50 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE. 



usually destroyed by the bees soon after this is accom- 

 plished. 



Dr. Evans, an English physician and the author of a 

 beautiful poem on bees, thus appropriately describes 

 them: 



" Their short proboscis sips 

 No luscious nectar from the wild thyme's lips, 

 From the lime's leaf no amber drops they steal, 

 Nor bear their grooveless thighs the foodful meal : 

 On other's toils in pamper'd leisure thrive 

 The lazy fathers of the industrious hive." 



The drones begin to make their appearance in April or 

 May ; earlier or later, according to the forwardness of the 

 season, and the strength of the stock. In colonies too 

 weak to swarm, none as a general rule are reared ; for in 

 such hives, as no young queens are raised, drones would 

 be only useless consumers. 



The number of drones in a hive is often very great, 

 amounting not merely to hundreds, but sometimes to thou- 

 sands. As a single one will impregnate a queen for life, 

 it would seem that only a few should be reared. But 

 as sexual intercourse always takes place high up in the 

 air, the young queens must necessarily leave the hive ; 

 and it is very important to their safety that they should 

 be sure to find a drone without being compelled to make 

 frequent excursions ; for being larger than workers, and 

 less active on the wing, queens are more exposed to be 

 caught by birds, or destroyed by sudden gusts of wind. 



In a large Apiary, a few drones in each hive, or the 

 number usually found in one, would suffice. But under 

 such circumstances bees are not in a state of nature, like 

 a colony living in a forest, which often has no neighbors 

 for miles. A good stock, even in our climate, sometimes 

 sends out three or more swarms, and in the tropical 



