The Massacre of the Males 
and less prosperous republics. Only the 
poorest, weakest colonies — those whose 
mother is very old and almost sterile — 
will preserve their males till the approach 
of winter, so as not to abandon the hope 
of procuring the impregnation of the 
virgin queen they await, and who may 
yet be born. Inevitable misery follows ; 
and all the tribe— mother, parasites, 
workers — collect ina hungry and closely 
intertwined group, who perish in silence 
before the first snows arrive, in the ob- 
scurity of the hive. 
In the wealthy and populous cities 
work is resumed after the execution of 
the drones, —although with diminishing 
zeal, for flowers are becoming scarce. 
The great festivals, the great dramas, are 
over. The autumn honey, however, that 
shall complete the indispensable provi- 
sions, is accumulating within the hospi- 
table walls; and the last reservoirs are 
355 
