. Langstroth on the hive and honey-bee. Bees. THE DRONE. 83 The Drones. 185. The drones are the male bees. They are much larger and stouter than either the queen or workers; although their bodies are not quite so long as that of the queen. They have no sting C^S) with which to de- fend themselves, and no suitable proboscis (48) for gathering honey from the flowers, no baskets on their thighs (59) for holding bee-bread, and no pouches (,201) on their abdomens for secreting wax. They are, therefore, physically disqualified for the ordinary work of the hive. Their proper office is to impregnate t
. Langstroth on the hive and honey-bee. Bees. THE DRONE. 83 The Drones. 185. The drones are the male bees. They are much larger and stouter than either the queen or workers; although their bodies are not quite so long as that of the queen. They have no sting C^S) with which to de- fend themselves, and no suitable proboscis (48) for gathering honey from the flowers, no baskets on their thighs (59) for holding bee-bread, and no pouches (,201) on their abdomens for secreting wax. They are, therefore, physically disqualified for the ordinary work of the hive. Their proper office is to impregnate the young queens. "Their short proboscis sips No luscious nectar from the wild thyme's lips. From the lime's leaf no amber drops they steal. Nor bear their grooveless thighs the foodful'meal: On other's toils in pamper'd leisure th-^ive The lazy fathers of the industrious ; —Evans. 186. 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 colony. Like the other inhabitants of the hive they cannot perform the work for which they are intended, till at least one week old. They go out of the hives only when the weather is warm, and at mid-day. ISy. As we. have seen (132), the mating of the queen with a drone always takes place in the air. Physiologists say that it cannot be otherwise, because the sexual organs of the drone cannot be extruded unless his abdomen is swelled by the filling of all the trachese with air. This happens only in swift flight (5'4).. Please note that these images are extracted from scanned page images that may have been digitally enhanced for readability - coloration and appearance of these illustrations may not perfectly resemble the original Langstroth, L. L. (Lorenzo Lorraine), 1810-1895; Dadant, Charles, 1817-1902; Dadant, C. P. (Camille Pierre), 1851-1938. Hamilton, Ill. : Dadant
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Keywords: ., bo, bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, booksubjectbees, bookyear1909
