NATURAL HISTORY OF THE HONEY-BEE. 49 



of a tit-bit in the shape of a newly laid egg, ever experi- 

 ence a struggle between appetite and duty ; so that they 

 must practice self-denial to refrain from breakfasting on 

 the eggs so temptingly deposited in the cells. 



It is well known to breeders of poultry, that the fertility 

 of a hen decreases with age, until at length she may 

 become entirely barren. By the same law, the fecundity 

 of the queen-bee ordinarily diminishes after she has entered 

 her third year. An old queen sometimes ceases to lay 

 worker-eggs ; the contents of her spermatheca becoming 

 exhausted, the eggs are no longer impregnated, and pro- 

 duce only drones. 



.The queen-bee usually dies of old age hi her fourth year, 

 although she has been known to live much longer. There 

 is great advantage, therefore, in hives which allow her, 

 when she has passed the period of her greatest fertility, to 

 be easily removed. 



Before proceeding farther in the natural history of the 

 queen-bee, I shall describe more particularly the other 

 inmates of the hive. 



THE DRONES are, unquestionably, the 

 male bees ; dissection proving that they 

 have the appropriate -organs of genera- 

 tion. They are much larger and stouter 

 than either the queen or workers; 

 although their bodies are not quite so 

 long as that of the queen. They have no sting with which 

 to defend themselves ; and no suitable proboscis for gath- 

 ering honey from the flowers ; no baskets on their thighs 

 for holding bee-bread, and no pouches on their abdomens 

 for secreting wax. They are, therefore, physically dis- 

 qualified for the ordinary work of the hive. Their proper 

 office is to impregnate the young queens, and they are 



