CHAPTER VIII 



THE REPRODUCTIVE PROCESSES AND PAR- 

 THENOGENESIS 



THE organs of reproduction are those which produce the 

 cells from which individuals of the next generation develop 

 and they also include the accompanying organs which serve 

 to permit the proper disposition of the sex cells. The con- 

 tinuance of the species is the function of these organs. In the 

 larger number of species, new individuals arise from eggs which 

 have been fertilized by sex cells of the male of the same 

 species. In the honeybee, we are not only interested in the 

 methods by which new individuals arise but certain peculiar 

 phenomena play an important part in practical apiary ma- 

 nipulations. The development of the drones or males from 

 unfertilized eggs must be considered, especially by the queen 

 breeder. 



Origin of the eggs. 



The eggs from which all the members of the colony develop 

 are normally laid by the queen. In this individual, the only 

 female in the colony whose reproductive organs are fully 

 developed, the ovaries are large and, in fact, she is to a con- 

 siderable extent simply an egg-producing machine. The 

 ovaries of the queen (Fig. 92) consist of two groups (Ov) of 

 egg tubes or ovarioles (ov). These tubes are small at the 

 anterior end where the eggs are beginning their growth and 

 toward the posterior end the individual tubes, as well as 

 the total mass, increase in diameter. At the posterior end, 

 the tubules in each mass open into the anterior end of an ovi- 

 duct (OvD). The oviducts from the two ovaries unite farther 



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