Page:Proceedings of the Royal Society of London Vol 1.djvu/288

Rh receives by its approach to, entrance into, or passage by diiferently disposed surfaces, he reserves for a second part of this paper, to be hereafter communicated.

During the progress of the various experiments on vegetation, of which Mr. Knight has communicated accounts to the Society, he has had opportunities of paying considerable attention to the economy of bees, and has observed many interesting circumstances, that appear to have been overlooked by former Writers.

A general opinion prevails that every hive remains at all times unconnected with other colonies in the neighbourhood, and that strangers are always considered as enemies. Mr. Knight, on the contrary, has in several instances witnessed a friendly intercourse to take place between different colonies, and he imagines it to be productive of important consequences in their political economy.

Having observed several bees ﬂying one evening at a later hour than they usually work, he endeavoured to discover.how they were employed, and he found them to be passing in a direct line from one of his own hives to that of a cottager, about 100 yards distant. There was a considerable degree of hustle and agitation in each of these hives; every bee as it arrived seemed to be stopped and questioned at the mouth of each hive, but there was no appearance of hostility or resistance. This kind of intercourse continued, in a greater or ls degree, during the eight following days, and appeared to be amicable for the whole of that time. But on the 10th their friendship terminated in a quarrel, and they fought desperately.

Mr. Knight has had other opportunities of observing a similar intercourse with the same result; but he has reason to think that it not unfrequently terminates in a junction of the two swarms; and he remembers to have observed, many years ago, circumstances perfectly similar in one hive followed by desertion of the labouring bees, who left the drones alone in possession of the hive, but without anything to live upon. He further thinks, that when a junction is determined upon, they remove immediately, and return only during the day for the purpose of carrying 03 the honey.

Mr. Knight has also remarked the manner in which colonies of bees, proposing to emigrate, ﬁx upon their future habitation. He has frequently noticed an examination of certain hollow trees to take place for many days together by detachments of bees, from twenty to ﬁfty in number. This examination was not conﬁned to the mere cavity, but extended to the external parts of the tree above; as if they were apprehensive of injury from moisture by any perforation.

Their scouts must apparently have some means of communicating information of their success, without which it cannot be supposed that others would accidentally meet at a mile distance from their