246 AGRICULTURE 



Only one queen is allowed in the hive at 

 a time, but, if from any cause, the queen is 

 lost or killed, or if she becomes old and 

 infertile, or when the bees are preparing to 

 swarm, a certain number of royal princesses 

 will be reared, one of which is destined to 

 take her place. From four to five days after 

 the young princess is hatched, she leaves the 

 hive on her " nuptial flight" for fertilisation 

 by the drone. Except when heading a 

 swarm, this is the only time on which a 

 queen leaves the hive. 



Fertilisation can only take place on the wing, 

 but once accomplished it suffices for life. 



Two days after returning from her flight, 

 the queen commences to lay eggs, which are 

 of two kinds, those producing drones and 

 those producing worker-bees. 



Queens are produced from the same eggs 

 as worker-bees, but under different conditions 

 of feeding and treatment, and the queen can 

 decide whether she will lay drone or worker 

 eggs- 





