326 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



May 



by watching- his queens and studying the desirable 

 qualities of each one selected the previous year for 

 breeders; and this watching and selecting contin- 

 ues throughout the entire season; and If the desire 

 of the apiarist is to improve his stock from year to 

 year, much 'care and judgment should be exercised 

 in making selections. The simple fact that a 

 queen's workers all have three bright yellow 

 bands does not, in my estimation, qualify her as u 

 desirable breeding queen. This one mark, however, 

 is, I fear, too often the only one sought for by 

 many bee-keepers as a sure mark of excellence. 



In selecting a queen for breeding, I not only 

 want her to produce workers that show three yel- 

 low bands— dark yellow or light brown preferred— 

 but they must be workers that have a large robust 

 body, with large wings covering the entire abdo- 

 men. I like to see bees with large broad abdomens, 

 well rounded out, and full down to the extremity, 

 rather than to see bees with slim delicate forms. I 

 also want bees that are good honey-gatherers, good 

 comb-builders, and that are not inclined to brace- 

 comb building, and that are little inclined to swarm- 

 ing; that are quiet, and adhere well to the combs 

 when being handled; and. withal. I want bees that 

 will withstand our severe northern climate. 



To produce a strain of bees with all these desira- 

 ble qualities is not an easy matter. It requires 

 yeai-s of watching and selecting, working first for 

 one desirable point and then for another. But if 

 we could have full control of tho mating of our 

 queens we could then improve our bees much 

 more readily than now. As it is, we must test our 

 queens at least two seasons to ascertain whether 

 their daughters will produce workers that meet our 

 wants. When we get such a queen we have one 

 that is very desirable for breeding purposes. 



I have often had queens that I had watched dur- 

 ing the season, and in the fall registered them as 

 "good," and in the spring following I would dis- 

 card them for breeding purposes, owing to some 

 defect in their wintering or springing. Therefore 

 we should make every effort possible to place the 

 honey-bee higher up on the scale of perfection; not 

 only that we ourselves may reap the reward of our 

 labors, but that those who come after us may be 

 benefited thereby. 



The person who undertakes queen-rearing as a 

 specialty should be po.ssessed of a very patient and 

 persevering nature, as the business is complicated, 

 and is accompanied with many reverses and disap- 

 pointments. Were I to designate who should breed 

 queens as a specialty, I should say at once the 

 ladies, becauf e they, with their delicate, womanly 

 tenderness and gentle natures, are better adapted 

 to this light and interesting work than are the men. 

 Queen-rearing- is a business that requires close 

 attention and much study. First, we must prepare 

 our bees for cell-building and watch their construc- 

 tion from first to last, and prune out all inferior 

 cells; and when completed, and of proper maturity, 

 they are to be removed, and either given to nuclei 

 where the young queens will hatch, or transferred 

 to the nursery, where tliey will as readily hatch as 

 in a nucleus or in a colony of bees. These cells 

 should be removed and transferred at the proper 

 period of maturitj-, or disappointment and loss will 

 be the result. 



I have found that the best time to transfer 

 queen-cells from the builders to the nursery is 

 when they have reached the 13th day from the egg. 



I have successfully tracsferred.them at eight and 

 nine days; but unless the weather is favorable, and 

 great care is taken in transferring, failure is liable 

 to follow. 



After the cells are introduced into the nursery 

 they are placed in a strong colony of bees that are 

 run for extracted hcney by setting the nursery in 

 the upper .story in place of an extracting comb. 

 This colony may have a laying queen, which may 

 have perfect liberty,. to occupy the upper story if 

 she wishes. Together with this nursery filled with 

 completed cells I^have set by the side of it combs 

 with cell-caps and cells ready to be capped, where 

 they were completed the same as though they had 

 been given to a queenless colony. I have managed 

 in this way without the use of excluding honey- 

 boards. Yetil would advise the use of excluders 

 for this work, and I would also advise the placing 

 of a card of hatching brood near the nursery in or- 

 der to hold ;the hive bees in the upper story cold 

 nights, as otherwise the cells or young queens 

 might [suffer from [a low temperature. It is also 

 advisable, durirg a dearth of hcney, to feed the 

 young queens as they hatch in the nursery. But if 

 honey is coming in plentifully, the bees will feed 

 the young queens, no matter how many there are. 

 All will be cared for. 



In rearing queens^for sale, as well as for my own 

 use, I aim Jto breed ?from my very best mothers, 

 such as have given me the best results the previous 

 year. I believe we should rear queens -with as 

 much care and judgment as in breedingfarm stock. 

 Although in our ignorance we can but dimly com- 

 prehend the wonders in nature, yet we should make 

 every effort to progress. Notwithstanding I rear 

 queens for sale, I would advise all who can to raise 

 their own queens as much as possible, rather than 

 buy them, as there is a time in every well-managed 

 apiary when queen-cells are plentiful; and by se- 

 lecting from the best colonies, the bee-keeper can, 

 with very little labor or experience, rear his supply 

 of queens, and at the same time experience much 

 pleasure in so doing. But to rear queens on a large 

 scale is another thing altogether, as it requires a 

 large amount of fixtures, and no little experience, 

 to keep a supply of queens on hand, which is nec- 

 essary to make it a success. 



SBIPPINO QUELNS. 



I have found that the best time to ship queens 

 long distances is when they have been laying not 

 longer than five days. Such queens will endure 

 transportation much better than those a little older. 

 But if kept until after a certain period, when they 

 are somewhat reduced in size, they can then be 

 shipped with safety. Queens one or two years old 

 are liable to get injured inti-ansitif shipped when 

 full of eggs, lecause'of their being tumbled about 

 in tte mail-bag, and also byleingso suddenly de- 

 prived of the opportunity to lay eggs; and surely 

 this of itself must be very injurious. 



I have oftentimes selected what I believed to be 

 extra good'^^queecs, to be sent to some person who 

 ordered queens to breed from, and which were 

 from necessity sent when in this delicate condi- 

 tion, a few^ of which would be reported as worth- 

 less; fcr, after being introduced, they would lay 

 but a few eggs and then die, causing both the buy- 

 er and sellerjmuch disappointment and vexation. 



I have decided that, in the future, I will use my 

 own judgment as to the proper time to thip valua- 

 ble queens. Therefore my advice lo ail bujeis is, 



