BREEDING. 77 



any cause sufficient to make the existe^:.'e cf a swarm 

 any way hazardous, tlie preparations are abandoned, 

 and these young queens destroyed ; (I would here 

 request the reader not to condemn me for telling more 

 than I can prove, until he has had the whole story ; in 

 the swarming season, I will give further particulars.) 



DKONES DESTROYED WHEN HONEY IS SCARCE. 



When an occurrence like the above happens, the 

 drones next fall victims to the failure of honey. A 

 brief existence only is theirs ; suchas are perfect, are 

 destroyed without mercy ; those in the chrysalis state 

 are often dragged out, and sacrificed to the necessities 

 of the family. Such as are allowed to hatch, instead 

 of being fed and protected as they would be if honey 

 was abundant, are allowed, while yet weak from the 

 effects of hunger, to wander from the hive, and fall to 

 the earth by hundreds. These effects attend only a 

 scarcity in the early part of the season. The massacre 

 of July and September is quite different. The drones 

 then have age and strength — an effort is apparently 

 first made by the workers to drive them out without 

 proceeding to extremes ; they are harassed sometimes 

 for several days ; the workers feigning only to sting, 

 or else they cannot, as I never succeeded in seeing but 

 \rery few dispatched in that way; yet there is evi- 

 dence proving beyond doubt that the sting is used. 

 Hundreds will often be collected together in a com- 

 pact body at the bottom of the hive ; this mutua^ 

 protection affording a few hours' respite from their tor- 

 mentors, who do not cease to worry them. In a few 



