open'd them, you will find their Bladder full of Honey.

There are Hives wherein you have but few Drones, but there are a great many in others; they continue for part of the Summer difpers'd in the Hive: After which, as their Number encreases, they draw together in Troops in feveral parts of the Hive, where they continue cantoned, almoft without making any Motion.

When the Swarm goes out, and all the Bees are in Motion, the Drones keep their Station, and go not forth with the Swarm; or if they do, they are but a very few. But from the End of July to the Middle of August, these Drones are attack'd by the common Bees; and though the Drones are bold, and refift as long as they are able, yet they are at last forc'd to yield, and go out of the Hive, and we know not what becomes of them.

When this kind of Fight happens, you may fee all these Animals in great Motion, as well without as within the Hive, much in the fame manner as when they fwarm: All thefe Drones are fo univerfally expell'd, that of several Hundreds which we have often found in one Hive, we could not, by the End of October, difcern one in the feveral Hives we fearch'd upon that Account.

We have in the Spring and Summer-time feen a great Number of fmall Worms in the Cells, tho' we could not find any Drones in the fame Hive, notwithstanding all the Care we took to examine them.

They have the fame Origin with that of Bees, and they proceed from the Queen, and

are

are produc'd with the fame Circumstances, except only that the Drones are bred in fuch large Cells of the Honeycombs as are made on Purpose for them.

It has been already obferv'd, that a Hive has fome Combs, whofe Cells are one third or one half larger and longer than the common Cells. The Queen makes choice of thefe great Cells, in order to lay therein, (with all the Circumstances we have already noted concerning the common Bees) thofe Eggs which afterwards become Drones, and which you cannot by your Eye diftinguifh from the common Eggs: But it is likely that the Parent who produces them knows them, because fhe affigns them Habitations in Proportion to that Bignefs they are to attain to in their full Growths. Thefe Drones are fubject to the fame Changes we have related concerning Bees: They are as many Days before they come out of the Cells; they are stopt up the eighth Day after their Eggs are depofited in the Cells; but their Covers are much more raised, the more to lengthen the Cells, and to make them as long as the Drones.

Finally, They are fed with the fame Care as the common Bees; but it is amazing, that that Attention and that Love which the Bees fhew for these young ones, fhould be turn'd into fo great a Hatred at the Expiration of the Summer This Hatred is fo univerfal, that they do not fpare even the young Drones that are yet imperfect in the Cells ; for we have seen several times, that when one Party of the Bees are driving the great Drones out of the Hive, there is another imploy'd to

open

open the Cells, where their imperfect Drones are lodg'd, in order to pull them out from thence, to kill them and convey them out of the Hive, where we have fometimes feen two or three Hundred kill'd of young and old.

A Defcription of the inward Parts of the Drones.

HE Conformity there is between the inTward Parts of the common Bees, more particularly as to the Head, Breaft, and the Beginning or Fore-part of the Belly, and those fame Parts in the Drones, is fuch, that we have not been able to difcern any Difference between them; for the Trump and Breast, both of the one and the other, are much the fame as to Bignefs; and they have all of them a Bladder in the Belly, of a very delicate Contexture, which is the Receptacle of the Honey; also the Inteftines feem to be of the fame Structure, except only the Parts fituated at the Extremity of the Belly, which are very different from those of the Bees. We have . obferv'd before, that common Bees have in that Place a little Bladder full of a clear and tranfparent Liquor like Water, which is the Poifon they discharge by the Sting, through which it paffes, and comes out near the Point of it: But the Drones have neither Sting nor Bladder; they have in this Part of the Belly

fome

fome other Parts that feem worthy to be taken notice of, and which perhaps will lead us to understand the End for which Nature has defign'd them.

The Belly of the Drone, towards its hinder Parts, is divided into two unequal Parts, by a kind of a whitish and very thin Diaphragm; that towards the Head is fmaller, and the other towards the hinder Part larger, wherein thofe of the Inteftines are contain'd; which, on one Side, have a Communication with the Honey Bladder; and which, after having formed feveral Foldings immediately under the Back, and round the Parts we are about to defcribe, terminate at the Anus.

We may obferve four glandulous cylindrical Bodies under the Inteftines, which are round at one End, each of them separately invested with a Membrane; they are rang'd two and two upon one another; the two lowermost are commonly the biggeft, and are disunited, except at one End, where they join together in a Point, and both of them form one common and very narrow Channel: These two Bodies are about the third Part of an Inch long; the other two Bodies are fhorter and smaller, they are alfo cylindrical, and are join'd by a kind of Pellicle to the larger ones near the hind Parts, where the great ones join toge gether.

Though these two Bodies are commonly smaller than the two former, yet we have also found them in different Drones to be often almoft equal; and in this Condition you will find all four of the fame Colour, which is bright and fomewhat inclining to yellow; when the

two

two lowermoft are thicker than others, they then contain a liquid, glewy, and whitish Matter, which appears thro' the thin Coat which enclofes it; but the uppermost always retain the Colour we have mention'd before.

If you prefs those two Veffels when full of this Matter, you will force it thro' the common Channel before mention'd, along which it paffes to the hind Part, and fo out of the Body of the Drone; but when these Bodies are not equally fill'd with this Matter, you cannot prefs out any Liquor at all.

This Channel in the Drone's Body is folded into feveral Plaits, but does not take up above a Quarter of an Inch space; tho' when it is unfolded, and at its full Length, it's about an Inch or fomewhat more, and has all along different Conformations and Capacities': It's a very narrow cylindrical Channel at the Rife of it, about half an Inch long or a little more, of a very fine Texture, and easily broken; after which it grows confiderably bigger to the Extent of a Quarter of an Inch; the first half of which retains the fame fine and delicate Texture, but the other Part of this Channel is of a more remarkable Structure.

There are two Bodies that are almost triangular, equal, of a horny Confistence, thin, crooked, and of a dark-red Colour, which form part of this Channel; these we call Wings, because they somewhat refemble them: The two Sides of each of these Wings along the Channel, are somewhat different, and terminate in a very sharp Angle; the third Side following the Breadth of the fame Channel, makes but about one third of the others; the two Wings