118 AUSTRALIAN BEE LORE AND BEE CULTURE- 



that season is sometimes longer and sometimes shorter, according" 

 to climatic circumstances. The life of the workers, too, "from 

 the cradle to the grave," is dependent on the amount of work 

 they have to do. The greater the honey-flow the shorter their 

 lives, and six to eight weeks is their allotted span — longer when 

 there is little or no honey coming in. The queen's life continues 

 for years. She matures rapidly to her apex of perfection, and 

 when that point is reached her reproductive powers gradually 

 diminish. Yet this is not exactly the right way to state decaying 

 powers. Almost to the last she is reproducive ; but it is an un- 

 profitable progeny — male bees that have not the power, no matter 

 how good the will may be, to procure the common necessaries 

 of bee life. Hence the necessity of regularly and systematically 

 superseding all queen bees. This, to obtain success as a bee- 

 keeper, should be done every alternate year. Some bee-keepers 

 introduce a fresh young queen every season, but I don't know 

 that it is a bad practice. There is more to be gained by it than 

 lost. 



There are many methods, ways, or plans, adopted by various 

 bee-keepers for re-queening, aW more or less adaptable to obtain 

 the desired results. 



"Many fish of many kinds and many men of many minds" 

 is an old aphorism, and as there are many modes of re-queening, 

 I propose here to deal with the most of them. Before doing so 

 I should like to point out to the reader a few little facts in relation 

 to this phase of bee-keeping. 



"A new broom sweeps clean" is another proverb that is alsa 

 very applicable at this point of the subject. Did you ever notice 

 the energy thrown into the work of construction by a swarm tliat 

 has been newly hived 1 Aft/ar they have taken possession of 

 their new home, clustered, and the process of wax-secretion is well 

 under way, the bees having spread themselves out in wax-working 

 curtains and "the foundation of the house is laid," the queen 

 becomes feverishly anxious to commence her duties of reproduction 

 — egg-laying. This anxiety is shared equally by the workers, for 

 they are as eager to he about their maternal duties as the mother 

 bee. Ofttimes, before the cells for worker bees are complete, the 

 queen will deposit her egg therein, and the work of cell-construc- 

 tion proceeds whilst the egg is maturing. At this stage in their 

 domestic economy the zeal of the workers knows no bounds. Be- 

 fore the sun rises they are up and away, and returning again and 



