FECUNDATION OF THE EGGS. 55 



to reason in this hypothesis, for nature never or seldom 

 creates an object in vain, and therefore it is not to be sup- 

 posed that she would have created eight hundred or a thou- 

 sand drones in a hive, when one was all-sufficient for the 

 purpose for which they are called into existence. Huber 

 clearly perceived that although he advocated the system of a 

 sexual intercourse, the notion could not be tolerated that 

 such intercourse took place in the hive *, and therefore he 

 was driven to the necessity, in order to prop up his theory, 

 to send the queen on a roving expedition with a single drone 

 as her paramour into the upper regions of the air. There 

 is, however, one difficulty in the system of Huber, regarding 

 the fecundation of the queen, which we predict that his most 

 enthusiastic adherents will be perplexed to solve ; and we 

 candidly confess that it is a difficulty, which belongs not only 

 to the system of Huber, but to almost every other system, 

 which has been founded respecting the fecundation of the 

 eggs of the queen. She generally begins to lay her eggs by 

 the latter end of January, when there is not a single drone 

 in the hive ; her ovaria have been empty during the whole 

 of the winter, and the question then naturally presents itself 

 by what prolific power have those eggs which are laid in 

 the spring been fecundated ? There was not any drone ex- 

 isting to accompany the queen to the woods, and conse- 

 quently there was not any power active in the hive by which 

 either her ovarium could be fecundated, or the eggs fructi- 

 fied after their deposition in the cell. It was this difficulty, 

 which gave rise to the notion, that the queen possessed the 



* Lombard says, " In the hive, the drones testify a perfect indifference to- 

 wards their queen, and this he designates as the result of an admirable order, 

 for," he continues, " were it otherwise, there being at one time of the year 

 from 1500 to 2000 drones, the queen would have no repose, all would be has- 

 tening to enjoy her, and she would not find time to eat, nor to lay her eggs : 

 her rencontre and copulation with the drone take place exteriorly to the hive, 

 and whilst they are on the wing. It is similarly constituted with the whole 

 family of flies." 



