THE QUEEN. 51 
some black bees hatching among the pure Italians, and it 
was not till we accidentally discovered the old black queen 
that we understood the matter. 
There are more such cases than most bee-keepers would 
imagine, and when these happen to buyers of improved 
races of bees, if they are not very close observers, they are 
apt to accuse the venders of having cheated them. Such 
instances make the business of queen selling quite disagree- 
able. 
120. Imprecnation.—The fecundation of the queen bee 
has occupied the minds of Apiarists and savants for ages. 
A number of theories were advanced. If a number of 
drones are confined in a small box, they give forth a strong 
odor: Swammerdam supposed that the queen was impreg- 
nated by this scent (awraseminalis) of the drones. Réaumur, 
a renowned entomologist, in 1744, thought that the mating 
of the queen was effected inside of the hive. Others ad- 
vanced that the eggs were impregnated by the drones in the 
cells. 
After making a number of experiments to verify these 
theories, and finding all false, Huber finally ascertained 
that, like many other insects, the queen was fecundated in 
the open air and on the wing; and that the influence of this 
connection lasts for several years, and probably for life. 
121. Five days or more after her birth, the virgin 
queen goes out to have intercourse with a drone. Several 
bee-keepers of note, such as Neighbour of England (‘‘Cook’s 
Manual,’’ 1884, page 72) and Dzierzon of Germany, wrote 
that a queen may go out on her marriage-flight when 
only three days old. The shortest time we have ever 
noticed between the birth of a queen and her first bridal- 
flight was five days, and on this we are in accordance 
with Mr. Alley of Massachusetts, one of the most exten- 
sive queen breeders in the world. The average time is 
six or seven days. Earlier bridal-trips are probably due to 
