100 HUMBLE CEEATUKES. 



the negative power of refusing to oviposit in inappro- 

 priate cellsj yet slie seems to have stated periods for de- 

 positingj first one class of eggs^ and then another ; and 

 from this course of proceeding it appears she cannot 

 deviate*. Although^ therefore^ vre are not yet able 

 fuUy to explain the nature of this wonderful pheno- 

 menon in the Bee^ you will perceive that it has re- 

 vealed to us one of the most remarkable facts in 

 natural history ; namely^ that the egg is capable of 

 producing living young without fertilization. 



"But stay!" you will mentally exclaim; "if the 

 imfertilized eggs of the insect produce drones or 

 maleSj why could not a virgin queen give birth to 

 young drones?" Let not this reflection, reader, 

 cause you to relapse into scepticism, but believe 

 us when we tell you that she really does possess 

 this power (and not she alone, but also other insects 

 belonging to the Lepidoptera, or Butterfly races) ; 

 and the young that proceed from these virgin eggs 

 are not imperfect or transitional forms, such as the 

 so-called "nurses" of aphidesf, but perfectly de- 



* Having arrived at this conclusion after an unprejudiced, 

 consideration of various statements concerning the properties 

 of oviposition iu the Queen-bee, and wishing to guide others 

 aright, it is only proper to add, that an experiment described by 

 Siebold (' Parthenogenesis,' p. 90) to some extent supports Dzier- 

 zon's theory of voluntary oviposition ; but it also confirms the 

 opinion expressed above, that the Queen-bee is impelled to lay a 

 certain kind of eggs for a certain period, and then changes her 

 course of proceeding, always, however, laying the various kinds 

 in the same order or succession. 



t Carpenter's ' Zoology,' vol. ii. p. 189. 



