ROYAL NUPTIALS. 



happens, decide on abdicating and accepting the allegiance of one 

 or other of the emigrating colonies. 



18. Special chambers of exceptional form, position and magni- 

 tude have been previously prepared for these royal eggs by the 

 provident workers. In these the princesses are reared and 

 educated with extraordinary care, being fed with a peculiar food. 



19. It is essential to the prosperity of the community, that the 

 nuptials of the queen should not be postponed to a later period 

 than the second day of her age, the consequence of such postpone- 

 ment being that her progeny would consist of a redundancy of 

 drones. Thus, if the marriage be postponed till she is about a 

 fortnight old, she will lay as many drone as worker-eggs, and if 

 it be delayed until her age is three weeks, she will only lay 

 drone eggs. How great a calamity such events must be in the 

 apiarian economy will be understood, when it is considered that 

 in a well-regulated society there ought to be about ten workers 

 to each drone. The general duration of the life of a queen is 

 from five to six years. 



20. The males or drones, fig. 3, are less than the queen and 

 larger than the workers, fig. 4. The extremity of the body is 

 more velvety. The last segment being fringed with hair, extend- 

 ing over the tail, so as to be visible to the naked eye. They take 

 no part whatever in the labours of the community, contribute 

 nothing to the common stock, are idle, slothful, and cowardly, and, 

 as if to render their extermination more easy to the industrious 

 part of the population, nature has given them no sting. They make 

 a louder buzz with their wings in flight, never exercise any in- 

 dustry, and are destitute of the baskets and other appendages with 

 which the busy workers collect the materials of honey and wax. 



The life of a drone does not exceed a few months, and he 

 seldom dies a natural death. If he is honoured by the choice of 

 the queen and elevated to the rank of king- consort, he dies on 

 the very day of the nuptials. If he be among the hundreds 

 rejected by her majesty, and do not emigrate with one or other 

 of the swarms, being a useless and idle member of the community, 

 he is massacred by the workers. 



21. The workers, sometimes called neuters, are generally con- 

 sidered as sterile females. The number of these in each com- 

 munity is very variable, being seldom less than 12000, more 

 generally amounting to 20000, and in hives where swarming is 

 checked by affording abundance of room, the number may rise to 

 60000. They are the smallest members of the society, fig. 4, 

 lave a long flexible proboscis and legs of peculiar structure. 



22. Among the wonders presented by the insect- world the head 

 of the bee and its appendages command especial attention. 



