GENERATION OF ANIMALS, III. x. 



even when there is no drone present to start with, 

 whereas young "bees " are produced only if the kings 

 are present (and this is why some people say that the 

 brood of the drones are the only ones they fetch 

 from away), it is plain that they are not formed as a 

 result of copulation, either (1) of" bee " vrith " bee " 

 or drone with drone, or (2) of " bee " with drone. 

 And anyway, not only is it impossible that drones 

 are the only ones they fetch in, for the reasons stated, 

 but also it is unreasonable to suppose that a similar 

 thing does not happen in respect of the whole tribe 

 of them." Again, it is impossible that some of the 

 " bees themselves " should be male and some female, 

 since in all kinds of animals the male and the female 

 are different. And besides, if it were so, " bees " by 

 themselves would generate " bees," but in actual fact 

 we see that the brood of " bees " is not formed unless, 

 as they say, " the kings are -within." And here is a 

 point which strikes at either theorj' (that they are 

 produced (o) by the union of " bees " with one 

 another, and (6) by their union with the drones, i.e., 

 by one kind apart from the other, or by the two kinds 

 together with one another) : none of them has ever 

 been seen in the act of copulation, whereas if there 

 had been male and female among them this would 

 often be occurring. The remaining possibility, assum- 

 ing that they are generated by means of copulation at 

 all, is that the kings unite and so generate them. 

 But, as against this, the drones, as we see, are formed 

 even if no " leaders " are " within " ; and as it is im- 

 possible that the " bees " should either fetch in 

 the brood of drones from away or generate them by 

 copulation themselves,* plainly the only possibility 



* Proved already. 



337 



