54 CLASSIFICATION, PHYSIOLOGY, ETC. 



drone-eggs in the large or drone cells, and worker- 

 eggs in the small or worker cells, and that she makes 

 no mistakes. 



" Dzierzon inferred therefore, that there was some 

 way in which she was able to decide the sex of the 

 egg before it was laid, and that she must have such 

 control over the mouth of the seminal sac as to be able 

 to extrude her eggs, allowing them at will to receive 

 or not a portion of its fertilizing contents. In this 

 way, he thought she determined their sex, according 

 to the size of the cells in which she laid them." 



Bonner (who wrote a work on bees in 1795) was 

 of the opinion that a queen would lay eggs capable 

 of producing both males and females, although they 

 never saw a drone. 



From circumstances that have come 'under my 

 own observation, I believe that Bonner is nearer the 

 truth than Dzierzon, yet there are doubts in my 

 mind as to the entire correctness" of either. 



The following theory was advanced by Mr. Wag- 

 ner (p. 38, " Hive and Honey Bee ") viz: " that the 

 queen in depositing eggs in-worker cells has her body 

 slightly compressed by their size, thus causing the 

 eggs as they pass the spermatheca to receive its viv- 

 ifying influence. On the contrary, when she is lay- 

 ing in drone-cells, as this compression cannot take 

 place, the mouth of the spermatheca is kept closed, 

 and the eggs are necessarily unfecundated." 



This theory needs no other refutation than the fact 

 that the queen frequently, as in the case of young 



