THE BEK. 



suffer no individuals or class to continue to exist, save such as are 

 necessary in one way or another to the well-heing of the actual 

 community, or the continuance of the species. This principle 

 once admitted, we find explanations satisfactory enough of all the 

 circumstances attending the conduct of the queen regnant towards 

 the royal princesses, of the population generally to the several 

 members of the royal family, and, in fine, of the workers towards 

 the drones. 



The royal family, as we have seen, are all fertile females, and 

 their sole function is to assume the throne of the hive itself, or 

 of the colonies called swarms, which successively issue from it, 

 and thus placed to become the fruitful mothers of thousands, 

 which will continue the race and form future colonies. 



The drones have no other function than that of kings consort 

 presumptive, either of the hive itself or of the colonies which 

 successively emigrate from it. As has been explained, one only 

 is chosen as consort by each queen. So long as the swarming 

 season continues, a sufficient body of drones are wanted to supply 

 the necessary troop of .suitors to each emigrant princess. But 

 when the last swarm of the season has gone forth, and the queen 

 regnant has long since made her choice and celebrated her 

 nuptials, the drones are no longer useful to the general popula- 

 tion, and become the objects of a general massacre. 



131. After the close of the winter, and at the commencement of 

 the first fine days of spring, the active life of the society recom- 

 mences. A well peopled hive is then always provided with a 

 fertile queen, who has held the sovereignty since the close of 

 the preceding season. In the months of April and May she begins 

 to lay drone eggs in great numbers. This is called the great 

 laying. 



While she is thus engaged depositing her eggs in the larger 

 class of hexagonal cells, previously constructed for their reception, 

 the workers, well knowing that the deposition of royal eggs will 

 speedily follow, occupy themselves in constructing a number of 

 those cells of oval shape and vertical position, (fig. 49,) which 

 have been already described. 



U 



