v.lD 



THE BEE KEEPERS' REVIEW. 



ousiuess matters caused me to neglect the 

 colony, during which time they reared a 

 queen from the larvae of the mismated 

 queen, which in due time mated with an 

 Italian drone. VVlien her progeny began to 

 appear, to my surprise, it was most perfect 

 and beautilulin Its marking. Among my 

 mismated queens the past season, several 

 from the yellow slock show but a few dark 

 bees — possibly one in thirty or forty. 



This recurrence to an original type is 

 greater in its tendency with golden Italians 

 crossed with Carniolans than Italians and 

 blacks. The logical conclusion would be, 

 that either tlie golden Italians or Carnio- 

 lans, or both, were not sufficiently thorough- 

 bred to belong to a fixed type. A thorough 

 knowledge as to the stock these varieties 

 were bred from would tend to explain this 

 tendency. However, we have the evil of 

 intermixing to contend with, and though 

 we may be able, among the possibilities of 

 the future to control the mating of queens 

 sufficiently to secure mostly pure stock. 



Its desirability is evinced by the numerous 

 efforts which have been made to accom- 

 plish it. The principle upon which most 

 experienters have worked, has been to limit 

 the flight of the queen and droues to small 

 areas by enclosures made of wire clolh. Such 

 varying in size from two or three ftet square 

 to ten or fifteen feet. It is evident that 

 any or all enclosures will intercept the fiight 

 of both queen and drones to an extent which 

 would thwart the intended purpose. Even 

 if success could be attaineJ, the expense of 

 such enclosures in sufficient numbers for 

 a large apiary would more than counter- 

 balance the advantage gained. So thorough- 

 ly have I been impressed with the impossi- 

 bility of success by such methods, that I 

 never attempted it. However I believe in a 

 method which shall limit the flight of the 

 queen, but not to the prescribed lines of 

 enclosures, and which shall be quite inex- 

 pensive. I have experimented with a con- 

 siderable degree of success the past four or 

 five years upon a method which has partly 

 limited the fiight of the queen. Whether 

 mating at a distance of several miles is due 

 to flight of the queen or drones or both is as 

 yet unsettled in my mind: however, I am in- 

 clined to believe that the queen is promi- 

 nent in making long distances. In proof, 

 I have marked quite a few drones when 

 leaving the hive and found their return to 

 be much within the average time occupied 



by queens. Still the drones have wonderful 

 wing power, and possibly make equal dis- 

 tances with queens in less time. 



The method I have practiced is no less 

 than clipping about 1-lG of an inch from 

 the virgin queen's wings a day or two after 

 emerging from the cell. As a result le-a 

 than half as many proved to be mismated 

 compared with an equal number of those 

 not clipped. Clipping certainly lessens the 

 wing power of the queen, and, in conse- 

 quence places a limit upon the time and 

 distance of her flight. It will be observed 

 that such a limit naturally confines the 

 queen more within a home radius, or circle 

 of the home drones. 



My first experiments were attended with 

 considerable doubt as to whether the queens 

 would still retain sufficient wing power to 

 to successfully mate with the drones, but 

 the uniform success attending the experi- 

 ments led me to clip as much as ,^8 of an 

 inch from two or three with equally good 

 results the past season. Just how much can 

 be clipped from the wings, and still retain 

 sufficient wing power to accomplish suc- 

 cessful mating, is yet to be deter- 

 mined. Whether clipping a hundred 

 or more select drones will be profitable is 

 questionable. In lines of progress the un- 

 expected usually occurs on the successful 

 side. As yet, so little is known about the 

 flight Qf queens and drones that it is impossi- 

 ble to determine without experiements in 

 clipping of both. Possible the clipping of 

 bath queens and drones would result in 

 their occupying a lower altitude in flight, 

 insuring a still less number of mismated 

 queens. On the contrary, the drones might 

 be so weakened in their power of chasing 

 fiight as to be useless. Certainly if the 

 object can be accomplished by clipping the 

 queens only, it will involve but little trouble 

 and expense. 



It should be understood that success 

 attendant upon clipping is contingent upon 

 having none but pure droues in the apiary 

 containing the young queens, also that the 

 amount clipped from each wing be uniform, 

 otherwise with a lack of balancing power 

 the queens are sure to be lost. 



I am so well satisfied with past results that 

 I expect to clip all my young queens the 

 coming season. 



•Jaokson. Mich. 



Jan. 18, 1897. 



