What is the sex of the queen bee in the sixteenth century?
In Book 4, section 19 of his "Book of the Courtier", Castiglione has one
of the discussants (Ottaviano) say "and the bees, almost as if they had
discourse of reason, obey their king with as much reverence as the most
obedient people on earth".
Is Castiglione the first to change the gender of the ruler of a bee-hive
or is he drawing on some earlier tradition? Any thoughts on the matter and
on the possible reasons for the gender-bending would be greatly
appreciated.
Konrad Eisenbichler
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