The Life of the Bee 



vation of the race? Or is it merely an 

 exaggerated reaction against the misfor- 

 tune of the unfruitful queen ? Can we 

 have here one of those blind and extreme 

 precautions which, ignoring the cause of 

 the evil, overstep the remedy ; and, in 

 the endeavour to prevent an unfortunate 

 accident, bring about a catastrophe? In 

 reality — though we must not forget that 

 the natural, primitive reality is different 

 from that of the present, for in the origi- 

 nal forest the colonies might well be far 

 more scattered than they are to-day — 

 in reality the queen's unfruitful ness will 

 rarely be due to the want of males, for 

 these are very numerous always, and will 

 flock from afar ; but rather to the rain, or 

 the cold, that will have kept her too long 

 n the hive, and more frequently still to the 

 imperfect state of her wings, whereby she 

 will be prevented from describing the high 

 flight in the air that the organ of the male 



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