J. O. Westwood wrote:

> Some bee-masters of Poland maintain ,” says M. Chylinski , “ that each colony is composed of three orders of bees ; the mother , or queen bee , the workers , and drones . Others admit a fourth order , which are called consorts . Each order ,” say these bee - masters , " differs in external character , and each has prescribed to it a distinct function in the community . 

> The Consorts, according to those who persist in the existence of them , form the second order . They are smaller than the mother or the drones , though somewhat larger and blacker than the workers ; they are destitute of stings , and contribute nothing to the general store ; they compose the train which waits upon the mother , and are thought to be males which impregnate her by turns . Upon this union depends all expectation of a future progeny ; they are said never to have been seen to unite by day.

> Some apiarians , that do not admit the order of consorts , consider the drones as males , but this is not proved as yet by ocular testimony .

H. D. Richardson 1852 The Hive and the Honey Bee; A new edition. Enlarged by J. O. Westwood

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