Microscopical Essays. 



263 



the four cylindrical bodies which contain the glutinous liquor, of 

 a whitifh colour, as obferved by Maraldi in tb large drones. He 

 was therefore now under a neceffity of repeating his experiments, 

 in deftroying the males, and even thofe which might be fufpe&ed 

 to be fuch. 



He once more immerfed the fame bees in water, and when 

 they appeared in a fenfelefs ftate, he gently preffed every one, in 

 order to diflinguifh thofe armed with flings from thofe which had 

 none, and which of courfe he fuppofed to be males : of thefe laft 

 he found fifty-feven, and replaced the fwarm in a glafs hive, 

 where they immediately applied again to the work of making 

 cells, and on the fourth or fifth day, very early in the morning, 

 he had the pleafure to fee the queen bee depofit her eggs in thofe 

 cells : he continued watching raoft part of the enfuing days, but 

 could difcover nothing of what he had feen before. 



The eggs, after the fourth day, inftead of changing in the 

 manner of caterpillars, were found in the fame ftate they were 

 the firft day, except that fome were covered with honey. A 

 lingular event happened the next day, about noon ; all the bees 

 left their own hive, and were feen attempting to get into a neigh- 

 bouring hive, on the flool of which the queen was found dead, 

 being no doubt (lain in the engagement. This event feems to 

 have arifen from the great defire of perpetuating their fpecies, 

 and to which end the concurrence of the males feems fo abfo- 

 lutely neceffary ; it made them defert their habitation, where no 

 males were left, in order to fix a refidence in a new one, in which 

 there was a ciood flock of them. 



To 



