"The queen is larger and her body is formed to carry millions of eggs. The queen does not have a honey sac and her tongue is not strong enough for honey gathering. She has no wax pockets or pollen baskets.

All these things are the equipment of the honey makers who are the worker bees. "

The buzzing in the hive increases again and our friend the drone says, "Look at that cell in the middie. The queen is cutting her way free with her strong jaws, which your scientists call mandibles. "

We look at the cell. A narrow line is being cut around the lower end of it. Soon the line is almost a complete circle. There is a rustle within. Like a trap door, the end of the cell drops down and a glorious queen emerges from the royal birth chamber. What a beautiful queen. Her wings are like shining jewels.

Her size and dignity make her mistress of all she surveys.

A sudden commotion at the end of the comb causes all eyes to turn that way. Another queen cell has opened and another queen emerges into the hive. This will never do. The bees buzz angrily. They know that only one queen can live in a single hive and that the two newly born queens will fight until one is dead.

The queens prepare for battle. The victor will be the queen of the hive. The first queen rushes to the newcomer. They cross antennae, which are the long hair-like feelers projecting from their heads. This is the way they talk. They challenge each other to fight. They will fight until one of them shall kill the other.

The workers form a ring around the queens as they come together in mortal combat. They will not interfere in the fight unless both queens are in danger of death. They merely wish to be certain that one queen is left.

The fight begins. The first queen grips her opponent's wing in her strong mandibles. She seeks to tear the wing from the body of her rival who struggles to free herself; but the wing is torn ruthlessly away. Following her advantage, the first queen pulls and hauls her adversary around in brutal fashion. She fails to get a grip on the other wing. The wounded queen, crippled but unafraid, dashes in to attack her enemy. She dives for the first queen in a final attempt to get a grip on her. She is weakening fast. The uninjured queen dodges the rush and jumps lightly over her foe's back. She buries her long sting in the body of her wounded enemy. The sting pierces the breathing organs in the abdomen of the crippled queen. This is the death blow.

The fight is over. "Long live the queen. "

The victorious queen is now the most important bee in the hive. The angry buzzing of her thousands of subjects ceases, and the atmosphere of the place returns to its customary busy hum. Workers take the body of the dead queen out of the hive to throw it away.

The triumphant queen turns quickly to the third cell and tears it apart. A flash of her sting and the sleeping queen in the invaded cell is dead. Now the queen searches for any other queen cells that may be in the hive. If she finds other queen cells, she will destroy them immediately. She finds none. She has killed all her rivals. She has finished her first duty to the hive.

We have witnessed the birth of the queen bee who will rule the hive and the death of the other queens. It may seem cruel to us at first, but it is no worse than the methods used by many rulers of men. Physically, it is an absolute necessity for a bee city to have but one queen.

We leave the bees now but we shall return in a day or two because the drone tells us that the queen will soon make her wedding flight.