Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 3.djvu/511

Rh to issue. They establish themselves as a guard around these cells ; and, forgetting their allegiance on this occasion, .actually beat her otf as often as she endeavours to come near them. If, on the other hand, the swarming season is over, or circumstances prevent any further swarms from being sent off, the bees do not interpose any obstacle to the fury of the old queen, which immediately begins the work of destruction, transfixing with her sting one after the other the whole of the royal brood, while they are yet confined in their cells. It is observed by Huber, that the royal larvae construct only imperfect cocoons, open behind, and enveloping only the head, thorax, and first ring of the abdomen ; and he conceives that the intention of Nature in this apparent imperfection is, that they may be exposed to the mortal sting of the queen, to whom they may be given up as a sacrifice. When the old queen has taken her departure along with the first swarm, the young queens are liberated in succes sion, at intervals of a few days, in order to prevent their attacking and destroying one another, which would be the infallible consequence of their meeting. This exterminating warfare is prevented by the vigilance of the bees which guard them, so long as new swarms are expected to go off. When a young queen is liberated, she is, like others of her sex, anxious to get rid of her rivals, and even at that early age seeks to destroy her sisters, which are still confined in the other royal cells ; but as often as she approaches them she is bit, pulled, and chased without ceremony by the sentinels. But when the season is too far advanced for swarming, or if two or more queens should happen to emerge at the same moment, they mutually seek each other and fight till one is killed, and the survivor is immediately received as the sovereign of the hive. The bees, far from seeking to prevent these battles, appear to excite the combatants against each other, surrounding and bringing them back to the charge when they are disposed to recede from each other, and when either of the queens shows a disposition to approach her antagonist, all the bees forming the cluster instantly give way to allow her full liberty for the attack. The first use which the conquering queen makes of her victory is to secure herself against fresh dangers by destroying all her future rivals in the royal cells : while the other bees, which are spectators of the carnage, share in the spoil, greedily devouring any food which may be found at the bottom of the cells, and even sucking the fluid from the abdomen of the pupse before they toss out the carcasses.

We are now to direct our attention to the migrations of bees, by which new colonies similar to that which had originally peopled the parent hive are founded. The final causes of this phenomenon are sufficiently obvious, but it does not so clearly appear to what circumstances it is immediately owing. The increasing population of a hive probably occasions inconvenience from want of room ; the increase of heat and the greater vitiation of the air become still more serious as the summer advances. The spring is, accordingly, the commencement of the swarming season. No swarming, indeed, will ever take place while the weather is cold, or until the hive is well stocked with eggs. The queen-bee, in consequence of the great number of eggs she has been laying, is now reduced to a more slender shape, and is well fitted for flight; her aversion for the royal brood, which she seems to foresee will in a short time become able to dispute the throne with her, and the vain attempts she makes to destroy them in the cradle, in which attempts she is invariably repelled by the bees who guard them, produce in her a constant restlessness and agitation which, as Huber represents it, rises to a degree of delirium. This frenzy, from whatever cause it may originate, is communi cated to the workers ; they may be seen hurrying to and fro in the combs with evident marks of impatience. The heat of the hive is increased by their tumultuous move ments ; it sometimes rises suddenly on these occasions from 92 3 to above 104. A general buzz is heard throughout the hive. This state of things occurs from time to time for some days before the swarm is actually on the wing ; and the interval is occupied in making preparations for the approaching expedition ; provisions are collected in greater quantity by the workers. Hunter killed several of those that came away, and found their crops full, while those that remained in the hive had their crops not nearly so.

On the day on which the swarm quits the hive, few of the workers roam to any distance, but several are seen performing circles in the air round the hive. The noise is on a sudden hushed, and all the bees enter the hive ; this silence announces their immediate departure. A few workers appear at the door, turn towards the hive, and striking with their wings, give, as it were, the signal for flight. All those which are to accompany the expedition rush towards the door, and issue forth with wonderful rapidity, rising in the air and hovering for some time, as if in order to wait for the assemblage of the whole troop ; then, having selected a rallying point, generally 011 some tree or bush, some alight, being joined immediately by others until the whole number is collected in one mass of bees. It does not always happen that the queen is the first to alight or is with the cluster at all ; but if she be not there the bees soon discover it and disperse in search of her if they fail to find her they return to the parent hive. Thither the queen sometimes, from weakness or other causes, returns, and is immediately attended by the rest. But if the weather be fine, the expedition is only deferred for one or two days, and they again take their departure. If their return be owing to the loss of their queen, they remain a fortnight or longer before the attempt to migrate is renewed, and then the swarm is much larger than before, which renders it probable that they have waited for tho queen that was to go off with the next swarm. Sometimes, when everything indicates an approaching emigration, the passage of a cloud across the sun will suspend all their operations, and the previous bustle gives place to a state of perfect calm. But, if the day be not far advanced, tho breaking out of sunshine will renew the commotion, and determine the moment of actual flight. The swarm having rested for some time on the first landing-place, and collected the whole of its numbers, soars again in the air, keeping in a close phalanx, and directing its course with great velocity to the spot which their gxiides had selected, giving out, at the same time, a loud and acute-toned hum by the action of their wings.

The parent hive, thus deserted by its queen and a large proportion of its inhabitants, is busily occupied in repairing its loss. The bees which remain quietly pursue their labours ; the young brood, soon arriving at maturity, quickly fill up every deficiency ; and young queens, being allowed their liberty, one after the other, conduct in their turns new swarms, in the same manner as the first. The second swarm is not sent off till after the space of from five to ten days after the first. The following swarms succeed quicker to each other, but consist of smaller numbers than the earlier ones. If it happen that two queens are found in a swarm, either the swarm divides itself into two, and have separate destinations, or a single combat between the queens decides on which of them the empire is to devolve. Sometimes, indeed, they appear not to perceive each other, and the parlies belonging to each construct separate combs within the same hive ; but no sooner do these combs come in contact, and thus give occasion to the queens meeting each other, than a contest begins which terminates only by the death of one of the rival queens. 