STRANGE FACTS ABOUT QUEENS 91 



contents of the sfermatheca are vitalised, and 

 afford a substance which is capable of altering 

 entirely the nature of the eggs laid by the 

 queen. 



Having this theory before them, subsequent 

 scientists have proved it up to the hilt. It is 

 found that an old queen, if she is allowed to live, 

 will after a time produce only drones, and upon 

 the sfermatheca of these old queens being 

 examined, it has been found that the vitalising 

 fluid has become exhausted. The whole proce- 

 dure is a purely mechanical one, and comes about 

 in this way. The ovaries have each a tube leading 

 from them towards the vent, both tubes being 

 joined into a common oviduct a short distance 

 from their commencement. Near the point of 

 union there is situated the sfermatheca, and an 

 opening leads from it to the oviduct. This 

 opening is surrounded by a ring of powerful 

 muscles, the action of which controls the flow 

 of the contents of the sfermatheca into the 

 oviduct. When drone eggs are being laid, the 

 muscles prevent the flow from the sfermatheca, 

 so that they issue exactly as they came from the 

 ovary ; but when worker eggs are desired, a small 

 portion of the fluid is allowed to pass into the 

 oviduct, and thus the egg becomes impregnated 

 by it. Some have imagined that the flow of 

 this fluid is involuntary, and occasioned by the 

 pressure of the walls of the smaller worker cells 



