A Mothers Day Article: ‘The Queen’
These are my favorite book excerpts on the Mother Queen Bee from a few famous authors in Beekeeping.
From the archives at: https://www.facebook.com/Historical.Honeybee.Articles
Please add your favorite excerpt on the Queen Bee to this thread.
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Alfred Neighbour, wrote ‘The apiary; or, Bees, bee-hives and bee culture‘ 1865, Describes the admiration and respect the worker bees have towards their Majestic Queen.
"… her movements are measured and
majestic, as she moves in the hive the
other bees form a circle round her, none
venturing to turn their backs upon her,
but all anxious to show that respect and
attention due to her rank and station.
Whenever in the exercise of her sovereign
will the queen wishes to travel amongst
her subjects, she experiences no
inconvenience from overcrowding;
although the part of the hive to which
she is journeying may be the most
populous, way is immediately made,
the common bees tumbling over each
other to get out of her way, so great is
their anxiety not to interfere with the
royal progress." -Neighbour
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Dr. Evans,—who may be styled the poet-laureate of the bees,—lived at Shrewsbury, where he practiced as a physician. His poem on bees is written with great taste and careful elaboration, and it describes the habits of bees with a degree of accuracy only attainable after continuous scientific observation. In Evans poem ‘The Bee’ (first book) circa. 1806. Evans introduces the Insect Queen:
"But mark, of regal port, and aweful mien,
Where moves, with measur'd pace, the Insect Queen !
Twelve chosen guards, with slow, and solemn gait,
Bend at her nod, and round her person wait.
Not eastern Despots, of their splendour vain,
Can boast, in all their pomp, a brighter train
Of fear-bound Satraps ; not in bonds of love
Can loyal Britons more obedient move,
Whose patriot King an heartfelt homage finds,
And guides with easy rein their willing minds.
The pregnant Queen her duteous slaves attend,
With plausive air the high-arch'd dome ascend,
Cling in fond rapture round the genial bed,
And o'er her form a living curtain spread,"
-Evans
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Edward Bevan, author of ‘The Honey-bee: Its Natural History, Physiology, and Management of Honeybees’ -1827, is considered by many as the first work of bee literature possessing any claim to the character of scientific. In the article ‘Bevan on the Bee‘, Second Notice, 1843, Bevan describes the worker bees paying homage, caressing and touching with love and affection their Royal Queen.
"Like the English monarchy, that of our
particular subject, the species known
as the domestic or honey Bee, embraces
three orders, not ill resembling king,
lords and commons. The queen is not
only the acknowledged head and
representative of the nation, but its
common source of population, her
ample loins pouring out annually as
many young as are necessary to keep
up the numbers of the hive; which are
rarely less than twelve thousand, and
rise to perhaps fifty or sixty thousand
where abundant room is offered them.
The queen has no regular guard, either
when she traverses the combs or when
she is stationary. In either case, as we
have frequently observed, the working
bees that happen to be near her, for the
most part, turn their heads, towards her,
after the manner of courtiers in the presence
of royally, and wherever she moves clear
the way to allow her to pass, or rather get
hastily out of her way, forming a circle
round hut never accompanying her. They
occasionally, during her progress, fawn
upon and caress her, touching her softly
with their antenna. As she moves onward,
till the bees, thro' which she successively
passes, pay her the same homage; those
which in her track she leaves behind,
close together, and resume their
accustomed labors." -Bevan
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James Thacher, in his book ‘A practical treatise on the management of bees,,,’ 1829 describes the love an affection worker bees have for their Mother Queen.
"She is likewise their mother in the
strictest sense. Among 20, or 30,000
bees of which a hive frequently consists,
the queen is the only one that breeds;
and it is to this prerogative that she is
indebted for the extreme love and
affection which she enjoys from her
subjects. Their respect and obedience
are truly remarkable. She is almost
continually attended by a circle of bees,
who devote themselves to her service,
some present her with honey, others
pass their trunks lightly over her body
in order to remove from it any thing
that may be offensive. When she walks,
those that are in her passage, range
themselves in a respectful manner to
make way for her. They either know,
or appear to know, that this procedure
has an important object in view, that
of augmenting the number of their
citizens. The queen being the parent
of the hive, it is from her alone, that
a complete swarm composed of queens,
drones and workers, can proceed; and
without all these different members of
the community, it cannot either lay up
stores or be preserved in existence."
-Thacher
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Joseph Warder, in his book, ‘The true Amazons: or, The monarchy of bees’ - 1713, describes the Queen Bees subjects loyalty to the Monarch Queen.
“Indeed, no Monarch in the world is
so absolute as the Queen of the bees;
(which pleads very much with me,
that Monarchy is founded in nature,
and is approved by the great Ruler
of Princes.) But oh, what harmony,
what lovely order is there in the
government of the bees! The
Queen-Bee governs with clemency
and sweetness, so doth your Majesty;
she is obey’d and defended, out of
choice and inclination by her subjects,
so is your Majesty. And here I cannot
but wish that all your Majesty’s
subjects were as unanimously loyal
as the subjects of the Queen-Bee“.
-Warder
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Samuel Purchas, in his book ‘A theatre of politicall flying-insects:’ -1657 describes the beauty of the Queen Bee.
“In a word, the Queen Bee in her
whole shape and colour, is a
beautiful creature.”
velut inter lignes luna minores
“As the moon when in a clear night,
she fills her circle, is more and more
eminently beautiful than all the lesser
stars, so is the Queen Bee among the
other Bees.”
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John Thorley in his book ‘Melisselogia, or, the female monarchy: being an enquiry into the nature’ -1744, describes the beautiful and Qlorious Queen.
The Sovereign, or Queen-Bee described.
“This stately, beautiful, most noble and
glorious insect, in so many things
expressing royal majesty, has been for
a great number of years my grand favourite.
A princess I greatly admire; very highly
value and esteem, and justly prefer before
the many thousands of her subjects. “.
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