DRONES 
285 
were not over eight feet from the fertiliz¬ 
ing-box when the act took place. It was 
done so quickly that I marveled at it, and 
I wish here to record the facts as I wit¬ 
nessed them. I could not see that the queen 
was flying in any but the usual way when re¬ 
turning to her hive, but the drone was un¬ 
usually swift of wing. They were both fly¬ 
ing rapidly ; and as they flew the drone made 
two circles about the queen as tho to head 
her off; and as these circles were made 
about the queen she rose slightly each time. 
Directly after making the second circle 
about the queen the drone flew at her like a 
worker with the intention of stinging in 
earnest. His abdomen was curved, and his 
wings rattled in about the same manner. Di¬ 
rectly the drone was in contact with the 
queen there was a sudden lurch sidewise, 
and they went together some distance into 
the field until I lost sight of them. As they 
flew together they much resembled workers 
when they attempt jointly to bear off their 
dead. I remained by the fertilizing-box 
perhaps three minutes, and saw the queen 
return and enter, bearing the marks of hav¬ 
ing met a drone. I still lingered by the 
box, and soon saw a worker bear out the 
telltale white speck. I later opened the 
box, and saw the queen bearing the usual 
thread from the male contact. A queen bee 
is very swift of wing; but I am convinced 
that a drone is ten times swifter; for to be 
able to encircle the queen in the manner 
this one did, such must be the fact. 
Swarthmore, Pa. E. L. Pratt. 
Mr. Pritchard thus describes it: 
I find that the meeting usually takes place 
not more than 15 feet from the ground. 
During the warmest part of the day the 
drones congregate in sheltered locations in 
such large numbers as to make a loud hum¬ 
ming noise. This attracts virgin queens out 
seeking their mates. In one instance in 
particular about 3 o ’clock in the afternoon 
a loud humming was heard near our apiary. 
Investigation showed that it was made by 
an unusually large collection of drones in 
the air. Unfavorable weather had kept them 
in the hives for two days back, but now the 
sun was out bright, and both virgins and 
drones were coming out in astonishing num¬ 
bers. When a virgin came from under the 
tree tops a number of drones (in some in¬ 
stances apparently 20 or more) would circle 
close about her, the bunch resembling a 
small but very active swarm. They would 
dash high and low for a few seconds when 
one of the drones would clasp her and they 
would fall together, the rest of the drones 
following them nearly to the ground. Four 
such swarms of drones were seen at one 
time after a queen. 
On two occasions I have seen drones meet 
with the queen close to the entrance of the 
hive. In both of these instances they met 
facing each other, clinging by their fore 
legs, their bodies being perpendicular. Si¬ 
multaneously a sharp sound like a miniature 
explosion was distinctly heard when they 
dropped to the ground. 
The manner in which the queen frees her¬ 
self from the drone is similar to that of a fly 
caught in a spider web, whirling around 
and around, while the drone clings to any¬ 
thing he can grasp. In this way the male 
organs are torn from him and carried away 
by the queen. M. T. Pritchard. 
Medina, 0. 
DOES THE' DRONE HAVE ONLY ONE PARENT ? 
One of the most wonderful things about 
the drone, or male bee, is that it is hatched 
from an egg that is unimpregnated. So 
wonderful, indeed, is this that the matter 
was for years disputed. By unimpreg¬ 
nated is meant that queens that have never 
met the male bee at all will lay eggs, and 
these eggs will hatch,-but they always pro¬ 
duce drones, and never workers. Those 
who have had the care of poultry are well 
aware that the hens will lay eggs right 
along, if no cock is kept in the yard at all; 
and a pullet will lay her full quota of eggs, 
even if she has never seen a male bird. 
Nearly the same is true with regard to 
the queen bee. If she fails to meet a 
drone during the first 30 days of her life 
(if the bees do not kill her before), she 
usually begins to lay eggs; but she never 
lays as many, or with the same regularity, 
as a fertile queen. If no cock is kept, the 
eggs a hen lays, if she is allowed to sit, 
never produce any chicks. The eggs laid 
by a queen, under the same circumstances, 
do hatch, but always produce drones. There 
is one more fact connected with the com¬ 
mon fowl: If a male bird is put in the 
yard with the hen for one day only, good 
fertile eggs will be laid for many days, 
possibly a whole laying. If a Black-Spanish 
cock should get among a flock of white 
hens for a single day, all the eggs laid for 
many days afterward will produce chicks 
with more or less black feathers on them. 
The point to be observed is that the eggs 
of even the common fowl are fertilized as 
they are laid by the hen, or possibly a few 
days before. With the fowls, one meeting 
with the male bird suffices for the fertiliza¬ 
tion of an egg daily, for a week or more; 
with the queen bee, for her whole life of 
three or even four years. 
The hen does not have the power of 
