1902 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



737 



is not so sticky, and can be spread like so 

 much butter." That was a new idea to 

 me. But what I started out to say is that 

 bread and cream, with a generous layer of 

 honej' on it, and a glass of milk, make a 

 supper fit for a juvenile czar. 

 Worcester, Mass., Jan. 6. 



VIRILITY OF DRONES. 



Are the Drones from Fertile Workers and Virgin 

 Queens of Any Value ? 



BY A. J. WRIGHT. 



Which parent bears the greater respon- 

 sibility for the healthfulness and general 

 utility of the progeny is a question which 



has not, so far 

 as I know, been 

 settled ; s o i t 

 may not be un- 

 fair to assume 

 that both con- 

 tribute equally. 

 With this idea 

 in mind, we 

 then may safe- 

 ly say that a 

 virgin queen, 

 however strong 

 and healthy 

 Fig. 1. she maybe, will 



not produce as 

 large, strong, and 

 healthy worker 

 bees, if fertilized 

 by a drone inferior 

 in any way, as she 

 would if fertilized 

 by a perfect drone; 

 in short, perfect 

 progeny require 

 perfect fertiliza- 

 tion of the moth- 

 er. The question, 

 then, whether all 



Fig. 3. 



drones are equal- 

 ly virile is very 

 important. 



With a view of 

 getting some light 

 on the subject I 

 have made micro- 

 scopic examina- 

 tion of the sper- 

 matic fluid of the 

 drones with the 

 following result : 

 Fig. 1 shows a 

 ^^^' "^^ tiny portion of 



the fluid of a drone that has been flying 

 about four weeks, from a strong colony con- 

 taining a fertile queen, as it appears under 

 the microscope. The appearance shown at 

 a I judge to be little cells or germs from 

 which the spermatozoa hatch, if I may use 



the term in this connection, apparently a 

 partly developed spermatozone. B, Fig. 1, 

 shows the fully developed spermatozoa float- 

 ing in the space 

 between the cells. 

 The spermatozoa 

 are black, and ap- 

 pear to be about 

 1^ inch in length, 

 and as small as a 

 single thread of 

 spider silk. They 

 are continually in 

 motion, moving in 

 vast shoals, and 

 one caneasily sup- 

 pose that the flu- Fig. 5. 

 id of a single drone might contain mil- 

 lions of them and the cells. 



Fig. 3 shows the appearance of the fluid 

 from drones from a fertile worker. Of sev- 

 eral examinations made, all failed to show 

 any trace of spermatozoa, and only an oc- 

 casional germ or cell. 



Fig. 4 shows the fluid from drones from a 

 virgin queen reared the previous season, 

 but not fertilized. While the fluid from 

 these drones contains scattered patches of 

 cells, no spermatozoa were found. 



Fig. 5 shows the fluid from drones win- 

 tered over — no cells or spermatozoa were 

 present. 



From the foregoing it would seem that, to 

 get the best drones, we should have them 

 reared in a full colony having a fertile 

 queen; that they should not be drones of a 

 previous season, and not drones from a fer- 

 tile worker. As no spermatozoa were found 

 in either the fluid of drones from fertile 

 workers or virgins it might be supposed 

 that no danger could come from these sources; 

 but it should be remembered that, while no 

 spermatozoa were found, cells were found 

 in limited number, from which I believe the 

 spermatozoa are developed. 



All drones examined had been flying four 

 weeks or more. 



Bradford, N. Y. 



[You have certainly given us something 

 of value on this vexed question; and if your 

 conclusions shall be confirmed by others 

 with the microscope we shall have come to 

 the point where we can say positively that 

 the drones of any thing except laying 

 queens are practically valueless. But then, 

 why does nature apparently make a mis- 

 take and allow male bees (that have not 

 the power of procreation of their kind) to 

 be developed from an imperfect female ? I 

 should be glad to hear from Prof. Cook, Dr. 

 Howard, and Prof. Gillette. Possibly they 

 have made some observations. If not, they 

 could doubtless, with very little trouble, 

 with the apparatus at their disposal, prove 

 how far right our friend is really "Wright." 

 It has been supposed that the drortes of 

 fertile workers and of virgin queens serve 

 the purpose for which they were created; 

 but perhaps it is a mistake. — Ed.] 



