182 Of the Killing of Drones. 
live till Auguft. During this laft autumn, 
(1794,) I faw many excellent thriving hives, 
fituated among good heath, whofe drones were. 
not extirpated till'about the end of September. 
As the working bees, when the flowers be- 
come fearce, kill the drones, and thus fhow us 
plainly, that they are now become ufelefs in 
the hive; fo I agree with almoft every writer 
on this fubjeét, that it is proper to affift the 
bees in extirpating them. The manner in 
which the working bees kill the drones is this. 
They not only fting them, but pull and bite 
them with their teeth. It is incredible what 
havock they will make of them in a fingle 
day, as I have often been convinced, by eb- 
ferving great numbers of them lying dead be- 
fore the docr of the hive —. hey alfo fome- 
times 
; 
{ When the bees once fall a-killing the drones, it is amazing 
to fee how intent they are on the bufinefs.—They not only 
difpatch the old ones, but they alfo tear out and deftroy the 
young drene-maggots in the cells,—-efpecially in bad weather. 
{ have indeed feen them, even before {warming time, when it 
had been wet weather for five or fix days, become fo difconfolate, 
fo difcouraged, and even defperate, (thinking, perhaps, that the 
weather would never mend,! that they threw out, before the 
entry of their hive, fome fcores of white young drones ats 
on the return of fair weather,—inflead of tearing ouf and kil- 
ling the remainder of this unfortunate race, the Queen imme-’ 
diately 
