126 INCREASE 



The elaborate descriptions of this system are disconcerting 

 to the novice but in reality it is quite simple. It is rather a 

 delicate task to transfer the newly hatched larvae from the worker 

 cell to the artificial cell in the wood cup, but a little experience 

 will make it easy. By the present method there are no cells to 

 dip or other complicated processes to confuse the inexperienced. 

 He needs only to place as many of the wax cells in the wood cups 

 as he wishes to use. He then places these in the frames in which 

 they hang in the hive and transfers a baby bee and a drop of 

 royal jelly to each one. 



Care of Cells. — The real problem by this method is to get 

 colonies in proper condition to care for the large numbers of cells 

 which the commercial queen breeder must constantly have in 

 order to get a sufficient number of queens to make it profitable. 

 While some queen breeders rear their queens in small nuclei, 

 it is the general opinion that the best queens are reared in strong 

 colonies. 



A colony can be made queenless and after twenty-four hours 

 be given a frame of these prepared cells. They are likely to be 

 accepted and cared for and a second lot can be given when these 

 are taken away. However, the leading queen breeders have been 

 seeking a method of safely finishing these cells in strong colonies 

 with laying queens so that the queens will be reared under 

 similar conditions to those reared when the bees are preparing 

 to swarm. The Roots, who are extensive queen breeders, practise 

 making two-story colonies with the queen in the lower story and 

 an excluder between the two. The brood is raised into the upper 

 story so that the queen will go on laying below but no new brood 

 will appear above. The frame with prepared cells is placed in 

 the center of the brood above the excluder and the bees finish 

 the cells nicely. When one batch is removed another is given in 

 place of it, and when all the brood is hatched above, the brood 

 from below is again lifted to insure proper attention to the queen 

 cells. It seems to be necessary to keep brood above to secure good 

 results. 



