Abstract
1 The presence of a queen in a culture of larvae of two distinct sizes causes the large to receive less and the small more than they would otherwise do. But the competitive relationship persists and is only modified not reversed; nor is food ever perfectly dispersed but small larvae may if queens are present get more than they might expect if it was distributed in the ratio of initial larval weight. 2 Autumn queens are unable to suppress large but may be able to assist small larvae. 3 These effects are absolute and do not depend on the simultaneous presence of two sizes of larvae. 4 Scars due to biting have been found on large but not small larvae in the presence of queens. They are normally associated with a smaller gain in weight though exceptions occur. 5 Suppression of growth can be traced back to larvae of 1.0 mg, that is to about the stage when worker ontogenies first deviate from normal queen ones. 6 The better dispersion of food when queens are present leads the winter larval population to assume a symmetrical size frequency distribution with, in terms of the annual brood oscillation, an increased amplitude and decreased wavelength.
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