New Observations on the Natural History of Bees

The classic guide to the history, nature and keeping of bees. “The natural history of the common bee has been more carefully examined, and more amply treated of than that of any other of the insect tribe. Yet so complicated and extraordinary are some of the processes of nature, that the most diligent observers were long utterly unable to account for some circumstances in the history of this insect, and published to the world the most opposite explanations. Several of the most important and intricate problems, however, seem now to be finally resolved by the Genevese observer M. Huber, of whose valuable little work we purpose to lay before our readers a pretty full analysis. We regard the facts contained in this volume as extremely important to the naturalist; for they not only greatly elucidate the history of this wonderful insect, but present some singular facts in physiology hitherto unknown, and even unsuspected.” -The Edinburgh Review, Volume 11, October, 1807 *On the impregnation of the queen bee *On M. Schirach's discovery *Experiments proving that there are sometimes common bees which lay fertile eggs *On the combats of queens; the massacre of the males; and what succeeds in a hive where a stranger queen is substituted for the natural one *Sequel of observations on the reception of a stranger queen; M. de Reaumur's observations on the subject *Is the queen oviparous? What influence has the size of the cells where the eggs are deposited on the bees produced? Researches on the mode of spinning the cocoons *On the formation of swarms *Additional observations on queens that lay only the eggs of drones, and on those deprived of the antenna *Economical considerations on bees