XIII 



A PROBLEM OF HEREDITY 



The subject I am about to touch on in this 

 chapter perhaps trespasses rather far into the 

 domain of the ultra-scientific, but it is so curious 

 and fascinating in all its aspects that I cannot 

 refrain from discussing it at some length. I shall 

 try and make the matter clear without the use of 

 scientific terms with which to bewilder the reader. 



From what has been said in the last chapter, it 

 will be seen, on a little reflection, that drones have 

 a mother, but no father. How comes it then that 

 they possess the virtues, or perhaps we should say 

 vices, of a parent who has taken no part in their 

 production ? 



Of course, it is true that the drones which come 



from a certain queen are generally pure, that is to 



say, the particular variety of bee, whether Black, 



Italian, or Carniolan, which the queen belongs to 



is perpetuated in the drone, although there are 



cases where the drones are not pure. Several 



reasons have been put forward, two of which at 



present hold the field, though neither is conclusive. 



96 



