massacre of the males, 65 
some observers have thought that they 
use their stings against them; we are 
rather inclined to believe with others 
that they do not; as this would pro¬ 
bably cause instant death, and sub¬ 
ject the workers to much labour in 
dragging them out of the hive. The 
method they adopt seems rather to 
be as follows: The worker fixes on 
the back of its victim and seises it 
by the root of the wing, the muscle 
of which it tears, and thus renders 
useless, it then pursues it out of the 
hive. In attempting to make its es¬ 
cape, the drone falls to the ground, 
being unable to fly, and is thus star¬ 
ved to death* 
