THE QUEEN BEE
Let us now look at Plate II., where an illustration of a queen bee is
to be seen. It will be noticed that her abdomen is much longer than
that of the worker or of the drone. Her head and thorax are about the
same size as those of the others, but her legs are slightly longer and
differently shaped.
This then is the queen of the hive, and she has, as we have seen, many
thousands of subjects. We might imagine that, such being the case, she
would lead a life of pleasure and enjoyment; but this is not so. In
fact she is wrongly named the queen, for she does not rule over the
other bees in the way we are accustomed to think of a king or queen
doing. She would be better called the mother of the hive, for she is
the parent of all the other bees. She never leaves the bee-city, except
perhaps on one or two state occasions, so that she spends the greater
part of her life in the darkness of the hive. She is waited upon and
fed by her royal attendants, who also clean her and guide her over the
combs. Perhaps, some time or other, if you have the opportunity of
doing so, you may see the queen of some friend’s hive. You will see
her on the comb, no doubt, and you will notice a circle of six or more
bees around her. These are her attendants, who face her and do not
turn their backs to her if it can be avoided. In Plate III. is shown
the queen surrounded by her attendants. They are within the circle
which has been drawn on the photograph, and the arrow points to the
queen. Great care is taken of the queen, for on her depends the future
of the race, and so she is closely guarded as well as being tended and
fed. Every one of the little workers would willingly lay down her life
for the sake of the queen, were this necessary.
[Illustration: PLATE III
From a photograph by] [E. Hawks
The Queen Bee surrounded by her Attendants]