CONTENTS. Xlll 



PAGE 



lacy — The system of retarded impregnation — Its effect on 

 the early or late ovipositing of the queen — The dispropor- 

 tion of males to females in a hive considered — The young 

 queen leaves the hive twenty-four hours after her birth — 

 Opinion of Miles — Construction of the cell in which a 

 queen is born — Exact situation of the cell in the hives — 

 Different stages of the growth of a queen — Period of a 

 bee arriving at maturity — Manner in which the queen lays 

 her eggs — The system of the egg fecundated in the cell 

 by the drone — Analogy between the wasp and the bee — 

 Experiment to determine the fecundation of the egg — Hy- 

 pothesis of Mr. Ducarne — Fructified eggs remain in the 

 brood combs during the winter— The queen bee leaves 

 the hive if there be no vacant cells in which to deposit her 

 eggs — Remedy for that defect — Repugnance of the queen 

 bee to sting— Attachment of the bees to their queen — The 

 ceremony of laying the eggs according to Huber — Estab- 

 lishment of the guards — Period of depositing the eggs — 

 Temperature of the hive — Nutt on the temperature of a 

 hive — The eggs hatched the third day after their de- 

 position — Progress of the bee to maturity 52 



CHAPTER III. 



THE DRONES. 



Make of the drone — Number of drones in a hive — Organic- 

 structure of the drone — Office of the drones — Opinion of 

 L'Abbe della Rocca — Two species of drones according to 

 Reaumur and Debraw — Huber asserts the existence of 

 large and little drones — Deficiency of drones in a hive — 

 Method of remedying the defect — Proof of the verity of 

 the experiment — The drone dies after copulation, accord- 

 ing to Reaumur — Experiment of Mr. Reaumur — The act 

 of copulation of the queen and the drone — Timidity of the 

 queen bee — Question between L'Abbe' della Rocca and 

 Mr. Reaumur — Drones always emigrate with the swarms 

 — Few drones to be found in a second swarm — Tragical 

 end of the drones — Attack on the drones by the common 

 bees — Period of the massacre of the drones— The mas- 

 sacre of the drones injurious to the bees — Assistance to 

 be granted to the bees — Various opinions of naturalists as 

 to the manner in which the drone is killed — Supposed to 

 be by the sting — Refutation of that hypothesis — Com- 

 parison between the bee and the wasp in regard to their 

 sting — Opinion of L'Abbe della Rocca — Analysis of that 

 opinion — Hypothesis of Huber — His contradictions and in- 

 consistencies — Examination and refutation of the hypo- 

 thesis of Huber — Huber's discoveries not the result of 



