Of this primal incident, the parthenogenesis, or birth of the fully equipped male from the virgin female, little more can be said than that it is a well-ascertained fact of nature, exemplified in several other insects beside the honey-bee. But while we are witnessing the part played in the hive by the fecundated queen, with her elaborate organism, much is to be noted; and here we really get the master-key to a right understanding of the whole system of bee-government. It would be an anomaly if the highest, most important functions of the State had been entrusted solely to the queen, whose feeble intelligence renders her, of all others, least likely to execute them properly; and we find, in fact, that no such reliance is placed on her. The worker-bees, who take her in charge on her return from her mating-flight, henceforth originate her every act and impulse. It has already been seen how she is led from cell to cell over the combs; how she is caused to lay, in earliest spring, only a few eggs a day, while in the summer she may produce several thousand; and how her output may be checked or augmented at any point between. Now we are to realise how it is all brought about; or, at least, bring conjecture as near to certainty as may be with so difficult a theme. During the first two days of her life as a perfect insect, we saw the young virgin queen mingling with the throng in the hive almost unnoticed, and left to seek her own food from the common store like the rest. But now that her fecundation has been achieved, she has a whole suite of chamber-women, whose principal duty is to attend to her nourishment. From their mouths they feed her, giving her, in all probability, the same rich substance that was administered to her when but a larva in the cell. This bee-milk consists mainly of honey and pollen pre-digested, but it has been proved that its composition can be altered at will by the ministering bees. Additions to it are made, either separately, or combined in varying proportions, from three or four distinct glands, each of which exudes a liquid differing in nature from that of the rest. The particular kind of nourishment given to a queen who is to be urged on in the work of egg-laying, has the effect of stimulating her ovaries. The more food of this kind she receives, the greater will be her prolificacy. On the other hand, a diminishing allowance will mean a corresponding decrease in her egg-laying powers; while, if this rich diet be withheld altogether, and she is forced to help herself from the honey-cells, the development of these eggs may cease entirely, as it actually does in the coldest time of the year. Thus the bees play upon her, producing just the music needed for their purposes. As the days lengthen, and the spring sun gets higher and warmer, they gradually waken her docile nature to its one paramount task. In the flaming weeks of summer she sits at an unending banquet. And when autumn comes, with its chilly nights and