THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW. 



the hook and lay it aside. Keep on 

 dipping- and filling' until all the boxes 

 are filled. The bees, being- loaded with 

 honey, dip nicely, and, not being- able 

 to climb the smooth inside of the cup, 

 they handle about like so many beans. 

 Soon the bees in the boxes are all 

 buzzing- and roaring-, and thus lament- 

 ing- their queenlessness and confine- 

 ment, when we are ready to intro- 

 duce the virgin queens, which is done 

 bj' running- them into tlie little, 5-16 

 inch, round entrances to the boxes. 



When the virg-ins are all run in, and 

 the entrances closed, the boxes may 

 lie in the shade until the evening- of 

 the next day, or even 48 hours, and no 

 harm will come. 



The bees, beiiig- queenless and con- 

 fined, always accept the virgin given, 

 regardless of her age, or from whence 

 she has come. I believe that the gen- 

 eral acceptance of these virgins by the 

 bees is not so much because of their 

 queenlessness as it is because of their 

 confinement. Long ago I discovered 

 that almost any confined bees will 

 accept any kind of a queen, provided she 

 is given immediately after the bees 

 have discovered their confinement. 



Within 24 hours the bees in each of 

 the bab}^ nuclei have concluded that 

 their escape is impossible, and, resolv- 

 ing that "what can't be cured must be 

 endured," they accept the situation, 

 together with the queen, and quiet 

 down. Later the nuclei may be carried 

 out 300 or 400 yards, and the entran- 

 ces opened as the nuclei are scattered 

 under the brush, lodged in the forks of 

 trees, hung on a wire fence, or pitched 

 into the weeds — anywhere in any posi- 

 tion, any side up, only be sure they 

 are in the shade, where they remain a 

 few days until the queens are laying. 

 These little, miniature swarms with 

 virgin queens behave verj' much like 

 newly hived swarms. Queenless when 

 caged, aud remaining 24 hours 

 with a virgin queen, every bee seems 

 to consider the box as its home, and 



one or two bees are alwaj's on guard 

 at the entrance. 



The next day after distributing the 

 nuclei, we expect the queens to be 

 mated, because they are of the proper 

 age to do so. After the third day the 

 little zinc slots can be turned over the 

 entrances so as to prevent absconding. 



As soon as another batch of virgins 

 is read}', these little boxes, when emp- 

 tied of bees, are ready to be refilled 

 and used as before. 



I have mated 150 virgins witli the 

 bees from one colony, at one operation, 

 and left enough bees in the colony to 

 maintain the home. I have seen colon- 

 ies with the bees of which I think I 

 could have mated 300 or 400 queens I 

 Now I have told you how to mate the 

 virgins of five colonies with the bees of 

 one! 



NO troublp: from absconding. 



Did you ever notice what a rare 

 occurrence it is for the bees and queen 

 of a nucleus to abscond before the 

 mating of tlie queen? In my experi- 

 ence it is after she returns from her 

 wedding flight, and plans are being 

 laid for a perpetuation of their home, 

 that dissatisfaction and desertion step 

 in. Tlie room is too large; or the 

 larder empty; or after egg-laying and 

 brood-rearing have begun, then comes 

 unrest, and, consequently, absconding. 

 With our little boxes, and small, fat 

 combs of honey, there seems little dis- 

 position to seek new quarters — much 

 less than with the stronger nuclei and 

 standard frames. 



After the queen begins laying in the 

 baby nucleus the little zinc slot is 

 turned across the entrance, and the 

 queen is safe. Many is the queen I 

 have tested as to purity of mating in 

 these little boxes. 



WHY THERE ARE NO FERTILE 

 WORKERS. 



Fertile workers? How can we be 

 pestered with these pests when fresh 

 bees are used with each mating? 



