A bee does not live more than three or four years.[10] The work bees know that some of the grubs must grow to be queens, others to be drones and others work bees. They make for the baby queen bee a large, round cell. In each hive there are five or six cells for these baby queens. Then the nurse bees feed the grubs. They give the baby queens all they can eat of very nice food. The baby work bees get only plain bee-bread. The work babies are in small cells. The grub of the new queen bee grows large, and eats as much as it wants. The grub of the work bee gets little food, and is then shut in its tight cell, to turn into a bee. After a time the grubs shut in the big cells turn into queen bees. They begin to sing a song. The queen bee hears it. She knows that more queen bees will come out. That makes her angry. She runs at the cells, to try to kill the new queens. The work bees all stand in her way. They will not let her kill the new queens. [Illustration: BATTLE ROYAL.] But there can be only one queen in a hive at one time. So the old queen says, “Come! I will go away! I will not live here any more!” Many of the old bees say, “We will go with our queen.” Then they fly out of the hive in a cloud. They wish to find a new home. Did you ever see bees swarm? They may fly far away, or they may light near by. They hang on a vine, or branch, or stick, like a bunch of grapes. Can you put them into a new hive? Yes. Drop them softly into a new hive where there is a piece of honey-comb. In a few hours they are calm. Then they go to work. The work bees begin to make cells. They spread wax. They build walls. If a young bee lays a bit of wax wrong, some old one takes it up and lays it right. FOOTNOTES: [10] Some claim that the life of a work bee is never longer than six months. LESSON XXI. THE BEE WAR. After the old queen goes out in a rage, what do the rest of the bees do? They all keep still, but they look to the cells where the new queens sing. Then one new queen breaks off the lid of her cell and comes out. She lifts her head, spreads her wings, dries her legs. Her legs are like gold. Her dress is velvet and gold. She is fine! The bees fan her and feed her. But just then a cell near by opens, and out comes one more new queen! This will not do. Two queens do not live in one hive. When the two queens see each other, they rush together and begin to fight. [Illustration: FIRST FLIGHT.] If they stop the fight to rest, the work bees make them keep on. At last one of them stings the other near the wing, and kills her. Then this strong queen runs to the other cells, where the baby queens lie. She tears off the wax lids and stings each new queen bee. Then it dies. Now the strong queen is the one true queen of the hive. Her rage is at an end. The bees come to her and touch her.