of atmosphere, destroy them in hundreds. In the clear cold mornings and evenings of autumn, their eagerness for foraging entices them abroad early and late; when, alighting on the ground, many are chilled, and quickly perish. And should they escape the blighting atmosphere at the close of autumn, a bright sunshine in a winter day, when the ground perhaps is covered with snow, brings them abroad in multitudes, and the half of them never return. From these causes, independent of the numbers which fall a prey to enemies, a swarm which in July amounted to fifteen or twenty thousand, will, by the following February or March, have dwindled to a mere handful. It is otherwise with the Queen; going seldom abroad, she is little exposed to accidents. Her natural life is prolonged to several years, though the precise extent has not been accurately ascertained. In 1834 we had one in our possession, which we had every reason to believe was not less than four years old.
Functions of the Male or Drone,—(see Pl. I. Fig. 2.)—The sole office of the Male, or at least the primary one, is to pair with the Queen. He is the father of the hive. Indolent and luxurious, he takes no part in the internal operations of the domicile, and never leaves it with a view of sharing in the labours of the field. When he does venture abroad, it is only in the finest weather, and during the warmest part of the day, at which time the young Queens are instinctively led to go out in search of the male. He is easily distinguished from the workers by his larger size, by his heavy motion in flight, and
