our attention: we observed it
during the rest of the year, during winter and the subsequent spring;
and, in April, we had the satisfaction of seeing a new swarm depart with
the same queen at its head that had conducted the former swarm in May
the preceding year.

You will remark, Sir, that this experiment is positive. We put an old
queen in a glass hive while laying the eggs of males. The bees received
her well, and at that time began to construct royal cells; she laid in
one of them before us; and in the last place led forth the swarm.

We have several times repeated the same experiment with equal success.
Thus it appears incontestible, that the old queen always conducts the
first swarm; but never quits the hive before depositing eggs in the
royal cells, from which other queens will proceed after her departure.
The bees prepare these cells only while the queen lays male eggs; and a
remarkable fact attends it, that after this laying terminates, her belly
being considerably diminished, she can easily fly, whereas, her belly is
previously so heavy she can hardly drag it along. Therefore it is
necessary she should lay in order to be in a condition for undertaking
her journey, which may sometimes be very long.

But this single condition is not enough. It is also requisite that the
bees be very numerous: they should even be superabundant, and a person
might say they are aware of it: for, if the hive is thin, no royal cells
are constructed when the male eggs are laid, which is solely at the
period that the queen is able to conduct a colony. This fact was proved
by the following experiment on a large scale.

On the third of May 1788, we divided eighteen hives into two portions;
all the queens were about a year old. Thus each portion of the hives
had but half the bees that were originally there. Eighteen halves wanted
queens, but the other eighteen had very fertile ones. They soon began to
lay the eggs of males; but, the bees being few, they did not construct
royal cells, and none of the hives threw a swarm.--Therefore, if the
hive containing the old queen is not very populous, she remains in it
until the subsequent spring; and if the population is then sufficient,
royal cells will be constructed: the queen will begin to lay male eggs,
and, after depositing them, will issue forth at the head of a colony,
before the young queens are produced.

Such is a very brief abstract of my observations on swarms conducted by
old queen