523 



so far as physical development is concerned. 

 •Our queen is now supposed to have ar- 

 rived at that age when her organs of gen- 

 eration commence to develop, and when she 

 becomes infused with that sexual impulse 

 that prompts her to leave her hive to seek a 

 union with the male. Without this union, 

 her laying capacity will be limited to com- 

 paratively a few eggs that will beunimpreg- 

 nated and will hatch only drones. By the 

 way, I will here take occassion to remark, 

 that while the Rev. Dr. Dzierzon has re- 

 ceived the credit, however justly, of pub- 

 lishing to the world the anomaly of the 

 development of unimpregnated eggs under 

 the. theory of parthenogenesis, Huber un- 

 doubtedly had the honor of making the 

 discovery that virgin queens very often laid 

 eggs and that all such eggs produced only 

 drones. 



The influence of the male in stamping the 

 character of the worker and queen progeny 

 is much greater than the majority of bee- 

 keepers suppose. While the drone progeny 

 of virgin queens, and even that of a fertile 

 worker, possess perfect genital organs and 

 are capable of fertilizing the queen, as we 

 have well authenticated cases to prove, still 

 I would recommend that the greatest care 

 be taken to select large, well developed 

 drones from the best colonies that are noted 

 for purity and industry. If the colony 

 «hosen has other desirable qualities, so 

 much the better. Drones from objection- 

 able colonies can partly be held in check by 

 the removal of all droiie comb, but they can 

 effectually be prevented from issuing by the 

 application of a drone trap, 



Eight or ten years ago there was much 

 interest taken by the propagators of Italian 

 •queens to devise some plan by which they 

 could be fertilized in confinement. Hun- 

 dreds of experiments were tried, with all 

 sorts of traps, boxes, and tents, and all 

 proved failures except in a few cases. I 

 fear even some of these reported successes 

 have been accomplished by allowing san- 

 guine hope and imagination to get the bet- 

 ter of correct observation. Recently a 

 series of fresh experiments have been con- 

 ducted with some accredited success. 1 

 would not have you understand that I think 

 fertilization in confinement impossible. I 

 have had a wonderful case to occur in my 

 own apiary a few years ago, of a fine Italian 

 •queen, with partial wings, becoming ferti- 

 lized within the hive. While never a pro- 

 lific queen, she laid worker and some drone 

 eggs, and kept up her colony for some time. 



Fertilization on the wing in the air seems 

 to be the plan that nature signaled out for 

 the male and female of the honey bee. The 

 structure of the drone genitals in conjunc- 

 tion witli the formation of the contiguous 

 parts of his abdomen favors this opinion. 

 Prof. Leuckart, an entomological anatomist 

 of celebrity, when speaking of this subject 

 observes: "The more completely the ab- 

 domen is filled and distended, the more 

 readily and perfectly will the sexual ap- 

 paratus be thrown forth. Now. among the 

 internal organs of the drone, there are sonic 

 which can become inflated only under cer- 

 tain conditions. Such are the tracheae, 

 which permeate the body as ramified tubes 

 Tvith occasional enlargements or sacs of 



variable dimensions. The most of these, 

 while in a state of repose, are collapsed 

 and nearly empty ; but they become some- 

 what charged with air while the insect is 

 preparing to fly, and are only fully inflated 

 when it is on the wing. The inflation of 

 these tracheal tubes, presupposing the 

 simultaneous closing of the spiracles, must 

 very considerably increase the pressure 

 exerted on the side-walls of the abdomen 

 and this enables us to perceive the reason 

 for the remarkable fact that copulation is 

 effected exclusively while the parties are 

 flying. In a state of comparative repose, 

 when the tracheal vessels are collapsed, the 

 amount of pressure which the drone could 

 exert on the contents of the abdomen would 

 not suffice to effect that perfect inversion of 

 the copulating organs which is indispensa- 

 ble to liberate the spermatophore and in- 

 troduce it in the vaginal sheath of the 

 queen." 



It is to be hoped that experiments will 

 still be conducted, to effect some more suc- 

 cessful plan than any yet devised, of 

 fertilization in confinement. In order to 

 make any plan successful, it must comply 

 with all the natural conditions demanded in 

 the case. 



Among the peculiarities of queens 1 may 

 mention virgin queens laying before copu- 

 lation. A case of this kind occurs now and 

 then, but rarely. Queens may go out a 

 number of times to meet the drone. This is 

 often the case at those seasons when drones 

 are scarce. She may keep going out till im- 

 pregnation is eifected. After this is ac- 

 complished, 1 do not think slie ever leaves 

 the hive except to accompany a swarm. 

 The only certain test to tell if copulation 

 has taken place during her flight, is by the 

 portion of the drone's genitals adhering to 

 the queen. 



After a queen is once fertilized, does she 

 ever leave her hive for a second fertilization? 

 I have often heard of reports, and had cases 

 under my own observertion, that leaned 

 strongly toward the affirmative side of the 

 question ; yet I think that all such circum- 

 stantial evidence can be satisfactorily ex- 

 plained without militating in the least 

 against the one-impregnation theory. 



As there are many freaks and anomalies 

 connected with queen-bees it would be use- 

 less for me to make any attempt at enu- 

 meration. But by a careful study of such 

 cases as they arise in our own apiaries, we 

 may gather ideas and facts that may be of 

 vast benefit to us in future observations. 



Augusta, Ga. J. P. II. Brown. 



P. W. McFatridge, Indiana, said he 

 had experimented by placing larva; in 

 dry, partially built cells, and the bees 

 would feed them and rear queens, but 

 they were invariably killed before fertili- 

 zation. 



Dr. Stevens, Indiana, inquired if the 

 queens thus reared were in any wise 

 different in appearence from those 

 reared in the natural way ? 



Mr. McFatridge.— No ; I found theni 

 apparently as well developed, and could 

 observe no difference. 



A. G. Hill, Indiana, took exceptions 



