NATURE'S PROFESSIONAL SYBARITE 



unpleasant extension of it ? Better, surely, for the 

 drone to die out speedily after the expulsion, and 

 for its substance to be used up for other purposes. 

 I suppose this extraordinary vitality in the drone 

 might be argued as proof of the pains Nature takes 

 to make the drones very strong and vigorous. 

 Maeterlinck would have us believe that the strongest 

 of all is chosen by a process of natural selection by 

 the queen in her high bridal flight. I cannot take 

 this so seriously. Accident probably selects her 

 mate. Still the drone's vitality is very remarkable. 

 Is it because he lolls away luxurious days on the 

 golden scented combs, battening on choicest fare, 

 the professional sybarite of the hive ? 



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