10 Transactions of the Society, 



specialized but confluent paths h, c, one towards tlie fertilizing 

 poucli. and the other to its side. Noar the jimetion of the oviducts 

 also there are two thin muscles e, lor which I can conceive of no 

 purpose, unless it be to so reduce by their contraction the opening 

 lying by the side of the fertilizing pouch a, that an egg could not 

 except they are relaxed pass in this direction and so escape 

 fertilization.* 



The nerve structure of these parts would lead me quite beyond 

 the intended scope of this paper, but it should be stated that the last 

 large abdominal ganglion lies immediately beneath and in contact 

 with the oviducts and spermatheca, and from it branches of nerves 

 run in abundance into the oviducts, the spermathccal valve muscles, 

 the sting and ovipositor, while small gangha are distributed in 

 profusion, a considerable one lying over the valve, and sending 

 branches forward into the fertilizing pouch. 



It has been lately noticed by some American beekeepers f that 

 if a maturing queen, that has still some days to pass in her cell 

 before gnawing out, has her cell opened at the upper end so that 

 into the aperture a crushed drone larva may be put, the aperture 

 being again carefully closed, she will in due course appear as an 

 imago, but that she will already be fertilized. It is stated that in 

 many cases queens so treated have commenced laying fertile eggs 

 almost directly after leaving the cell. Incredible as this might at 

 first appear, it is well worth the careful attention of microscopists. 

 The testes are very early developed in the drone, in the full-grown 

 larva of which I have found seminiferous tubes and spermatic 

 filaments in active movement (this is quite in agreement with 

 Mr. Lowne in his observations on blow-flies), and this fact will 

 aflbrd a probable explanation. The larva which is to be deve- 

 loped into a queen is provided by the workers with extremely large 

 quantities of a specialized food of very nutritive character. This 

 is inserted into the upper end of the pendulous cell, and being 

 somewhat viscous the growing larva sticks upon its surface by 

 capillarity. At this time there is of course no anus and no genital 

 aperture. When the chrysalis condition is assumed, the body still 

 adheres to the pappy uncousumed food, from which I have little 

 doubt nutriment is still received by osmosis. The spermatozoa with 

 their marvellous vitality, still surrounded by drone juices or nutrient 

 food, would survive until the developing queen ruptures the very 

 dehcate integument which is thrown off at the last moult ; they then 



* The complicated stracture which Mr. Lowne gives to corresponding parts 

 in blow-tiics and their general similarity to those I Hud in bees, leads me to ask, 

 whether it is not at least possible, if indeed not highly probable, from what we 

 know of members of other orders, that one of the 'sexes in the blow-fly may be 

 parthenogenetically produced ? 



t The testimony appears satisfactory, but I have not yet tried tJic experiment. 



