92 OCCUPANTS OF THE HIVE 
are hatched are never impregnated in either case. When Dzierzon 
first discovered this fact, which is called “* parthenogenesis,” his 
newly formulated theory of the ability of -virgin mothers to 
produce male offspring was ridiculed as impossible. JTowever, 
his observations were later confirmed hy careful observers, and 
of late it is regarded as a settled fact, rather common among 
insects. : 
A vigorous queen will lay more than her own weight of eggs 
daily during the height of the season.. Nurse bees wait upon 
Fic, 48.—Worker bees at the entrance of the hive 
her constantly, and feed her freely with highly nutritious and 
ready digested food. 
The Worker.—ITpon the worker bees (Fig. 48) devolve all 
the labor of the hive. .\ lifetime of toil is their normal portion. 
Luilding the combs, gathering the nectar and pollen to furnish 
food for the community, secreting the wax, feeding the queen 
and drones as well, nursing the young bees, guarding the hive 
against robbers, and carrying out refuse to keep the home clean 
ure a part of the manifold duties that they are called upon to 
perform. 
By inheritance the worker is apparently in every way similar 
