240 THE LORE OF THE HONEY-BEE 
midst of abundant honey. Thus the worker-bees 
have him completely in their power. 
The first flight of the drones is a stirring event 
in the bee-garden. The common sound of the 
hives goes on practically the whole year through.. 
Every sunny midday, when the temperature 
mounts to 45° or 50°, will see each hive the 
centre of a little galaxy of singers: it is only the 
volume of the music that varies with the waxing or 
waning days. But with the coming of the drones 
the whole symphony of the bee-garden abruptly 
changes. They never move from their snug in- 
door quarters until the day is wearing on towards 
noon, and then only in the brightest weather. 
Blundering aggressively through the crowd of busy 
foragers, they rise heavily on the wing, and soon 
the ordinary note of the garden is drowned in the 
new uproar. They seem to come almost simulta- 
neously from all hives at once. For a minute or 
two the rich, hoarse melody holds the air; and then, 
almost as suddenly, it dies away, as these royster- 
ing ne’er-do-wells troop off over hill and dale, 
each to his favourite hunting-ground. 
There is great divergence of opinion as to the 
limits of flight of the drone, but probably he goes 
farther and faster than any have yet credited. His 
magnificent stretch and strength of wing mark him 
for a flier. He is all brute force and lusty energy; 
and it would be strange if, with but one thing to 
do in life—to gad about in search of amorous 
