The First Steps in Beekeeping 223 



prove helpful in the early days with the bees. It is best 

 to have the bees already housed in the hive which is to be 

 adopted but if this is not possible then colonies in any hive 

 or in boxes or barrels may be purchased and transferred 

 (p. 245). Transferring is a difficult operation for a novice, 

 in fact it is not relished by an experienced beekeeper, and is 

 to be avoided. Early in the summer is usually the best 

 time for making the start, although the price charged for 

 colonies is usually higher at that season. There is less 

 opportunity for making such mistakes in management as 

 will result in loss of bees during the first few months of 

 ownership if these come during the summer. It matters 

 little what race or strain of bees is obtained at the beginning 

 except that it is desirable to avoid bees with too great a 

 percentage of black blood in them, such bees being diffi- 

 cult to manipulate. After the apiary is established any 

 desired race may be obtained by removing the queens and 

 replacing them with mated queens purchased from com- 

 mercial queen breeders. If these are introduced to replace 

 the old queens of the colonies, the progeny of the new queens 

 will rapidly replace the offspring of the discarded ones as 

 they die from natural causes. 



Purchase of bees to be shipped from a distance. 



Another method of buying bees which is growing in favor 

 is to buy them by weight, without frames. Bees are now 

 easily shipped in cages specially constructed for the purpose, 

 even though the journey require several days. By this 

 method the possibility of carrying some brood disease is 

 obviated and there is less likelihood of damage to the bees 

 by the breaking or melting of combs or by suffocation during 

 the journey. Nuclei or small colonies with frames may also 

 be shipped a considerable distance. These will usually 

 build up to full colonies during the season if bought early, 

 but of course surplus honey can scarcely be expected the 

 first year from such a small colony. Still another plan is to 

 buy an empty hive and leave it with some beekeeper so 



