The eggs, after the fourth day, instead of changing in the manner of caterpillars, were found in the same state they were in the first day, except that some were covered with honey. A singular event happened the next day, about noon; all the bees left their own hive, and were seen attempting to get into a neighbouring one, on the stool of which the queen was found dead, being no doubt slain in the engagement. This event seems to have arisen from the great desire of perpetuating their species, and to which end the concurrence of the males seems so absolutely necessary; it made them desert their habitations, where no males were left, in order to fix a residence in a new one, in which there was a good stock of them. To be further satisfied, Mr. Debraw took the brood-comb, which had not been impregnated, and divided it into two parts; one he placed under a glass bell, No. 1, with honey-comb for the bees food, taking care to leave a queen, but no drones, among the bees confined in it; the other piece of the brood-comb he placed under another glass bell, No. 2, with a few drones, a queen, and a proportionable number of common bees. The result was, that in the glass, No. 1, there was no impregnation, the eggs remaining in the same state they were in when put into the glass; and on giving the bees their liberty on the seventh day, they all flew away as was found to be the case in the former experiment; whereas in the glass, No. 2, the very day after the bees had been put into it, the eggs were impregnated by the drones, and the bees did not leave their hive on receiving their liberty. The editor of the Cyclopædia says, that the small drones are all dead before the end of May, when the larger species appear, and supersede their use; and that it is not without reason that a modern author suggests, that a small number of drones are reserved to supply the necessities of the ensuing year; but that they are very little, if any, larger than the common bee. It does not enter into our plan to notice further in this place the wonders of this little society. A bee-hive is certainly one of the finest objects that can offer itself to the eyes of the beholder. It is not easy to be weary of contemplating those workshops, where thousands of labourers are constantly engaged in different employments.[83] [83] The remarks made by the late Mr. Hunter on the experiments of Messrs. Schirach and Debraw, in my opinion, merit the attention of the reader; they are contained in his “Observations on Bees,” comprizing a variety of information respecting the history and œconomy of those curious insects. This ingenious and interesting account is inserted in the Philosophical Transactions for the year 1792, page 128-195. I cannot altogether subscribe to his opinion relative to the minuteness and prolixity of Swammerdam. EDIT. OF THE EGGS OF INSECTS.