INTRODUCING. 



286 



INTRODUCING. 



Hence we naturally conclude that, by the 

 sense of smell, bees recognize their own 

 motlier from a new or strange one. 



Again, we learn that, if two queens have 

 exactly the same colony odor after being 

 caged for two or three days in a queenless 

 liive, eitlier one may be liberated and the 

 bees will accept (me just as readily as the 

 otlier. If both be liberated at the same time, 

 one in one corner of the hive and the other 

 in the opposite corner, both will be tolerat- 

 ed by the bees ; but once the queens come 

 together themselves there is danger of 

 a royal battle* resulting in the death of 

 one. From this fact we infer that the bees, 

 providing a queen or queens have the requi- 

 site colony odor, will accept at any time 

 one or more such queeus under many con- 

 ditions; that, further, when two qusens 

 have the same colony odor, if they can be 

 kept a;iart by means of perforated zinc both 

 will continue to lay eggs in the same hive 

 witliout let or hindrance. This condition 

 will be allowed so long as the colony pros- 

 l)ers, until a dearth of honey comes ; then 

 the bees show a disposition to rob, and they 

 may destroy one of the queens. 



Bees that have been thrown into a box or 

 pan, and then shaken or bumped again and 

 again until tliey are demoralized or fright- 

 ened, are much more tractable than those 

 not so disturbed. Such bees if made queen- 

 less just prior to the shaking, and confined 

 without combs or brood in a cool place for a 

 few hours, will usually accept a queen at 

 once. The factor of colony odor then appar- 

 ently does not operate, for the bees are put 

 out of their normal condition. 



Young bees just hatched will at any time 

 accept any queen. Therefore, it comes 

 about that, when one desires to introduce a 

 valuable breeder on which he desires to 

 take no chances whatsoever, lie causes her 

 to be released on a frame of very young or 

 hatching bees ; but consideration will be 

 given to this later. 



Virgin queens, if just hatched, will usual- 

 ly b3 accepted by a colony, if not too long 

 (pieenless, without the process of introduc- 

 tion or even of caging; but when one of 

 these queens comes to be four or five days 

 old slie is very much more difficult to intro- 

 duce than a normal laying queen. Why this 

 should be so, we do not know. 



When but little honey is coming in, it is 

 nauch easier to introduce and unite bees 

 llian during a dearth. 



* We say "danger " of a battle Que.^ns will not 

 always flg:ht wlien so put together. 



A queen in the height of her egg-laying 

 will be accepted far more readily than one 

 that has been deprived of egg-laying, as in 

 tlie case of one that has been four or five 

 days in the mails. 



Some colonies are more nervous than oth- 

 ers. To oi)en a liive of such on an unfavor- 

 able day might arouse the inmates to a 

 stinging fury. Indeed, such colonies will 

 often ball and sting tlieir own queen when 

 the hive is opened if the day is unfavor- 

 able. 



It is easier to introduce toward night, or 

 after dark, than during the day. The rea- 

 son of this is that after dark the excitement 

 of the day has subsided. There is no chance 

 for robbing and no reason for vigil. In 

 short, bees are not expecting trouble and are 

 not inclined to make any. 



A fasting queen, or, rather, a queen that 

 is himgry, will usually ask for food, and 

 hence will generally be treated more consid- 

 erately than one that shows fear or fight. 



Having stated, therefore, the basic princi- 

 ples governing the relation of the queen to 

 the bees we can now more intelligently pro- 

 ceed to the methods of introduction, most 

 of which are based on the theory that the 

 queen to be introduced must first have ac- 

 quired the colony odor of her new subjects. 



The cages are supplied with bee candy 

 (see Candy), so that, in case the bees do not 

 feed the queen, she will not starve. In 

 some cases the bees release the queen by 

 eating away the candy and letting her out. 

 In other cases the apiarist himself liberates 

 her after she has been confined the requisite 

 length of time, or until such time as she has 

 acquired the colony odor. 



Most of the cages are sent out by queen- 

 breeders with directions how to perform 

 this operation; and it is usually safer for 

 the beginner to follow these directions im- 

 plicitly. 



The mailing and introducing cage that is 

 ordinarily used over the country is called 

 the Benton, and is shown in the accompany- 

 ing illustration. This consists of an oblong 

 block of wood with three holes bored nearly 

 through, one of the end holes being filled with 

 Good candy (see Candy), and the other two 

 are left for occupancy by the bees and queen. 

 On the back of the cover are printed full 

 directions for introducing, and at each end 

 of the cage is a small hole bored through 

 lengthwise the grain of the wood. One hole 

 (next to the bees) is covered with a luece 

 of peiforated metal, secured in place with 

 two small wire nails driven through the per- 



