FORMATION OF COLONIES. 267 



When queen cells are built on the edge of a comb, 

 as shown in fig. 62, they frequently suffer from cold, 

 which retards, and in many cases entirely destroys 

 them. This danger is avoided by the vertical nursery 

 being arranged so that it occupies the center of the 

 cluster of the bees, by which means a chill is avoided. 



The bees seldom, if ever, remove an egg from one 

 cell to another for the purpose of development ; hence 

 it is obvious that they are seldom in a position suita- 

 ble for straight cells, unless so arranged by the bee- 

 keeper. This plan is also found to produce more and 

 as perfectly developed queens as if raised to supply 

 natural swarms. 



Date the hive containing the queen nursery with 

 the day it was formed, in a conspicuous manner, and 

 in ten days from this time the most advanced of the 

 embryo queens are sufficiently mature to be used in 

 colonies then to be formed, or given to hives supposed 

 to be queenless. The less advanced ones can be 

 used on the eleventh day. But it is not safe to let 

 them remain for a longer period, as the first queen 

 out destroys the remaining ones. See plate xxxvn, 

 fig. 63 ; ft, cell from whence a queen has emerged ; 

 o, cells destroyed by her. 



FORMATION OF COLONIES. 



When the queen cells are sufficiently advanced, 

 which is on the tenth day, proceed to form colonies 

 as follows : 



