CHAPTER II
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.
Plate III
From a photograph by] [E. Hawks
The Queen Bee surrounded by her Attendants