28 Texas Department of Agricultuee. 



this time the colony builds cell cups into which the old queen lays 

 eggs and from which young queens are reared, one of which will take 

 her place. It is often that the new queen, the daughter of the old 

 mother, will enter upon her egg-laying duties with her mother still m 

 the hive, and live with her in entire harmony until the old one finally 

 dies. Aside from this condition, no rival queen is tolerated in the 

 hive and when there are two, or more, a fierce battle ensues imme- 

 diately in which all save one of the combatants and sometimes all of 

 them receive the fatal royal sting and succumb. 



THE DRONES OR MALES. 



Male bees, ot drones, appear in the hives in largest numbers during 

 the swarming season in the spring, when they are needed the most to 

 mate with the young queens, although some of them may be found in 

 nearly all colonies during the greater part of the summer. However, 

 most of them are either killed or driven out of the hives by the bees 

 soon after the swarming season, or upon the approach of a dearth 

 of honey. The length of the life of the drones is therefore very un- 

 certain ; several months, if their lives are not ended by the bees or they 

 mate with queens. The only function of the 

 drones is to mate with the young queens. Other- 

 wise they spend their time roaming about in 

 the hive in a leisurely, aimless way, not only 

 helping themselves to the honey in the cells, 

 but taking food from the mouths of the nursing 

 worker-bees. 



During the warmest part of the day they fly 

 out into the air and their loud, buzzing noise 

 can easily be distinguished. As ^'irgin queens 

 also come out to mate at such times the 

 drones are quick to give chase to any that 

 may appear. The mating always occurs high 

 in the air. 

 Drones develop from unfertilized eggs ordinarily laid by fertile 

 queens in drone-size cells in the c'ombs, although as I have before re- 

 marked, such eggs are also laid in certain cases by virgin queens and 

 laying workers, both in drone and worker cells, in which event the 

 drones are considerably smaller in size than, but are apparently just 

 as virile as, the normal drones. They develop from the egg in twenty- 

 four days. Being larger in 

 size and coarser in appear- 

 ance than the workers, and 

 having a rounded, stubby 

 abdomen, they are easily dis- 

 tinguished. They have no 

 sting. 



Wlien drones are over- 

 abundant they may be 

 caught in drone traps and 

 then destroyed. These are 



Drone, or male bee. 



Drone trap. 



