THE BEE. 63 



sable condition in the laying of fruitful eggs, but that 

 the queen-bee is capable of producing and depositing 

 fertile eggs in her virgin state, from which males alone 

 proceed; in fact, it is now tolerably yreU establisbed 

 that the eggs wherefrom drones are hatched are in no 

 case fertilized by the male element. To this portion 

 of the subject we shall have to refer when we come 

 to treat of the life-history and habits of the insect, 

 and shall now conclude our brief survey of these 

 interesting organs by stating that those of the male 

 somewhat resemble the female organs in appearance, 

 but possess no featiu-e of sufficient interest to render 

 them worthy of special consideration in a popular 

 work *. 



Although our review of the internal anatomy of 

 the Bee has been so brief and imperfect (for there 

 are many other interesting features in. this portion of 

 its frame well worthy of observation), yet, when con- 

 sidered in conjunction with those remarkable external 

 organs and members described in the preceding chap- 

 ter, they must have led you to expect something more 

 than ordinary in the actions of the insect thus phy- 

 sically endowed ; and perhaps even our physiological 

 investigations will have called to mind many strange 



* The sting, whicli lias been described in a former chapter, 

 may be once more referred to here, for it serves the double 

 purpose of a weapon of attack and an ovipositor. One of tbe 

 tubes that secrete the poison will be seen at^, fig. 2, and below 

 e are situate the gland in which the poison is stored, the channel 

 through which it enters the sting, and that weapon, with the 

 muscles by which it ia drawn into the body. 



