Page:Jardine Naturalist's library Bees.djvu/57

 strikes the Bees motionless." This discovery of Huber has been brought forward on his authority by Naturalists, as a conclusive evidence of the existence of the auditory faculty in Bees. And so it would be, if Huber was not mistaken in his supposed discovery. A voice of sovereignty producing such powerful and instantaneous effects on her subjects, is so remarkable a property of her Bee-majesty, that it would be desirable to have its existence proved beyond doubt by succeeding experiments. With much confidence in the accuracy of this distinguished Naturalist's observations, we entertain some hesitation on the subject of this magical sound. We have seen the queen in all the circumstances, and in all the positions observable within a hive; (with one exception, viz. combating a rival queen,) we have observed her very frequently in the particular situation described by Huber when he first heard the commanding voice, endeavouring to tear open the cell of a rival, and angrily repulsed by the workers; then standing at a little distance on the surface of the comb, with her wings crossed over her back, and in motion, though not fully unfolded, and emitting the clear distinct sound which is heard in a hive for a day or two before the departure of a second swarm; and certainly we never witnessed any such effect produced on the Bees as Huber speaks of, and which, had it taken place, could not possibly have escaped our observation. On the contrary, the Bees seemed not in the slightest degree affected by her