Chap. II II. 
Of the Breeding of c Bee$ } and 
of the Drone. 
HE Drone , which is a grolTe Hiue-Bee 
without fling , hath bcene alwaies repu- 
ted a greedy lozelh ( and therefore hce 
that is quickc at meat and flow at works 
is fitted with this title) for howfoeuer he 
braue it with his round vcluet cap, his 
fide gowne, his full panch, and hjs lowd 
voice ; yet is he but an idle companion , liuing by thefweat 
of others brows. For hec worketh not at all , either at home 
or abroad, and yet fpendeth as much as two labourers : you 
fhallncuer finde his maw without a good drop of thepureft 
fieStar. In the heat of the day he flicth abroad, aloft, and a- 
bout, and that with no lmall noife, as though he would doe 
fome great aft : but it is onely for his pleafure , and to get 
him a flomach, and then returnes he prefently to his cheere. 
Fttci cum exeunt, efferunt ftfefufm infublimiygyro^ volitant: 
quod fib i fatis ].tm fee erint , redetint domum, & epulis perfruun- 
tur. But for all this there is fuchneceflary vfe of him , that 
he may not be fparea,as without whom the Bee cannot bee. 
The generall opinion anent the Drone is, that he is made 
of a hony-Bee, that hath loft hir fling : which is euen ashke- 
lie,asthatadwarfehauinghis guts pulled out, fhould be- 
come a gyant. Others feeing the fondnelTe of this opinion , 
haue thought and taught that theDrone is a different fpecies , 
and that as Bees breed Bees, fo Drones breed Drones: which 
conceit (ifthe Author had obferued, that at the time of their 
breeding and many moncths before , there is not a Drone 
left aliue to breed them) hee would haue liked as well as the 
H former, 
The Dremm§ 
labourer. 
HiftanJi.p.c. 
Diuers opinions 
of the Drones o- 
riginaB . . 
