The _Drones_ are larger than the others; their heads are round, eyes foil, and their tongues short; they are also much darker and differ in the form of the belly; they have no sting, and they make a greater noise in flying than the common Bees. Generally speaking, they are found in hives from the beginning of May to the middle or latter end of July: sometimes they may be seen earlier, especially in good stocks; and sometimes their destruction does not take place till the middle of August, or even later. They neither collect honey nor wax. It has been supposed that their office is to impregnate the eggs of the Queen _after_ they are deposited in the cells; but according to Mr. Bonner this _supposition_ is a mistake. In this I agree with him, and beg to remark--that in no case is a supposition a proof. Bonner says that the Queen lays eggs which produce young Bees without any communication with the drones. He supports this position by the statement of several very exact experiments. In this opinion he is supported by the respectable evidence of Schirach. On the mysterious subject of the Queen's impregnation I am inclined to coincide in opinion with Huber, whose multiplied observations, and various and curious experiments, do render it highly probable that the Queen is impregnated by the drone, not whilst in the hive, but whilst flying in the air: but of this debatable subject more by and by. The QUEEN-BEE is easily distinguished from other Bees by the form, size, and colour of her body. She is larger, longer at least, and her wings are shorter in proportion to her size than those of other Bees. The wings of drones and of common working Bees cover their bodies, but those of the Queen scarcely reach beyond the middle. Her hinder part tapers more than the corresponding part of other Bees, and is admirably adapted for the purpose of being introduced into the cells to deposit her eggs, which she does without being incommoded by her wings, as she no doubt would be, were they long in proportion to the length of her body. Considering then the office she has to perform, the shortness of her wings and the length and tapering of her body are alike conveniences to her; her belly and legs are yellower, and her upper parts darker than those of other Bees. Though furnished with a sting, she very rarely uses it, and will bear being handled without being provoked. A young Queen is smaller than a full grown one. When three or four days old she is quick in her motions; but when impregnated she becomes heavy. The common or working Bees have the faculty or instinctive power of raising a Queen-Bee, when they are in want of one, from an egg in a common cell. To do this, they choose a common cell in which is an egg, and inject a thick, white, liquid matter from their proboscis, they then build on the edges of that particular cell and enlarge it; on the fifth day the royal maggot appears in the form of a semicircle, in which form it swims in the midst of the matter