The voice of the drone is deeper and hoarser than that of the worker-bee, by reason of his larger body; and his noisier buzzing is explained by his greater length and breadth of wing. The queen also has a deeper, more husky voice during flight; but she has, in addition, a peculiar cry of her own, an old familiar sound to bee-keepers all the world over. It is heard principally just before the swarming of the hive. Certain old skeppists profess to be able to foretell the date on which a swarm will issue by studying the cry of the queen. On quiet nights, just before the swarming-season commences, it may frequently be heard above the general murmur of the hive by bending the ear down to the entrance. It is a shrill piping sound, repeated over and over again, and often answered by other and fainter notes. How it is produced is not certainly known, but probably it is caused by the wings or legs being sharply rubbed together, much as a cricket or grasshopper utters its cry. The louder note is made by the old queen, and there is no doubt of its import. Jealousy and the lust of battle are on her, and she is trying to get at the young princesses in their cells. The cry is one of baffled fury as she strives with the guards about the cells, and the answering notes come from the imprisoned queens who are just as eager for the fray. The old skeppists are never far out in their reckoning. When this state of affairs has begun, the crisis is imminent; and the morrow is sure to see the emigrating party setting off for its new home, carrying the old queen irresistibly with it. It has been said that the nurse-bees, who have the entire charge and care of the young brood, feed the larvæ from their mouths with a thick white fluid, which is aptly called bee-milk. All the time the nurses are engaged on this work, they are themselves hearty eaters of both honey and pollen; so that at first sight it appears as if the bee had the power of instantaneous digestion, feeding herself at one moment, and, at the next, regurgitating this food, changed into a totally different substance, to feed the young grubs. Moreover, there is another wonderful thing regarding this bee-milk. It has been proved by careful analysis that its composition varies considerably. The male, female, and queen-larvæ are all fed with it, but its constitution differs, not only with each kind of larva, but according to the age the larva has reached. The bee must therefore have her whole system of digestion under full voluntary control. How she manages this critical part of her work can only be understood by the aid of a good microscope. [Picture: The bee nursery; tending the young brood]