38 THE HONEY-BEE. 
I would suggest as an explanation of this, that where 
she is not aided by the size of the cell, as in ordinary 
worker-cells, the shallowness of these unfinished queen 
and worker-cells affords her room to curve her body, in 
order to accomplish the desired fertilization. 
Tn reference to this, one fact must be borne in mind, 
that in all our experience has held good, which is, that 
an egg is not found to be deposited in a queen-cell after 
it has been built out to its full length. In my mind this 
rule is established, (although it is not well to consider 
these points invariable), that a queen cannot deposit a 
fertile egg in a full length queen-cell or drone-cell, from 
the lack of the aid of these requisites to compression. 
On the whole, I am inclined to sustain Mr. Wagner’s 
view, to the extent that the size of the worker-cells aids 
in producing the muscular effort which secures fertiliza- 
tion ; and also the idea that in cases where eggs are de- 
posited in incomplete worker or queen-cells, the curving 
of her body tends to produce the same result. 
May not the instance which Prof. Cook cites of a 
worker-egg being deposited in a drone-cell, be accounted 
for on the supposition that the egg wa3 laid before the 
cell was complete ? 
FERTILE WORKERS. 
There are exceptional instances where workers become 
able to deposit eggs but, like those of the virgin queen, 
they invariably produce drones. 
It may not be very difficult to account for this anoma- 
lous production of eggs, if we consider workers to be simply 
undeveloped females. The deprivation of a queen that 
always precedes the occurrence, may produce the in- 
tense desire for the continued welfare of the colony, 
which develops their internal structure to a suf- 
ficient degree to produce eggs. Mr. Quinby dis- 
proved the theory of Huber that they are developed by 
