

THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



19 



[For the Amsrican Bee Journal.] 



The Queen Catcher. 



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1. The wire box to catch the queen, as she passes out of the hiveto meet the drmes. 



2. The w'l-e case to enclose tlie comb on which the young queen is. 



3. The wire tube connecting the box and case. 



a. Entrance to the wire cage, 



b. Entrance to the wire box. On the c«i, these entrances are not as distinctly mcucated 

 under a and b, as they should have been. 



The queen catcher is a new invention whicli 

 I liave laid before several experienced beekeep- 

 ers, who call it "a good and ingenious inven- 

 tion,''' to cntch the queen in natural swarming, 

 wlien that is allowed. 



Some suggest that it will also do for securing 

 the pure fertilization of young quee'js. Tliis, 

 of course, would require, in some cases, a differ- 

 ent arrangement of the cages and tube's, to fa- 

 cilitate the operation. 



The queen catcher is composed of a flat wire 

 tube, 20 to 24 inches long, 1| inches wide ; and 

 a wire box 7 inches long, 5 by 5 inches square, 

 both made of fine-wov& wire cloth. One end of 

 the tube is inserted in nn aperture in the box, 

 made to receive it. Both box and tube are sup- 

 ported upon a frame on a level with the hive, 

 so that the other end of the tube can be intro- 

 duced into one side of the main entrance of the 

 hive. The remainder of the main entrance is 

 closed by a regulator so that none but the work- 

 er bees can pass in and out. Thus arranged, it 

 is ready for swarming, the queen being compel- 

 Led to pass out into the wire box. Tlie swarm 

 missing the queen returas, nnd discovering her 

 iu the box, clusters on it. The bees are theu in 

 a convenient place to handle and hive in the 

 XTi^ual way ; and we can satisfy ourselves of the 

 presence of the queen in the box. 



The box should have an aperture in the top, 

 to lei the Avorkers which pass into it escape. It 

 shpuld/lso have a door, by which the queen 

 can easily be liberated among the bees, when 

 ready, and all is d'>ne. 



As above suggested, I use this wire box and 

 two.tubes, when caging the queen and drones 

 from different hives, at the same time — the 

 tu,pes pagsing.from each hive into the wire box ; 

 one hive containing the.. queen, aad the. other 



the pure drones The entrance to each hive is 

 to be closed, as in swarming ; so that the qupcn 

 and drones will be compelled to meet iu the 

 bos. The young queen should never be per- 

 mitted to pass out on her bridal tour, before 

 the catcher is arranged. On the fifth or sixth 

 day after leaving her cell, is the time she usual- 

 ly "passes out to meet the drones, if the weather 

 is favorable. 



Tlie choice drones should also be confined to 

 the hive ; for if permitted to. fly out, black or 

 impure drones may enter the hive with them ; 

 and thus the purity sought might not be secur- 

 ed, unless caught in a sepirate box and the 

 choice drones selected, before ciging tlie queeu. 

 If confined moie than one hour touether, they 

 must be supplied with a sponge saturated with 

 honey, for feed in tiie box. If the niglits are 

 cool, they must also be placed where they can 

 Lave the heat of the bees to give them the 

 proper warmth. They may require to be 

 kept confined together forty-eight hours. The 

 queen is liberated hy turning open the door of 

 th>" cage, down upon the frames. 



When the hives containing the queen and the 

 drones are too tar apart to use one catcher as 

 above noted, then of course two will have to be 

 used, and the drones cauijrht in one and thea 

 put in the other containing the queen, and arran- 

 ged and managed as above stated. 



I first used a glass box, but b)^ experiment 

 soon found that the wire is preferable, as it 

 excites the queen and droups less ; and where 

 the heat of the bees and ventilation are desired, 

 it is again preferable. 



By a union of the queen catcher and Dr. 

 Preuss' wire comb cr.ge, (see A. B. .Journal, 

 volume 4, page 206), we have all that can be 

 desired to secure the pure fertilization of young 



