70 



AUSTRALIAN BEE LORE AND BEE CULTURE- 



will, as is now being done in relation to queen-breeding? If the 

 sire in the higher type of animals is of such vital importance^ 

 how is it that the drone bee is not viewed in the same light with 

 bee-keepers ? A difficulty stands in the way : We have not the 

 selecting and mating powers in relation with bees that we have 

 over other animals. Nevertheless, we can do much towards the 

 selection of sires among bees. With bee-keepers it is well known 

 that the queen's powers in the reproduction of working beea 

 gradually subsides with age ; and as her powers of worker produc- 

 tion diminish her powers of producing drones increase until, 

 finally, she ceases to be sufficiently profitable or even capable of 

 continuing her female species. It is usual with bee-keepers to 

 supersede all queens after two seasons' laying. It is also known 

 that the progeny of some queens are 50 per cent, more energetic 

 than that of others. If one or more of thesre known energetic 

 queens, after they cease to be profitable, owing to the non-pro- 

 duction of working bees in sufficient quantities to keep up the 

 numerical strength of the colony, are kept for stud purposes to 

 breed drones, one of the difficulties of selecting is overcome. 

 Further, if the keeping of the drone-laying queen be followed by 

 systematically cutting out or otherwise destroying all young drones 

 in other hives before they emerge from the cells, we shall go 

 a long way in the controlling the selecting powers of mating our 

 bees. 



Queen Rearing. 



