260 Beekeeping 



from the frames of a strong colony in front of the entrances 

 of those to be helped. The young bees go in and are accepted, 

 while the field bees return to their original hive. The queen 

 must, of course, not be shaken in this way. The advantages 

 of having colonies develop at about the same rate and of 

 reaching the honey-flow equally strong in bees, are as fol- 

 lows : (1) the colonies are ready for a given manipulation at 

 the same time, thus allowing the work to be well systema- 

 tized; (2) less hive-bodies are needed than if strong colo- 

 nies are given supers in accordance with their individual needs ; 

 (3) when properly done, equalizing probably results in an 

 actual increase in the total number of bees in the apiary, 

 since every queen is more nearly capable of egg-laying to 

 her full capacity and no queen is restricted by having only 

 a small number of workers to feed her brood ; (4) less manipu- 

 lation is necessary when the honey-flow begins (especially 

 in comb-honey production) in sorting combs of brood and 

 in reducing the brood to one hive-body, if this is practiced ; 

 (5) the brood is compact and this is especially desirable in 

 comb-honey production. 



The work of equalizing colonies is considerable and the 

 beekeeper must determine for himself whether it is profit- 

 able. In the management of out-apiaries, this work neces- 

 sitates extra trips which come at a time when the average 

 beekeeper has all the work that he can do. Making colonies 

 all in one mold often fails to bring to light the deficiencies 

 of some queens and the superior qualities of others for 

 breeding stock. If a brood disease is present or is even 

 known to be present in the neighborhood, there is danger in 

 moving combs about so freely. 



Clipping queens. 



The clipping of the wings of queens is advantageous in 

 the control of swarms, as will be shown later, and to find 

 queens in the spring is easier than later. In clipping the 

 queen, she is lifted from the comb, held securely but gently 

 between the thumb and index finger of the left hand and a 



