262 



Microscopical Essays. 



To prove further that the eggs are fecundated by the males, and 

 that their prefence is neceffary at the time of breeding, Mr. De- 

 braw made the following experiments. They confift in leaving 

 in a hive the queen, with only the common or working bees, 

 without any drones, to fee whether the eggs (he laid would be 

 prolific. To this end, he took a fwarm, and (hook all the bees 

 into a tub of water, leaving them there till they were quite fenfe- 

 lefs ; by which means he could diftinguilh the drones, without 

 any danger of being flung : he then reftored the queen and work- 

 ing bees to their former ftate, by fpreading them on a brown 

 paper in the fun j after this he replaced them in a glafs hive, 

 where they foon began to work as ufual. The queen laid eggs, 

 which, to his great furprize, were impregnated 5 for he imagined 

 he had feparated all the drones, or males, and therefore omitted 

 watching them ; at the end of twenty days he found feveral of 

 his eggs had, in the ufual courfe of changes, produced bees, while 

 fome had withered away, and others were covered with honey. 

 Hence he inferred, that fome of the males had efcaped his notice, 

 and impregnated part of the eggs. To convince himfelf of this, 

 he took away all the brood comb that was in the hive, in order to 

 oblige the bees to provide a frefli quantity, being determined to 

 watch narrowly their motions after new eggs mould be laid in 

 the cells. On the fecond day after the eggs were placed in the 

 cells, he perceived the fame operation that was mentioned before, 

 namely, that of the bees hanging down in the form of a curtain, 

 while others thruft the pofterior part of the body into the cells. 

 He then introduced his hand into the hive, broke off a piece of 

 the comb, in which there were two of thefe infe&s ; he found in 

 neither of them any lling (a circumftance peculiar to the drones); 

 upon dilfe&ion, with the affiftance of a microfcope, he difcovered 



