234 
After this I reckoned all the other male ceils, 
and found them to amount to 1508, of which 
720 were entirely empty, the male Bees fome- 
time before hatched and bred up in thefe, 
having taken theit flight ; 268 more were not 
as yet perfected, nor had been ufed for hatch- 
ing ; 520 of the fame cells, in which alfo no 
Worms had been yet hatched, were full of the 
pureft virgin honey. I counted befides all thefe 
1701 empty oblong cells, which, though con- 
fiderably bigger than the male cells, were not 
unlike them : neither had any hatching been 
performed in thefe, their form not being re- 
gular enough for that operation ; therefore they 
could only ferve to lay up honey. This circum- 
ftance likewife makes me imagine that thefe ob- 
long cells are not to be looked upon as male 
cells, but to be reckoned amongft the ftore 
houfes which the Bees build for their winter 
provifions ; for we find they make cells of the 
fame oblong form, but like the cells of the 
working Bees, to anfwer that purpofe. 
The number of clofed up cells belonging to 
the working Bees amounted to 6463, and 
in all of thefe I found Nymphs under the fame 
variety of circumftances with thofe which I 
had found in the male cells. It is therefore 
needlefs to wafte words in explaining their 
different appearances, nor had I leifure to count 
the numbers at every period of growth and ftep 
towards their perfection : befides fome of thefe 
Nymphs began to have a very difagreeablefmell. 
I reckoned alfo 210 cells full of Bees-bread, 
which was alfo heaped up here and there in the 
combs of the working Bees, in particular cells 
difpofed between thofe which had Nymphs in 
them, or which were full of honey, but none 
of thefe bread-cells were clofed up. 
As to the remaining cells, thofe newly built, 
as well as the empty ones, in which Bees 
had been hatched, and thofe conftructed the 
year before as ftore-houfes for honey, or nur- 
feries, 1 had not time to count their prodi- 
gious numbers. Neither did I count the clofed 
cells, which were difpofed in the upper part 
of the hive, and were now ready to burtt 
with honey. But my curiofity led me to 
weigh the honey itfelf,and I found it amounted 
to feven pounds, 
In all this hive I did not meet with a fingle 
eggs, nor with any Worms, but fuch as were 
full grown ; fo that by this time the working 
Bees muft have got over the heavieft part of 
their yearly labour, for there was no longer 
any neceflity for building cells, or nurfing of 
young Bees, nothing more remained but the 
agreeable task of gathering honey for the 
fupport of themfelves, and of the males and 
females, and making preparation for the 
fecond, third, and fourth fwarm, which I 
could eafily fee were to be produced from the 
different ftages in which the Nymphs of the 
the future queens appeared, and from the 
different periods at which it was of confe- 
quence neceflary thefe fhould make their ap- 
pearance abroad. This induces me to believe, 
The BOOK: of N A’ U Rage or: 
ra 
that the old females continue, even during the 
intervals of {warming, their labours for the 
propagation of the fpecies, as I have already 
obferved in defcribing the hive opened on the 
22d of Auguft. ; 
Many of the working Bees belonging to 
this original hive were ftill of a grayith colour, 
which is a certain proof that they have not 
been long out of their cells. Nor did I obferve 
one amongft them that had loft its wings; 
whereas fuch crippled Bees are frequently 
feen in fpring or autumn. This circumftance 
makes it probable, that moft of the laft year’s 
male Bees had been taken off by a violent or 
natural death, and fucceeded by a new gene- 
ration. Nor need this opinion appear impro- 
bable to any, for if on the 14th of June I 
could count 6468 Nymphs in one hive, and 
2433 Bees in one fwarm, we may eafily 
guefs what a prodigious number of Bees muft 
be produced in the interval of time between 
March and June, and that between June and 
September ; no doubt a multitude fufficient to 
fupply a hive with a number of new inhabi- 
tants, three times greater than that of thofe 
which had poffeffed it the preceding year, or 
fummer months, fuppofing them all to have 
unfortunately perifhed: the queen alone fur- 
vives a longer time, though I can fcarce be- 
lieve her life is of above two or three years. - 
As by what I have here obferved, it plainly 
appears, that fifteen young female Bees had 
been produced in one hive, and in the {pace 
of time required for one fwarming ; and as 
experience informs us that Bees feldom fwarm 
in this country above three or four times, and 
that after the laft {warm they kill their queens, 
which are then no longer of any ufe, we may 
conclude that at this time the old and impo- 
tent queen undergoes this fate, and is fucceed- 
ed by a young one, better able to propagate 
the {pecies. This opinion indeed ftands in need 
of more experiments to confirm it,and fuch ex- 
periments may be eafily made by any one who 
is willing to facrifice a few hives to his curiofity. 
It is furprifing how tenacious of life Bees 
are ; after the hive and all its inhabitants had, 
in confequence of my orders, been kept under 
water for a confiderable time, and I had begun 
to count them, as if they were pefectly fuffo- 
cated, they began by degrees to recover life, 
as it were, and fly about the hive, fo that I 
found myfelf under the neceffity of caufing 
them to be again put under water, and though 
I had reafon to think none of them could 
outlive this fecond fubmerfion, yet there ap- 
peared many after it with figns of life, and 
{ome of them recovered themfelves fo well as 
to live after this three days and two nights 
without eating. 
That I may now exhibit at one view every 
thing, that I obferved~in the original hive, 
and in the {warm produced by it, and that 
the {um of both Bees and Nymphs added to- 
gether may be more diftin@ly known, I thall 
fubjoin the following account: . 
One 
hd: 1 Ral ae be iy 
ab 
RF ee een eS al Se a Te 
