CONTROLLED MATING IN HONEYBEES 



383 



completely. Sometimes merely seizing 

 a drone, or lightly twirling him in the 

 fingers will cause him to react in this 

 way. If decapitation does not cause him 

 to ejaculate he is discarded, and another 

 one is tried. When the desired reaction 



Fig. 3. The Operating-table, Natural Size 

 The cradle exactly fits the head, thorax and ab- 

 domen of the queen 



is obtained (fig. 4), we grasp the everted 

 curved organ with sharp tweezers and 

 pull it loose from the body. With the 

 penis is brought away also the so-called 

 bulb or seminal pouch swollen with its 



Fig. 4. Showing the Genitals of the Drone as 



They Appear at the Moment op Ejaculation 



P, penis; pneu, pneumophyses 



tiny charge of creamy colored sperm and 

 pearly white mucus (fig. 5). 



With sharp scissors we snip off the 

 ejaculatory duct at the point where it 

 begins to widen to form the bulb, quickly 

 lay the detached bulb on the index finger 

 of the left hand, and pass it into the magni- 



fied field of the binocular. The separate 

 regions of the mucus and of the sperm are 

 now easily distinguished by their colors, 

 and the degree of magnification suggested 

 above readily permits the operator to 

 observe the swirling masses of spermatozoa 

 through the thin walls of the bulb. 



Fig. 5. Reproductive Organs oi a Fully Mature 

 Drone, Partially Conventionalized 

 Showing relative position after ejaculation has 

 been induced and the organs have been pulled away 

 with the tweezers. Mg, accessory mucous glands; 

 sv, seminal vesicles; vd, vas deferens; t, testicle; 

 ed, ejaculatory duct; p, penis; bp, bulb of the penis. 

 Note that the pneumophyses are left behind with the 

 abdomen. The regions of the sperm and of the mucus 

 in the bulb, bp, are clearly visible. 



The finger is now moved forward so that 

 the tip of the syringe is made to enter the 

 region of the white mucus through the 

 opening where the ejaculatory duct was 

 cut off. The plunger is screwed back 

 about two millimeters, thus taking up a 

 little of the mucus. The finger is then 

 advanced slightly so as to bring the point 



