50 
THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE. 
usually destroyed by the bees soon after this is accom¬ 
plished. 
Dr. Evans, an English physician and the author of :i 
beautiful poem on bees, thus appropriately describes 
them: 
“ Their short proboscis sips 
No luscious nectar from the wild thyme’s lips, 
From the lime’s leaf uo amber drops they steal, 
Nor bear their grooveless thighs the foodful meal: 
On other’s toils in pamper’d leisure thrive 
The lazy fathers of the industrious hive.” 
The drones begin to make their appearance in April or 
May; earlier or later, according to the forwardness of the 
season, and the strength of the stock. In colonies too 
weak to swarm, none as a general rule are reared; for in 
such hives, as no young queens are raised, drones would 
be only useless consumers. 
The number of drones in a hive is often very great, 
amounting not merely to hundreds, but sometimes to thou¬ 
sands. As a single one will impregnate a queen for life, 
it would seem that only a few should be reared. But 
as sexual intercourse always takes place high up in the 
air, the young queens must necessarily leave the hive; 
and it is very important to their safety that they should 
be sure to find a drone without being compelled to make 
frequent excursions; for being larger than workers, and 
less active on the wing, queens are more exposed to be 
caught by birds, or destroyed by sudden gusts of wind. 
In a large Apiary, a few drones in each hive, or the 
number usually found in one, would suffice. But under 
such circumstances bees are not in a state of nature, like 
a colony living in a forest, which often has no neighbors 
for miles. A good stock, even in our climate, sometimes 
sends out three or more swarms, and in the tropical 
