54 BEES AND BEE-KEEPING. 



to that time, I have not the slightest doubt ; whether 

 this is caused by the peculiarity of the food given 

 her, or from some other cause, I am yet undecided. 

 But that she can fully control the producing and the 

 laying of eggs to generate workers, when it is best 

 so to do, withholding for a time, and when the proper 

 time arrives, laying eggs to produce drones or males, 

 is quite certain. Hence I conclude that if she can 

 control the laying of drone eggs in the spring of the 

 year, she can control it in the summer, or at any 

 season ; in short, that the queen knows the sex be- 

 fore depositing the egg in the cell, and never makes 

 any mistakes. 



If the theory is correct that the sex of the future 

 bee is decided simply by a mechanical operation, 

 caused by the pressure upon the abdomen of the 

 queen, in the act of depositing an egg in a worker 

 cell, thereby forcing a sufficient portion of the male 

 sperm out upon the egg during its passage to fertil- 

 ize it, and cause it to be a female or a worker; and 

 in depositing an egg in a drone cell, it being so much 

 larger, no pressure occurs, and consequently it will 

 be a drone, the queen having no special knowledge 

 or will on the subject; how does it happen that no 

 drone eggs are found prior to a certain time in the 

 season? If this speculation is correct, then the 

 queen would deposit eggs at any season of the year 

 in drone cells, where, intermixed with worker cells 

 in the same comb presenting an unbroken surface, 

 drones would be reared at all seasons, if any brood 



