THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



613 



prime swarm, although not the first 

 one issuing in point of numbers.— J. 

 E. Pond, Jr. 



I have never known queens to mate 

 until after they had led out a swarm. 

 In 3 or 4 days the bees, on some pleas- 

 ant afternoon, will fly out in great 

 numbers, wlien the queen may be 

 seen to leave the hive to " mate."— 

 Db. G. L. Tinker. 



Drones and Worker Eggs. 



Query, No. 121.— 1. Can bees form or 

 rear drunes from eSKs in worker-cells? Or can 

 they 7U(ifce a drone out of aworker-epK? If they 

 cannot, how do they know that u worker-egg will 

 not produce a drone? 



'2. Are all drone eKK8 unfertilized ? Is this ac- 

 complished by the "will " of the queen, or by the 

 size of the cell ?-T. ('. 



Drone eggs in worker cells produce 

 only dwarf drones. Worker eggs 

 never produce drones, as far as my 

 knowledge goes, even when laid in 

 drone cells.— G. M. Doolittle. 



Bees can rear drones in worker cells, 

 and workers in drone cells ; hence, 

 the size of the cell has nothing to do 

 with the fertilization of drone eggs.— • 

 W. Z. Hutchinson. 



Bees can rear drones from eggs in 

 worker cells, but the eggs will be 

 what are called drone eggs. They 

 cannot make a drone out of a worker 

 egg. No one can answer the second 

 part of the query, but it is a fact that 

 drones when produced in worker cells 

 are always drone capped or sealed. 

 AH drone eggs are unfertilized, and 

 this is accomplished by the will of the 

 queen if she Is fecundated. If not, 

 she has no choice in the matter. If 

 T. F. will carefully read the " Dzier- 

 zon Theory," this whole matter will 

 be made plain to him.— J.E.Pond,Jr. 



Bees can, and sometimes do, rear 

 drones in worker cells, but such 

 drones are quite small, comparatively 

 speaking. No ; they cannot make 

 a drone at all ; nor can they rear a 

 drone from a worker egg. They have 

 no need of knowing anything. They 

 are guided by innate force which serves 

 them every purpose. Eggs from 

 which drones hatch are not fertilized 

 in the same sense, nor in the same 

 way that worker eggs are ; though 

 soriie of us believe that the male- 

 producing eggs of the mother honey- 

 bee are fertilized by some process in 

 nature not yet discovered. — G. W. 

 Demaree. 



1. Yes, they often do. 2. They 

 never make a drone from a worker 

 egg. I do not suppose that they do 

 know. They probably expect a worker 

 from every worker-cell, and usually 

 are not disappointed. Occasionally 

 they are fooled. Young queens often 

 lay unimpregnated eggs— a few— in 

 worker-cells. They have not learned 

 their work tlioroughly as yet. 2. Yes, 

 by the will of the queen.— Prof. A. 

 J. Cook. 



1. Yes, dwarf drones. I do not 

 know whether they could remove the 

 fecundating matter from an egg or 

 not. 2. I think the queen governs it 

 by her will.— .James Heddon. 



Drones can be reared in worker- 

 cells provided the drone-egg is laid in 



it, but it is as impossible to make a 

 drone out of a worker-egg as it is to 

 make a rooster out of a hen. The 

 drone eggs are unfertilized. The sex 

 may be made by the queen at will, 

 but it is more likely to be caused by 

 the position in wliich she is placed 

 when laying. Whether the queen 

 " wills " it or not, is a theory which is 

 is not yet proved either way.— 

 Dadant & Son. 



1. No, not unless the eggs should 

 happen to be drone eggs. Bees can- 

 not " make " a drone from a worker 

 egg, and I do not think they know 

 one egg from another, except as it is 

 found in a drone or worker-cell, but 

 they know a drone larva from a 

 worker larva always, as indicated by 

 the way the cells are sealed up. 2. I 

 am fully satisfied that the continued 

 presence of the male elements in the 

 queen's spermatheca does have an In- 

 fluence on the unfertilized eggs of the 

 queen, as well as upon her whole 

 career. A fully developed unfecun- 

 dated queen never acts any differ- 

 ently from a laying worker. The fer- 

 tilizing of the eggs is done by the 

 will of the queen.— Dr. G. L. Tinker. 



Bees Working in Upper Stories. 



Query, No. 122.— Woultl banging' a frame 

 of brood and honey "up-stalrs" in u Simplicity 

 hive, taken from the lower story, get the bees up 

 and to work more quickly ? I use full wired frames 

 of foundation.-T. F. K. 



Yes.— Dr. C. C. Miller. 



Yes ; but do not do it until the 

 strength of the colony will admit of 

 it.— G. M. Doolittle. 



Yes, undoubtedly. — Dadant & 

 Son. 



I think it does often aid materially. 

 —Prof. A. J. Cook. 



The bees will follow their brood 

 " up-stairs " every time, but it does 

 not appear to get them to work more 

 quickly as to start comb-bjiilding in 

 sections more readily, than by some 

 other methods.— Dr. G. L. Tinker. 



Yes, it will as a rule, unless the 

 weather is too cold. This plan is 

 often adopted for this purpose, but it 

 is advisable to use a perforated-zinc 

 lioney-board or a queen-excluder of 

 some kind, else she will go "up-stairs" 

 and deposit her eggs there, and thus 

 injure the surplus honey. — J. E. 

 Pond, .Jr. 



Yes, it would in many cases ; but I 

 consider it too much manipulation for 

 the advantage gained, if it is an ad- 

 vantage. Usually, when the bees are 

 strong in numbers, and honey is com- 

 ing in, they will store it in the surplus 

 apartment without any coaxing, un- 

 less there is room to store it in the 

 brood- nest.— W. Z. Hutchinson. 



Bees instinctively adhere to the 

 brood, hence the theory that the pres- 

 ence of brood will set the bees at 

 work in the surplus department. If 

 there was any difficulty in getting 

 bees to work in the surplus depart- 

 ment when there is anything for them 

 to do, it would be worth while to talk 

 about a remedy ; but if there is honey 

 in the flowers, and the brood-nest is 

 full of brood, or brood and honey, you 



would find it a difficult matter to keep 

 the bees out of the surplus depart- 

 ment if you wanted to exclude them. 

 — G. W. Demarice. 



That is what we are told by some 

 apiarists wlio manage in such a way 

 as to need some indticement to bring 

 the bees above. With good average 

 queens, a good strain of bees, proper 

 size and shape of brood-chamber, 

 right communications to the surplus 

 receptacles, bees will, without any 

 artificial inducement, begin in the 

 surplus department just as soon as 

 the secretion of nectar will yield any 

 surplus.— James Heddon. 



tW The Maryland, Virginia and West Vir- 

 ginia Bee-Keepers' Association will meet in 

 the Court House at Hagerstown, Md., on 

 Wednesday, Oct. 21, 1885, at 10 a. m. 



D. A. Pike, Pres. 



t^~ The Southern Illinois Bee-Keepers' 

 Association will hold a meeting in Duquoin, 

 Ills., on Thursday, Oct. 1, 188.5, at 10 a. m. 

 All are invited. F. H. Kennedy, Sec. 



t^~ The Union Bee-Keepers' Association 

 of Western Iowa will meet on Friday, Oct. 2, 

 1885, at Dexter, Iowa. All bee-keepers are 

 cordially invited to be present. 



M. E. Darby, Sec. 



fW The Progressive Bee-Keepers' Asso- 

 ciation, of Western Illinois, will meet at Ma- 

 comb, Ills., on Thursday, Oct. 1.5, 1885. Let 

 everybody come and have an enjoyable time. 

 Good speakers are expected. 



J. G. Norton, Sec. 



|fW~ The New .Jersey and Eastern Bee- 

 Keepers' Association having accepted an 

 invitation to meet with the Mercer County 

 Board of Agriculture, of Trenton, N. J., 

 will hold their serai-annual convention in 

 the Grand .lury Room of the Court House 

 at Trenton, N. J., on Thursday and Friday, 

 Nov. 5 and 0, 1885, at 10 a. m. A full attend- 

 ance otj^the members is requested. To all 

 persons interested in our vocation, we ex- 

 tend a cordial welcome. The committee of 

 arrangements have secured hotel accommo- 

 dations at reduced rates. 



Wm. B. Treadwell, See. 



pw The Western Bee-Keepers' Associa- 

 tion will hold its fourth annual meeting in 

 Independence, Mo., on Thursday and Friday, 

 Oct. 15 and 16, 1885. The Association will 

 endeavor to make this the most interesting 

 meeting- yet held, and will spare no pains 

 within its means to make it valuable to all. 

 Several of our most prominent bee-keepers 

 have signified their intention to be present. 

 C. M. Cranball, Sec. 



t^~ The -Ith semi-annual meeting of the 

 Wabash County Bee-Keepers' Association 

 will be held at North Manchester, Ind., on 

 Oct. 10, 1885, in the G. A. H. Hall, Union 

 Block. First session at 10 a. m. All bee- 

 keepers are cordially invited to be present. 

 J. J. Martin, Sec. 



^~ The Central Michigan Bee-Keepers' 

 Association will meet in the Pioneers' Rooms 

 in the State Capitol, at Lansing, Mich., at 9 

 a. m., on Nov. 12, 18S5. All who have beea 

 or are interested in bee-culture, are invited 

 to attend. E. N. Wood, See. 



