part I
have discovered.
I suspect that the males perish after losing their sexual organs. But why does nature exact so great a sacrifice? This is a mystery which I cannot pretend to unveil. I am unacquainted with any analogous fact in natural history, but as there are two species of insects whose copulation can take place only in the air, namely, ephemeræ and ants, it would be extremely interesting to discover whether their males also lose their sexual parts, in the same circumstances, and whether, as with drones, enjoyment in their flight is the prelude of death.
FINIS.
FOOTNOTES:
{O} Memoires sur les Abeilles, p. 450.
{P} Such long and minute descriptions can be very imperfectly translated; indeed they are unintelligible without microscopical inspections of the parts themselves.--T.
ANALYTICAL INDEX.
Description of a hive invented by the author page 4 Swammerdam's opinion on the fecundation of bees 8 Sentiments of M. de Reaumur 10 Mr Debraw's opinion 11 Hattorf's opinion 19 Difficulty of discovering the mode of impregnation 22 Experiments on the subject 23 Suggestions by M. Bonnet 34 The queen is impregnated by copulation, which never takes place within the hive 41 Experiments on artificial fecundation have not succeeded 42 The male loses the sexual organs in copulation 43 Regarded impregnation affects the ovaries of the queen 45 She then lays no eggs but those producing males 47 One copulation impregnates all the eggs the queen will lay in two years 54 Fecundity of a queen 63 Common bees do not transport the queen's eggs 66 They sometimes eat them 69 Eggs producing males are sometimes laid in royal cells 71 Common worms may be converted into queens 77 Operations of the bees when this is done 78 Fertile workers sometimes exist 89 They lay none but the eggs of males 96 All common bees are originally females 98 Receiving the royal food while larvæ, expands their ovaries 105 Mutual enmity of queens 110 The common bees seem to promote their combats 117 A guard is constantly at the entrance of the hive 123 What ensues when bees lose their queen 126 Effects of introducing a stranger queen 128 Massacre of the males 132 It never ensues in hives deprived of queens 135 A plurality of queens is never tolerated 142 The queen bee is oviparous 149 Bees seem occasionally to repose 150 Interval between production of the egg and the perfect state of bees 151 Mode of spinning the coccoon 153 That of the queen is open at one end 154 The size of the bees is not affected by that of the cells 167 The old queen always conducts the first swarm 173 But never before depositing eggs in the royal cells 177 Singular effect of a sound emitted by perfect queens 189 The instinct of bees is affected during the period of swarming 208 Queens are liberated from their cells according to their age 214 The bees probably judge of this by the sound emitted 217 Young queens conducting swarms are virgins 221 The conduct of bees to old queens is peculiar 224 Retarded impregnation affects the instinct of queens 241 Amputation of the antennæ produces singular effects 245 Advantages of the leaf hive 253 It renders the bees tractable 256 They may there be forced to work in wax 264 Uniform distance between the combs 265 Natural heat of bees 269 Distance to which they fly 271 Appendix 273 Anatomical observations on the sexual organs of bees 276 Experiments proving the copulation of the queen 290
ALEX. SMELLIE, Printer.
{Transcriber's notes
The spelling in the original is sometimes idiosyncratic. It has not been changed, but a few obvious errors have been corrected. The corrections are listed below.
Inconsistent spellings include: Lusace/Lusaçe, centre/center, choose/chuse, organisation/organization, recognise/recognize
Unusual spellings (which have not been changed) include: centinels, coccoon, diaphraghm, encreased, encreasing, groupes, harrassed, inaccessible, incontestible, indispensible, moveable, perceptible, susceptible, uncontrouled, unintelligible
Letter I
"secret distinctive characterestics" changed to "secret distinctive characteristics"
Letter II
"the copulalation of queens" changed to "the copulation of queens"
Letter IV
"The worms had spun their silk coccons" changed to "The worms had spun their silk coccoons"
Letter V
"characteristics of commo nbees" changed to "characteristics of common bees"
Letter VI
"The result of this rencounter" changed to "The result of this encounter"
"genius such as your's" unchanged.
"observing that the antennae" changed to "observing that the antennæ"
"combats and disastrou scenes" changed to "combats and disastrous scenes"
"M. de Reamur speaks of these executions" changed to "M. de Reaumur speaks of these executions"
Letter IX
"Only the few bees that not participated" changed to "Only the few bees that had not participated"
Letter XI
"these tumultous motions" changed to "these tumultuous motions"
Letter XII
"one antennæ" unchanged.
"reside in them," changed to "reside in them."
Appendix
"the cirumference is edged" changed to "the circumference is edged"
"he could have proportioned the tortous canal" changed to "he could have proportioned the tortuous canal"
"pressed between the laminae" changed to "pressed between the laminæ" }