The Habits of the Honeybee 17 



prevents what is known as in-and-in breeding; for if 

 the queen mated in her hive she would receive sper- 

 matozoa from her brothers or from her sons, and we 

 know that such close breeding is undesirable in all 

 forms of life. The cause of the undesirable results of 

 in-breeding are yet a mystery; but we do know that 

 they follow, and this habit of the queen in mating 

 away from her own hive renders close crossing less 

 probable. After the queen lias returned to her hive, 

 the workers remove the male organs. These parts of 

 the male are not absorbed by the queen, as is some- 

 times claimed ; but the spermatozoa contained in them 

 are taken into the spermatheca, or spermatozoon-sac. 



WORKER AND DRONE CELLS. 



and the rest dries up and is removed. Almost as soon 

 as the queen returns from her flight there is a differ- 

 ence in the treatment which she receives from the 

 workers. It happens at times that she is not received 

 kindly after taking her flight, and may be killed by 

 the workers, which do not recognize her as their queen, 

 probably on account of some new odor which she has 

 actjuiied during her absence. This is rare, however; 

 for, ordinarily, slie is the object of much care and 

 attention on her return. Fi'om this time on, whenever 

 (he queen stops for a moinent on the conil). cmIIici' lo 



