120 BEEFJRMING. 



wonders the more do we love these hard-working members 

 of the ever-busy hive. 



If apiarians had given a moment's thought to the fact 

 that an ordinary worker-bee cannot survive over nine 

 months, they would never have constructed the enormous 

 hives which are now being sold so very extensively; 

 especially when we consider thajt only one queen exists in 

 the hive, from which all the workers must spring. 



DRONES. 



These insects, the non-working or non-producing part 

 of the colony, are often regarded by the apiarian as a 

 nuisance. Many good and apparently flourishing stocks 

 have been destroyed or brought to a state of poverty and 

 destitution by these idlers. 



We are sometimes led to question the utility of so 

 many in the hive, when we consider that only one is re- 

 quired to fertilize the virgin queen, and yet in many hives 

 that we have kept there have been thousands ; these, 

 instead of diminishing as the season advanced, have often, 

 until August, gone on increasing rapidly week by week. 

 The earlier the drones begin to appear, the earlier we may, 

 as a rule, expect swarms. The great laying of drone- 

 eggs by a vigorous young queen generally takes place in 

 the early part of April. 



The drones, as most people are aware, are male bees. 

 Fortunately they possess no stings, and may be handled 

 with impunity. Their age is much less than that of the 

 workers; they are also much larger than the workers, but 

 they seem to be clumsy, and when on the wing make a 

 loud buzzing noise. If the stocks are closely watched on 

 a fine summer afternoon, they may be observed leaving the 

 mouth of the hive by hundreds ; this is for the purpose of 

 meeting with the queens, who also leave the hive at about 

 the same hour. 



