I 
THE QUEEN-BEE, H 
a German observer, who studied bees 
with unremitting attention, and'who 
never witnessed copulation* was sa¬ 
tisfied that it was unnecessary for 
fecundation of the eggs s but having 
remarked, that at certain times, the 
the drones exhaled a very strong o» 
dour, he thought this odour might he 
an emanation of the aura scmmalis , 
which operated fecundation* by pe¬ 
netrating the body of the female. His 
opinion had this advantage, that it 
afforded a good reason for the prodi¬ 
gious number of males 5 and, accord¬ 
ing to him, it is necessary that they 
should be numerous, that the emana- 
