34 
On Rational Bee-Keeping, 
As to the court which, according to some 
authors, is paid to the queen, it is purely 
imaginary. In the hive, she is mistress of her 
movements ; and the bees only surround and 
press upon her when she is in some danger, 
or when she is dead. It would seem, in the 
latter case, as if they made every effort to bring 
her back to life. 
THE DRONE, OR MALE BEE. 
The drone has no sting, and is large and 
thickly made. The size of 
his head and body is larger 
than that of the queen or 
the worker bee. 
The drone is the produce 
of an unfertilized egg. If 
details are wanted on this point, as on many 
others which cannot be given in a small popu- 
lar manual, they may be found in the treatise 
on Rational Bee-Keeping by M. Bastian, of 
Wissenbourg. 
The drone may be distinguished from the 
worker bee by the loud buzzing which he 
makes on leaving the hive. A single drone 
