as though 
they could not do enough to show her honour. But 
still she is not happy. She is restless, and runs about 
as if looking for an enemy, and she tries to get at the 
remaining royal cells where the other young princesses 
