126 
CHAPTER XIX. 
DRONE ORGANS. 
Descriptio7i of Organs — Vasa Differentia — VesiculcE Semi^talis 
— Spermatic Tubes — Structure of Spermatozooii — Mucus 
Glands — Bean-^ Armor Copulatrix — Spermatophore — P^ieu- 
mophyses — Expulsion of Spermatophore — Inver sio7i of Organs 
— Masque — Bnpregnatioii of Queen only on the Wing — Death 
of Drone— Why so many Drones are produced — Selection 
of the Fittest — Expulsioii of Drones. 
We have already mentioned, on page 8, that the drone 
is only needed during the summer season, and has 
only one function to perform, that of impregnating the 
queen. 
The sexual organs have been studied and de- 
scribed by more naturalists than any others, amongst 
some of whom may be mentioned Swammerdam 
(158), Reaumur, (139), Huber (68), Vogel (166), and 
Girard (48). We shall in the main follow Girard’s 
and Vogel’s description. 
By referring to Fig. 53, it will be seen that these 
organs consist of two testes {a a), two tubes {vasa 
diffei'entia^ or samenlisttr of the Germans), two seminal 
vesicles (vesiculce seminalis)^ two large mucus glands 
(b Z>), the ductus ejaculatorius (c), and an organ of gene- 
ration. The testes (a a), are white, oblong, slightly flat- . 
tened glands, much smaller in the adult than are the 
ovaries of the queen, and they lie in the abdomen on 
the dorsal side, on each side of the digestive organs. 
They are made up of spermatic tubes, in number about 
