718 AMERICAN BEE JOURNAi-. 



coupled. They were on a window-blind. I watched their movements for some time, 

 and thought there might be some light obtained on this subject from them. They 

 took wing and flew away. The male seemed to have the worst of it. He was shriv- 

 elled up, and not much of him remained. 



Last season I had the pleasure of seeing what I considered was the union of 

 three queens. It certainly was a jollification. The drones assembled, forming one 

 confused and separate body. They could be seen distinctly tearing and striking 

 at one another, often coming to close quarters, several getting hold of one another, 

 and could be seen coming nearly to the ground, breaking their hold and rising again 

 to renew the attack. We have been taught to look upon them as quiet, harmless 

 individuals. They have the faculty of combativeness, and use it with good effect 

 when occasion requires. They fight desperately for a queen. It seems to me the 

 queen is "rounded up " (cow-boy fashion) by the drones and brought to close quar- 

 ters. When coupled they can be seen bearing themselves away on the wing, the 

 combatants scattering. One of those seen mated dropped in a lagoon in front of 

 the bee-yard. It had shallow water with lots of rushes. I waded in and found her 

 clinging to a rush, apparently suffering pain, as she was rubbing her sides with her 

 two hind legs. You will often see a queen go through the same performance when 

 stung, and also the fourth or fifth day after mating, with this difference— you will 

 often find the bees nibbling at the refuse of the drone's organs, which she is seeking 

 to discharge. This queen was mated, for the evidence was very marked, a portion 

 of the male organ being visible, which she seemed to be anxious to reach with her 

 legs. I gave her ten minutes to straighten up, and locate her hive. She seemed 

 prostrate, and unable to fly. To leave her would be a risk, so I cut the rush and 

 took her to a hive that had lost their queen the day previous. She was accepted 

 without any trouble, and proved a flrst-class queen. 



Whether all drop in mating is a question that needs confirming, which I hope 

 is not the case. Taking my last vear's loss into account, it looks as if it might be so. 



It is very interesting to watch the queens in their mating excursions, and note 

 the difference in time of mating. Some are mated on their first trip. This class of 

 queens appear not to be the strongest. Some will fly every bright day and escape 

 the drones. When inside pressure is brought to bear upon them, they will after 21 

 davs if fed heavily so as to excite egg-production, become drone-layers. Others, 

 when long in mating, get balled, sometimes escape and are mated, and in returning 

 set balled again. This is a rare occurrence — very rare indeed — for a colony to re- 

 ject a newly-mated queen. This is like a wedding in the human family, or the 

 arrival of a first-born— an event of great rejoicing. Joy and gladness seems to be 

 infused into every worker-bee, at the safe arrival of their newly-mated queen. Con- 

 trast the difference of a colony whose queen is long in returning. All is tumult and 

 disorder. Let her put in an appearance, or present them with another queen, and 

 the whole colony has the tidings as if by magic. Some are very slow at leaving the 

 hive cold and indifferent, and remain so for more than 30 days, get mated after 

 , ' j^ (Jo well. This is not in harmony with the theory of some, but it is the case, 



nevertheless. 



Experience leads me to say that the largest queens, and to all appearances the 



trongest, are as a rule the most difficult to mate. There is no doubt the strongest 



d fittest drones succeed in copulating, therefore no bad results can arise from in- 



d-in breeding. It is desirable that in-breeding should be resorted to in order to 



ake the characteristics indelible. Had this not been done in the case of our 



A pstic animals, the effects of a cross on any inferior stock would scarcely be 



ocnizable. I say, then, that in-and-in breeding among our bees is necessary. 



After all it is natural selection, and no injury can result from this source. 



