THE REARING OF QUEEK BEES. 



13 



used for the first time, each cell should be thoroughly daubed on the 

 inside with royal jelly. This seems to give to it the odor of a queen 

 cell; at any rate the bees are much more ready to accept it. A small 

 amount of royal jelly should then be put at the bottom of the concave 



Fig. 2.— Standard frame with bars of queen cells on wooden bases. The top bar holds cells of the 



Root pattern (original).- 



depression, and a larva from the colon}' of the breeding queen placed 

 on it. The larva must not be more than three days old, and it is far 

 better to use one which has not been hatched from the egg for more 

 than one day. This transfer from the worker cell to the artificial 



queen cell ma}' be done with 

 a match or toothpick which 

 has been cut thin and bent 

 on the end to an angle of 

 about 45°. No special tool 

 is necessary, although when 

 this procedure is to be re- 

 peated frequently it may be 

 desirable to use a steel rod 

 or some similar instrument, 

 shaped as above described. 

 The bar is then placed in a 

 queenless colony, and the 

 b'ees will build down on the 

 cells until they complete 

 them, at the same time feed- 

 ing the larviB with royal jelly 

 until the time comes for the 

 cell to be sealed. As a rule not all the cells are accepted, but just as 

 many will be accepted in the case of artificial cells as when natural cells 

 are fastened to a bar. as previously described. If a two-story hive is 



Fig. 3. — Two-story hive with perforated zinc honey board 

 between stories, the top to be used for queen rearing 

 (original). 



