REPRODUCTION. 1 1 5 



produce in their interior are true ova, then the case is one 

 of genuine parthenogenesis, for there are certainly no males. 

 The case might still be called one of parthenogenesis, even 

 though the bodies from which these broods are produced 

 be regarded as internal buds, or as " pseudova ; " for a true 

 ovum is essentially a bud. If, however, Balbiani be right, 

 and the viviparous Aphides are really hermaphrodite, then, 

 of course, the phenomena are of a much less abnormal 

 character. 



In the second case of alleged parthenogenesis which we 

 are about to examine namely, in the honey-bee the 

 phenomena which have been described cannot be said to 

 be wholly free from doubt. A hive of bees consists of 

 three classes of individuals: i. A "queen," or fertile 

 female; 2. The "workers," which form the bulk of the 

 community, and are really undeveloped or sterile females ; 

 and 3. The " drones," or males, which are only produced 

 at certain times of the year. We have here three distinct 

 sets of beings, all of which proceed from a single fertile 

 individual ; and the question arises, In what manner are the 

 differences between these produced ? At a certain period 

 of the year the queen leaves the hive, accompanied by the 

 drones (or males), and takes what is known as her "nuptial 

 flight " through the air. In this flight she is impregnated 

 by the males, and it is immaterial whether this act occurs 

 once in the life of the queen, or several times, as asserted 

 by some. Be this as it may, the queen, in virtue of this 

 single impregnation, is enabled to produce fresh individuals 

 for a lengthened period, the semen of the males being stored 

 up in a receptacle which communicates by a tube with the 

 oviduct, from which it can be shut off at will. The ova 

 which are to produce workers (undeveloped females) and 

 queens (fertile females) are fertilised on their passage 

 through the oviduct, the semen being allowed to escape into 

 the oviduct for this purpose. The subsequent development 

 of these fecundated ova into workers or queens depends 



