replace her.
Therefore, if fertile workers are produced in this situation alone, it
is evident their origin is only in those hives where bees prepare the
royal jelly. Towards this circumstance, I bent all my attention. It
induced me to suspect that when bees give the _royal treatment_ to
certain worms, they either by accident or a particular instinct, the
principle of which is unknown to me, drop some particles of royal jelly
into cells contiguous to those containing the worms destined for queens.
The larvae of workers that have accidentally received portions of so
active an aliment, must be more or less affected by it; and their
ovaries should acquire a degree of expansion. But this expansion will be
imperfect; why? because the royal food has been administered only in
small portions, and, besides, the larvae having lived in cells of the
smallest dimensions, their parts cannot extend beyond the ordinary
proportions. Thus, the bees produced by them will resemble common
workers in size and all the external characteristics. Added to that,
they will have the faculty of laying some eggs, solely from the effect
of the trifling portion of royal jelly mixed with their aliment.

That we may judge of the justness of this explanation, it is necessary
to consider fertile workers from their origin; to investigate whether
the cells, where they are brought up, are constantly in the vicinity of
the royal cells, and if their food is mixed with particles of the royal
jelly. Unfortunately, the execution of these experiments is very
difficult. When pure, the royal jelly is recognised by its sharp and
pungent taste; but, when mixed with other substances, the peculiar
savour is very imperfectly distinguished. Thus I conceived, that my
investigation should be limited to the situation of the cells; and, as
the subject is important, permit me to enter a little into detail{J}.

In June 1790, I observed that one of my thinnest hives had wanted the
queen several days, and that the bees had no mean of replacing her,
there being no workers' worms. I then provided them with a small portion
of comb, each cell containing a young worm of the working species. Next
day, the bees prolonged several cells around the worms destined for
queens, in the form of royal ones. They also bestowed some care on the
worms in the adjoining cells. Four days afterwards, all the royal cells
were shut, and we counted nineteen small cells also perfected and closed
by a cove