. BEE. 
327 
a hive, in which I found maggots and chrysalises, 
but did not find any males among the latter: the 
maggots are too young for such investigation ; 
but about the 20th of May we observed males: 
they are all very much of the same size. In 
the month of August, probably about the latter 
end, we may suppose they impregnate the queen 
for the next year, and about the latter end of' the 
same month, and beginning of September, they 
are dying, but seem to be hastened to their end 
by the labourers. In J791,as early as the IQth 
of June, I saw the labourers killing the males of 
a hive, or rather of a swarm, that had not yet 
swarmed, but was hanging out; this, however, 
was out of the common course. They appear to 
be sensible of their fate, for they hurry in and out 
of the hive as quick as possible, seemingly with a 
view to avoid the labourers ; and we find them 
attacked by the labourers, who pinch them with 
their forceps, and when they are so hurt, and 
fatigued with attempts to make their escape, as 
not to be able to fly, they are thrown over on the 
ground, and left to die. That this is the fate of 
every male bee is easily ascertained, by examin- 
ing every bee in the hive when killed for the 
honey, which is after this season ; no male being 
then found in it. Bonnet supposes them starved 
to death, as he never saw wounds on them. In 
the course of a winter I have killed several hives, 
some as late as April, and in such a way as to 
preserve every bee, and after examining every 
one entirely, I never perceived one male of any 
