556 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



July 15. 



tract. It's a great fair, but there's nothing fair 

 about the authorities. 



That gleaner in all fields, Herr Reepen, in 

 Centralblatt, refers to A. I. Root's warning 

 against adulterated wax in foundation on ac- 

 count of breaking down in hot weatiier, and 

 then says that, unfortunately, they understand 

 adulteration better in Europe, as, to their great 

 sorrow, adulterated foundation does not break 

 down. There! 



When I said that no after-treatment would 

 change the sex of an egg. I think 1 had in mind 

 the food and construction of cell. At the same 

 time, if I had expressed myself with regard to 

 it I should have said tnat such change as that 

 mentioned by friend Schuddemagen, on p. 216, 

 was impossible. If the observation of others 

 agrees with his, I shall have to own up that 

 that was another of the things I didn't know. 



QUEENS LAYING IN QUEEN-CELLS. 



DOOLITTLE FURNISHES PKOOF THAT QUEENS DO 

 SOMETIMES LAY IN QUEEN-CELLS. 



All of the older readers of Gleanings will 

 recollect that there has been, in the past, much 

 discussion regarding whether the queen ever 

 lays the eggs directly in the embryo queen- 

 cells, found in the hive during times of natural 

 swarming, and when the bees supersede their 

 queens. Years ago nearly every one claimed 

 that, as the queen had such an antipathy 

 toward rival queens, it would be impossible for 

 her to lay the eggs in the cells prepared for her 

 rival in the hive, and claimed that the workers 

 carried the eggs found in these cells and depos- 

 ited them there, keeping the queen from re- 

 moving or destroying these eggs, and the larva 

 which might hatch from them, by clustering 

 about the cells. Right here I wish to say that, 

 in all of my experience for the past twenty-five 

 years, I have never known of a single egg being 

 conveyed from one cell to another; but in 

 scores of cases have I known larvte to be trans- 

 ferred by the bees to different combs and queen- 

 cells. On this one point I have been more par- 

 ticular than on most others — so much so, that, 

 of late, I have wondered whether those who 

 told about bees removing eggs did not really 

 mean larva?. I call to mind one particular case 

 in the past, where larvic were removed by the 

 hundred, as it were, but only two eggs were 

 found in queen-cells, although the bees had a 

 laying queen. The circumstances were these: 

 A swarm came out one day when I was away 

 from home; and as the queen had her wings 

 clipped they returned. Not desiring them to 

 swarm, the hive was opened in the afternoon, 

 and all cells cut off. The next day this same 

 colony swarmed again; and before I had a 

 chance to find the queen, she having run under 

 the bottom-board of the hive, the bees com- 

 menced to return; and while they were doing 

 so another swarm came out. and, without stop- 

 ping to circle, as they usually do in the air, 

 went directly in with the returning swarm. 

 Before things became settled, a second and 

 third swarm came out from other hives, and 

 went in with those already returning, so that I 

 had four prime swarms in and on that one hive 

 the queen in the mean time crawling out 

 from under the bottom-board and going in with 

 them. As the three queens belonging to the 

 other hives had their wings clipped, they could 

 not go with the bees, but were returned to their 

 respective hives, and the bees allowed to remain 

 to see what would become of the matter. The 

 next day the four swarms came out as one, and 

 were hived in a specially prepared hive, from 



which I secured about 100 lbs. of comb honey in 

 about two weeks. An examination of the old 

 hive showed hundreds of queen-cells started all 

 over the combs; and, as I now remember it, 178 

 of 'these cells had little larvte in them, swim- 

 ming in royal jelly, while only two had eggs in 

 them. As many of these cells were built on the 

 sides of the frames it would be impossible for 

 larvae to have gotten into them (or the cells built 

 over larvtt), other than by the bees carrying 

 them there. But, to return: 



After a little such men as Gallup, Grimm, 

 and others, came to believe that the queen 

 deposited the eggs for all queens in the queen- 

 cells, where the colony was in a normal condi- 

 tion; and, if my memory serves me rightly, Mr. 

 Grimm saw a queen laying in a queen-cell, 

 while Mr. Gallup believed they did so by the 

 position of the egg in the cell. Later on a 

 hired man whom I had. saw a queen lay in a 

 queen-cell while I held the frame which they 

 were on, in my hand,' as I gave years ago to the 

 public; and many others now admit that the 

 queen lays the eggs found in the queen-cells in 

 times of natural swarming, although I see that ' 

 " Langstroth on the Honey-bee," as revised by 

 Dadant, has these words in it: " We will hazard 

 the conjecture, that, in a crowded state of the 

 hive, the queen deposits her eggs in cells on the 

 edges of the combs, some of which are afterward 

 changed by the workers into royal cells. Such 

 is a queen's instinctive hatred of her own kind, 

 that it seems improbable she should be intrust- 

 ed with even the initiatory steps for securing a 

 race of successors." 



I read this statement with surprise, after all 

 the light we had been having thrown on the 

 subject. None of the eggs laid in the queen- 

 cells, produced during natural swarming, can 

 possibly produce rivals to the old queen, for she 

 has either departed from the hive before the 

 young queens hatcjj, or the cells are torn 

 down by the workers on account of a scarcity 

 of honey, or unpropitious weather, whereby 

 swarming is postponed indefinitely. But there 

 is a letter lying near me, that has just come to 

 hand, which gives a case of a queen laying in a 

 queen-cell, which is more perfect in all its 

 details than any thing we have had before, and 

 which I think should go on record for the bene- 

 fit of those who are to come after us. After 

 writing of the strength of his b«es, and how a 

 part of them are in hives having glass in the 

 back, the writer, J. E, Ginn, of Ellsworth, Me., 

 speaks as follows: 



" I have just seen (June 23) the queen lay an 

 egg in a queen-cell, the same being not more 

 than ten minutes ago. I thought I would write 

 you at once, so I could give all the details cor- 

 rectly. There is a one-inch space between the 

 frames and the glass, and the bees built a piece 

 of drone comb in this space, the same having 

 drone brood in it. Looking in today I saw a 

 queen-cell half built on the edge of this in plain 

 view. The queen was one inch from this cell, 

 and one of the bees was feeding her. After a 

 moment she passed in between the frames for a 

 second or so, when she came back and went 

 directly to the queen-cell, put her head up into 

 the cell, then, curving her abdomen, she insert- 

 ed it well up in the cell and deposited the egg. 

 After laying the egg she again examined the 

 cell, remaining in it with her head, perhaps ten 

 seconds. I have written at some length, for 

 the queen seemed to be so particular. I have 

 seen queens laying in worker comb many 

 times; and while they would examine the cells 

 before laying in them, yet I never saw one look 

 into a ceil after she had laid an egg in it, as did 

 this queen the queen-cell she had laid in.'" 



You will notice that our correspondent says 

 the queen inserted her abdomen " well up in 



