Observations on honeybees examining and licking their queen

Summaryo1.The activity of a honeybee queen affected both the number of her attendants and the proportion licking her. The mean number attending the queen in the summer was six while she was moving over the comb, eight when laying, and ten when stationary. During the summer one out of eighty-nine attendants licked the queen while she was moving, compared with one out of twenty-four while egglaying, and one out of nine when stationary.2.There was no appreciable change in the number of attendants after swarm preparations had started, or in the proportion of attendants licking and examining the queen.3.Less interest was shown in the queen during the winter period, and at this time she was only very occasionally licked.