54 AUSTRALIAN BEE LORE AND BEE CULTURE- 



CHAPTER Vni. 



THE DRONE. 



Drones, or male bees, as will be seen, differ very much from the 

 queen or other inmates of the hive. Indeed, so much so, as to 

 lead unobservant people into the belief that they belong to a 

 different variety of the same species rather than being male mem- 

 bers of the same family in which they are found. On this account 

 drones have been very greatly maligned and looked upon as inter- 

 lopers rather than factors equal in importance to that of the 

 queen bee. That they exert a pernicious influence in the colony 

 to which they have uninvitedly attached themselves ; are danger- 

 ous to the well-being of the swarm ; militate against its increase 

 and prosperity ; and operate against the financial success of 

 bee-keepers, are opinions still held by far too many bee-keepers. 

 The word drone is associated with idleness, worthlessness, and 

 a sponger on, or a vampire of society. It has been borrowed from 

 the supposed uselessness of the drone-bee. A quaint old writer 

 says: — "The drone is a gross, stingless bee, that spendeth 

 his time in gluttony and idleness, for howsoever he brave it, with 

 his round velvet cap, his side gown, his full paunch, and his loud 

 voice, yet is he but an idle companion, living by the sweat of 

 others' brows. He worketh not at all, either at home or abroad, 

 and spendeth as much as two labourers ; you shall never find his 

 maw without a drop of the purest nectar. In the heat of the day 

 he flieth abroad, aloft, and about, and that with no small noise, 

 as though he would do some great act, but it is only for his plea- 

 sure, and to get him a stomach, and then returns he presently 

 to his cheer." 



That droneisi have "loud voices," and that in the heat of 

 the day they fly "abroad, aloft, ajid about," is a part of the 

 economy of their nature, and is a factor in the perpetuating of 

 the fittest of their race. 



The external anatomy of the male bee (drone) differs very 

 greatly from that of the females (queen or workers). In cell 

 accommodation he occupies a greater space. Drone-cells are only 

 four to the lineal inch, whilst the worker-cells go five to that 

 measurement. 



