CHAPTER VIII 
THE REPRODUCTIVE PROCESSES AND PAR¬ 
THENOGENESIS 
The organs of reproduction are those which produce the 
cells from which individuals of the next generation develop 
and they also include the accompanying organs which serve 
to permit the proper disposition of the sex cells. The con¬ 
tinuance of the species is the function of these organs. In the 
larger number of species, new individuals arise from eggs which 
have been fertilized by sex cells of the male of the same 
species. In the honeybee, we are not only interested in the 
methods by which new individuals arise but certain peculiar 
phenomena play an important part in practical apiary ma¬ 
nipulations. The development of the drones or males fi'orn 
unfertilized eggs must be considered, especially by the queen 
breeder. 
Origin of the eggs. 
The eggs from which all the members of the colony develop 
are normally laid by the queen. In this individual, the only 
female in the colony whose reproductive organs are fully 
developed, the ovaries are large and, in fact, she is to a con¬ 
siderable extent simply an egg-producing machine. The 
ovaries of the queen (Fig. 92) consist of two groups ( Ov ) of 
egg tubes or ovarioles (ov). These tubes are small at the 
anterior end where the eggs are beginning their growth and 
toward the posterior end the individual tubes, as well as 
the total mass, increase in diameter. At the posterior end, 
the tubules in each mass open into the anterior end of an ovi¬ 
duct ( OvD ). The oviducts from the two ovaries unite farther 
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