42 BEGINNER'S BEE BOOK 



fails to become fertilized at the proper time, she 

 disappears or becomes a drone layer. It has 

 been proved beyond question that an unmated 

 queen can produce male offspring. In fact, 

 this is rather a common occurrence in the 

 apiary. An mimated queen is worthless, how- 

 ever, since all her offspring will be drones, and 

 unless she is replaced the colony will soon die. 

 With a drone-laying queen, conditions in the 

 hive are very similar to when there are fertile 

 workers, as already mentioned. Since the drone 

 is hatched from an unfertilized egg, he has no 

 father. This is the case with several other in- 

 sects, as is well known to naturalists. 



Activities of the New Colony. — As 

 soon as the swarm is settled in the new quarters 

 the bees will form a compact cluster for the 

 purpose of secreting wax and building combs. 

 The wax scales are exuded from between the 

 segments of the abdomen. A high temperature 

 seems to be necessary to enable the bees to pro- 



