16 miner's AMERICAN 



unfrequent, that queens of all swarms, after the first, 

 during the first few days of their inhabiting their new 

 tenement, are found in a cluster of bees at the entrance 

 of the hive or near it. The reason of this is, that on 

 the return of the queens from their excursions in search 

 of drones, they are immediately surrounded by their - 

 subjects and held prisoners for a brief period. The 

 reason why the queens of first swarms are not thus 

 found is, that such swarms are accompanied by old 

 queens, whose impregnation is already effected. 



ANALOGY PROVES IMPREGNATION ON THE WING. 



It is a well known fact that the sexual union of the 

 humble bee takes place on the wing. I have frequently 

 witnessed it ; and it is the same with the most of insects 

 of the winged tribe ; hence analogy is strongly in favor 

 of the theory of the impregnation of the queen honey 

 bee as aforesaid. 



HUBER CONFINES aUEENS TO PROVE THE THEORY OF 

 IMPREGNATION ON THE WING. 



Huber states that he confined the queen with a large 

 number of males, and also confined her with the males 

 excluded from the hives ; at the same time admitting the 

 ingress and egress of the workers as usual, and in every 

 case, which were numerous, the queens remained sterile. 

 He confined them over a month, which was enough to 

 test the question whether a queen can be fertile and not 

 leave the hive. 



