Page:Jardine Naturalist's library Bees.djvu/150

146 When the swarming is over in any particular hive, the new Queen, on the departure or death of the rest, and the restoration of the ordinary tranquility of the community, goes abroad on the following day, generally the fifth of her existence, to meet the males, and is impregnated. Forty-six hours afterwards, she commences laying the eggs of workers, and continues to do so for the eleven succeeding months. This does not, however, hold strictly true in every case; for it sometimes happens, if the season be favourable, that the swarm led off by the old Queen, produces, in about a month afterwards, a new colony, which is also headed by the same female. Before leaving the old hive, she had terminated her great laying of drone eggs, and thus became able to fly from her greater lightness, and to set out to found a new colony. In this she recommences the laying the eggs of workers, and continues to do so for ten or twelve days, after which she deposits a few drone eggs in cells which the bees, as if aware that she would require them, have already prepared for their reception. These male eggs, though few, are enough to encourage the bees to construct royal cells; and if, in these circumstances, the weather be favourable, a swarm may be formed, and the same Queen depart at its head. Nor is this variation in the swarming operations restricted to the instance of the old Queen; we have known two or three instances in which a young Queen, that is, a Queen of the current year, after leading off, as in ordinary circumstances, an after-swarm, has again issued with another swarm from her new habitation.