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The Second Question answered.
Quest. HOW comes it to pass, if the King-Bee is a Male, and the only Male in every Colony and Hive of Bees, that he by his only Sperm produceth not only King-Bees like himself (which may easily be granted) but also common Honey-Bees with stings, and Drones without stings, both Different sorts, and
neither of them like himself, nor like one ano∣ther?
Answ. First; his seed being the Principle of life; in it is that ens sine quo non of all the Bees, or thus; in that Sperme lies that vertue without which no Bee can be bred, and that it produceth those several sorts of Bees, it is from the maternal part of the Bees, which is the greater in quantity as is both the yelk and the white of the Egg to the Cocks tread, which alterative vertue lies in the several sorts of generative matter by instinct gathered from those several sorts of vegetables from which they gather it, which being by the Bees duly gathered and mixed, have such vertue as to conduce to the end of the several forms & distinct natures of each Bee; and generative quality of the matter, not losing, but rather increasing its vertue by their gathering of it, and afterwards by their due mixing of it, and constant heat administred to it.
I answer, Secondly, That those several sorts of Bees are produced from the King-Bee's Sperme only, by reason of that instinct given to the Honey-Bees to prepare different Ma∣trixes to receive and retain his Sperme, and different sorts of generative matter to commix with his Sperme, which produces those seve∣ral sorts of Bees: as we see by this example fol∣lowing, viz. That an Hee-Ass (by the help of different matrixes) begets a Mule and an Ass; so also one sort of Doggs meeting with various receptacles, do beget abundance of Doggs of another and different sort from themselves.