70 THE BEE AS AN INSECT. [Ch. i. 



tries to escape abroad with her entire colony. But at 

 last she does lay in the drone cells, and what ensues ? 

 Ordinary worker bees come forth." Instances follow of 

 experiments decisively proving this. It is only fair, 

 however, to add that Mr. Wagner's theory does not 

 necessarily degrade the monarch of the hive into "a 

 mere egg-laying machine," as Von Berlepsch regards it 

 in some of his arguments, for she might still exhibit 

 intelligence in deciding which cells to lay in, even if the 

 determination of the sex of the egg rested finally with 

 the cell which she had chosen. 



The queen then exercises a personal control over each 

 egg as she deposits it, but, unless interfered with by irre- 

 gular circumstances, shd adapts her will to the cells and 

 chooses the cells according to the requirements of the 

 hive. But when both drones and workers are in requi- 

 sition she lays her eggs in each class of cells just as she 

 comes to them, as to which fact the Baron gives abun- 

 dant evidence, having in one instance observed a queen 

 make no fewer than five changes in a day from worker 

 to drone cells or vice versa without any intermission. 

 Inconsistent as it may appear, she also herself deposits 

 in royal cells the eggs which are to hatch into her rivals 

 — that" is, when these cells have been prepared with a 

 view to swarming; — for the preponderance of argument 

 goes against the belief that eggs are ever removed into 

 these by the workers.* In addition to determining the 



♦ The eggs when once deposited adhere to the cdls and could 



