430 ■ JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY [Vo . 15 



5. Some preliminary experiments with ammonium hydroxide solu- 

 tions were only partially successful in calling forth the oviposition 

 response. Some possible reasons for this are mentioned. 



THE ABILITY OF QUEEN AND DRONE HONEYBEES TO FEED 



THEMSELVES 



By E. F. Phillips, Bureau of Entomology 



In connection with some feeding experiments with worker bees to de- 

 termine the digestibility of various carbohydrates, it seemed of interest 

 to learn to what extent queens and drones are able to take food without 

 the help of worker bees. It has generally been assumed that both queens 

 and drones are regularly fed by the workers, and it is even sometimes 

 believed they will starve in the midst of plenty unless they are so fed. 

 Several observers have, however, mentioned seeing drones and queens 

 taking food direct. In the killing of the drones at the close of the 

 honey-flow, it is usually assumed that they are first starved by a failure 

 of the workers to feed them and that after such treatment they are 

 easily carried or driven from the hive. 



During the morning of May 19, 1922, a colony of bees was removed to 

 a new stand while the bees were flying freely, permitting the old field 

 worker bees and flying drones to return to an empty hive on the old 

 stand. A short time later the bees remaining in the original hive were 

 shaken from their combs and allowed to return to them through a queen- 

 excluder, thus removing the drones and causing the remaining old bees 

 to fly so that more of them would return to the original location, it being 

 desirable to remove both the drones and the old worker bees for projected 

 experiments. As there was free access for the worker bees into the super 

 containing the drones, a few remained with the drones. In the early 

 afternoon two small wire-cloth and wood cages were filled with drones, 

 and in both cases a few workers went with them, as will be indicated. 



The cages containing the drones were placed in a dark room in the 

 basement of the laboratory. The temperature of the room, taken daily 

 at the time the dead drones were removed and counted, is given in the 

 accompanying table. The temperature of this room is quite constant. 

 The room was lighted only during the removal of the dead bees, they 

 being taken outside for counting and the room darkened. In the same 

 room were worker bees under similar experiments and these also were 

 removed daily as they died. Probably the total time that the room was 

 lighted while drones were still living never exceeded an hour daily. 



