804 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



JL-LV 1 



worked out in the matter of the evolution of 

 these polymorphic forms, and the student of this 

 subject has great prospects before him. Darwin, 

 Spencer, and Weismann all attacked the problem, 

 and gave us much that is helpful; but there is a 

 \ast deal to be discovered even yet; and the one 

 who comes to the subject with the time and abili- 

 ty to discover the ways that God works out 

 these changes will be, like the great D/.ierzon, a 

 benefactor. 



Claremont, Cal. 



CONVERSATIONS WITH 

 DOOLITTLE 



UTILIZING THE CELLS IN COLONIES THAT ARE 

 TRYING TO SUPERSEDE THEIR QUEENS. 



" I had quite a little trouble last year in carry- 

 ing out mv plan of non-swarming, Mr. Doolit- 

 tle." 



" What seemed to be your trouble?" 



"I bought quite a lot of queens during the 

 summer of 1906, and for some reason these queens 

 seemed to have hard work to keep up the strength 

 of the colony. Some of the colonies having 

 these queens increased in bees very little after 

 they were set from the cellar, and some died out- 

 right. Many colonies would build supersedure 

 cells, and, although not very full of bees, quite a 

 few of them would swarm on these cells unless 

 prevented " 



"About what time of the year was this.?" 



" Along the latter part of May and the fore 

 part of June; and, although not by any means as 

 strong in bees as those colonies mothered by 

 queens of my own raising, quite a per cent would 

 swarm on these cells. " 



"Did any of vour own stock act in this man- 

 ner.='" 



"None, only some of my very old <]ueens. I 

 had two of my best old queens which did the 

 same, but one was three years old and the other 

 four. I had started in to control swarming, and 

 every queen that seemed able to do reasonable 

 service till the flow should come was retained and 

 the cells cut out. To do this I handled over the 

 brood-combs of the entire apiary, once every ten 

 days to two weeks, and it was a job I don't care 

 to go through with again; and that is the reason 

 I came over to have a talk with you. These col- 

 onies with those poor queens that I bought gave 

 the poorest honey-yields of any." 



" Why did you not requeen these colonies hav- 

 ing the poor queens.?" 



" I thought it would be no better to requeen, 

 because it was a hard time to rear queens; and, 

 besides, to have those colonies rear young queens 

 would get no more brood for the flow than just 

 to keep the poor queens a while longer." 



" It would look to me as if you were not thor- 

 oughly posted on the superseding-queen matter, 

 because you go on and tell me how the bees rear- 

 ed cells to supersede those old queens, and swarm- 

 ed with those cells, or the queens from them, I 

 suppose you meant; and then you tell me that 

 you kept all of those old queens that you thought 

 would possibly do any thing, because it was a 

 hard time to rear queens. You further said to 



have let these colonies rear young queens would 

 get no more brood for the tlow than to keep just 

 the old queens a while longer, and so you just 

 worked and worked, cutting cells to keep down 

 supersedure swarming." 



"What else could I have done.?" 

 " Let me tell you that the queens which emerg- 

 ed from those supersedure cells were as good as 

 any queens you ever had." 



"What.? Do you call queens good reared 

 from those miserable queens which I bought.?" 



"But you said that two of your best old breed- 

 ers did the same things, and the cells from these 

 were as good as any you ever had from those 

 queens during the years before, and it was not a 

 hard time to rear queens, for the bees reared them 

 themselves, without any hard work on vour part 

 at all." 



"But I thought the honey harvest must be on 

 In order to rear good queens." 



" That may be so where the novice is rearing 

 forced queens; but with the bees superseding 

 queens of their own accord during the latter part 

 of May and the fore part of June, they are mak- 

 ing no mistake, I assure you, as to the quality of 

 the queens they raise. You should have taken 

 every cell you could from these two colonies with 

 your old breeders, and, after cutting out all the 

 cells from other colonies, put one in each colony 

 which was found trying to supersede its queen. 

 You would thus have superseded all of those 

 poor queens without any swarming, without cut- 

 ting of cells, and without expense of brood-rear- 

 ing, and done the whole at one stroke; for the 

 old queens would have kept right on laying just 

 the same for all the cell or the young queen 

 emerging therefrom, till she got ready to die, so 

 you would have had all the brood you could 

 have had in any other way till this young quern 

 began to lay, when she would have boomed the 

 brood without much danger of any swarming 

 during the whole season." 



"That does look reasonable, as you tell it." 

 "Yes, and it is reasonable in practice, as well. 

 This is as I manage with supersedure cells early 

 in the season, when I find any of my best colo- 

 nies trying to Supersede their queens, and 1 find 

 there is no work in the apiary pays better th;in 

 thus saving all supersedure cells." 



" But if other colonies are not known to have 

 supersedure cells, how can you use such?" 



"The record kept of the age of queens, and 

 other records, show which are my oldest as well 

 as poorest queens; and if none of these colonies 

 are found to have supersedure cells started, the 

 nearly ripe cells I may have from my good old 

 breeder, or from any good stock which is trying 

 to supersede its queen, are put in these colonies 

 which I think may try to supersede their queen a 

 little later on, and in this way I nip the thing in 

 the bud, and have many colonies renew their 

 queens without any expense save the insertion o1 

 one of these nearly mature cells." 



" Do you leave any cell with your best queen 

 which is being superseded?" 



"No, not until I see she is about to give out 

 entirely; for if I did, as soon as the young queen 

 emerged therefrom that would stop any further 

 building of cells from this source. I always con- 

 sider myself very fortunate when I find any colo- 

 ny of real good stock trying to supersede their 



