Human societies are often compared to animal groups in many cultures, and in the West, bees, admired for their altruistic behaviour, have played a privileged role as a representation of such a society. In modern times, however, this type of animal representation is declining. A strict separation has been established between humans and animals, the latter placed on the side of "things" by individuals, equal to one another in their status of owners. The ideal of society ceases to be professed in animal vocabulary. At the end of the nineteenth century, however, discussions of social Darwinism or genetics rediscover animal groups as the origin of human society. By repositioning these discussions in the genealogy of social animals like bees, this study shows the decisive shift in the representation of society at the end of the nineteenth century: it is no longer "individuals" but "livestock" that make up human society.
