38 



KIDD'S LONDON JOURNAL. 



sand, and upwards, in every good stock hive. 

 They are larger and darker than the common 

 bees ; have no sting, and are easily distinguishable 

 by their louder humming or droning. The drones 

 take no part in the collection of honey, nor in 

 any other perceptible operation of the hive. 



Drone eggs are laid by the queen in cells 

 larger and stronger than those intended for com- 

 mon bees, and further removed from the centre 

 of the hive. They pass through their various 

 stages in about twenty-five or twenty-six days, 

 the drones being seldom seen till about the be- 

 ginning of May (though occasionally earlier), 

 and then only in warm weather, in the middle of 

 the clay. These are the produce of the first-laid 

 eggs ; but a second smaller laying of drone eggs 

 commonly takes place about two months later. 



Of all the theories on the subject of the part 

 allotted to the drones in the constitution of a 

 hive of bees (and some of these have been suffi- 

 ciently absurd), that of Huber is undoubtedly 

 the true one — the impregnation of the young 

 queens. Perhaps the annual destruction of the 

 drones by the workers, is the operation most 

 likely to throw light on the design of their crea- 

 tion. This process varies in point of time ac- 

 cording to circumstances. Deprive a hive forcibly 

 of the young queens, and, according to Bonner 

 and Huber, no expulsion of drones takes place. 

 " In such cases," says the latter, " they are tole- 

 rated and fed, and many are seen even in the 

 middle of January." They are retained in case 

 of need, for other queens may yet be produced. 

 "Where swarming has been rendered unnecessary, 

 as in hives managed on the depriving system, 

 there are either no royal cells, or the young 

 queens meet with premature destruction. Then 

 frequently commences an early expulsion of the 

 now useless drones; they become merely consum- 

 ers of the wealth of the community, and as such 

 are driven unceremoniously from the hive, to 

 perish; nor are even the larvae allowed to escape. 

 This expulsive process often commences in such 

 hives in the middle, or at any rate towards the 

 end of May, as I have witnessed. On the con- 

 trary, in the common swarming hives it does not 

 take place till July, or even later ; when all the 

 royal brood is disposed of. The circumstances 

 differ in the two cases ; and the bees in this, as 

 in other parts of their practice, are sufficiently 

 utilitarians to modify their proceedings accord- 

 ingly. In the one instance, the office of the 

 males is hot required, and a speedy massacre 

 follows ; in the other, young queens are left suc- 

 cessively to come to maturity. Such of these as 

 go forth with swarms, become fertilised in two 

 or three days after, followed by the laying of 

 eggs in about a similar distance of time. Once 

 impregnated they become fruitful, perhaps ever 

 after, as is the case with some other insects ; at 

 all events for a year, for eggs are laid by them, 

 and young produced, without the presence of a 

 single drone, except during a few weeks in that, 

 period. The destruction of the drones, therefore, 

 may be considered an indication that the hive 

 contains no queen brood, and, consequently, that 

 no swarming is to be expected. 



"Naturalists," says Huber, "have been ex- 

 tremely embarrassed to account for the number 

 of males in most hives, and which seem only a 



burden on the community, since they fulfil no 

 function. But we now begin to discern the ob- 

 ject of nature in multiplying them to such an 

 extent. As fecundation cannot be accomplished 

 within the hive, and as the queen is obliged to 

 traverse the expanse of the atmosphere, it is re- 

 quisite that the males should be numerous, that 

 she may have the chance of meeting some one 

 of them. Were only two or three in each hive, 

 there would be little probability of their depar- 

 ture at the same instant with the queen, or that 

 they would meet in their excursions ; and most 

 of the females might thus remain sterile." 



Conflicting opinions among apiarians have 

 been formed, as to the desirableness of assisting 

 the working bees in the task of expelling the 

 drones; often a protracted and irritating process. 

 If it can be done at once, without annoyance to 

 the workers, I think much fighting and valuable 

 time may be saved by it; but no advice can be 

 worse than that of attempting to accomplish the 

 work piecemeal. When attacked, the drones, to 

 avoid persecution, will congregate together in a 

 remote part of the hive. Observation led me to 

 think they would at such a time be glad to re- 

 treat for still greater safety into a separate box, 

 so placed as to be accessible to them. Accord- 

 ingly, on the 14th of June, in one of my collateral 

 stock hives, where the drones for a day or two 

 had been hard pushed by the others, I opened a 

 communication on the ground floor into an empty 

 side box. My theory was completely realised, 

 for the poor drones gladly made their way into 

 this, where they remained clustered at the top 

 like a swarm — not a single common bee accom- 

 panying them, and would probably have been 

 starved. The following morning, I took away 

 the box of drones and destroyed them, counting 

 rather more than 2200, besides some few that had 

 escaped. I did not find among them a solitary 

 working bee ; nor could I discover in the parent 

 stock hive one remaining drone. The bees peace- 

 ably at once recommenced work, and did well ; 

 as if glad in this wholesale way to be rid of their 

 late unprofitable inmates. What was the cost 

 of their daily maintenance? And what propor- 

 tion to the entire population of the hive did the 

 drones bear? After this apparently large ab- 

 straction, no sensible difference was observable in 

 the crowding. In this hive the usual second 

 laying of drone eggs took place, and a good many 

 more drones were expelled at the end of July. 

 I have not been enabled to repeat this experiment, 

 but have no doubt it would always succeed, 

 under similar circumstances. 



If we say that the possession of this book 

 ought to be universal, we speak but the 

 truth. It is the production of a gentleman, 

 whose humanity and kindly feeling are vi- 

 sible on every page. 



A PRETTY IDEA; — 



Born and dies in sunny hour, 



The lovely flower 



Of early youth! one moment stay 



The golden ringlets ; then turn grey. 



From Metastasio. 



