40 



THE AMERICAN APICULTURIST. 



to keep her caged much longer. Never 

 reletise a queen as long as the bees 

 cluster in lorce on the cage and exhibit 

 anger by biting at the wires and trying 

 to crawl in. Instead of pulling the 

 cage from the comb to release the 

 queen, take the small blade of a knife 

 and cut a liole througii the comb from 

 the opposite side. This hole s-houkl 

 only be large enough to admit the pas- 

 sage of a single bee, aiul the chips of 

 comb should be allowed to remain in 

 the hole to be removed by the bees. 

 This small hole allows the bees to get 

 into the cage and become acciuainted 

 with the queen before she is released. 

 When a bee enters the cage in this 

 manner, it seems to be so occupied 

 with the novelty of the situation, that 

 it loses its desire to molest the queen. 

 The next day the hole should be cut 

 hirge enough to allow the queen to pass 

 out at will, not forced out. 



It is always best to examine the hive 

 in about twenty-four hours after re- 

 leasing the queen to see if she is out 

 of tlie cage, and how she has been re- 

 ceived. If the bees are " balling her " 

 (which is not likely), she must be re- 

 caged. The balling is generally at- 

 tended with permanent injury to the 

 ovaries of the queen. 



Many narcotic and aneesthetic prep- 

 arations have been used to stupefy the 

 bees, such as tobacco, pufl-ball C Lyco- 

 perdon bovista ), ether, chloroform, 

 etc. The queen is dropped into the 

 hive after the bees get fully under the 

 influence of the drug. These agents 

 are applied by means of the bellows 

 smoker. 



The application must immediately 

 stop as soon as the bees commence to 

 fall to the bottom board. I have ex- 

 perimented with pufl-ball, ether, and 

 chloroform, and have come to the con- 

 clusion that the operation is attended 

 with injury to the colony. 



I have never had the honey-smearing 

 process (that is, rolling the queen in 

 honey) attended with good results. 

 Most of such queens will come through 

 the ordeal with torn and ragged wings, 

 caused by the bees gnawing them when 

 removing the honey. 



In introducing virgin queens my ex- 

 perience has not been satisfactory. 

 I have succeeded by caging tliem, and 

 releasing ihem by the plan previously 

 described; but no plan that consumes 

 much limp, however successful, will 

 pay. The risks of introduction added 

 to the risks attending fertilization are 

 too great. When just hatched or 

 crawling out of the cell, I have had 



the best success by very gently remov- 

 ing the cover from the hive, turning 

 back one corner of the quilt, and al- 

 lowing them to crawl down on the 

 frames, but by this plan I have lo<t 

 fully 75 per cent. When I read and 

 hear beekeepers say that they have 

 invariable success in introducing virgin 

 queens, I am constrained to think that 

 either some auspicious star shapes 

 their plans, or else with them, "one 

 swallow makes a summer." 



The subject w^as followed by dis- 

 cussion. 



Mr. Balcu. — When opening a hive 

 to introduce a queen I find it best, in 

 my experience, to use just as little 

 smoke as possible. I take the old queen 

 from the liive, pinch her head off" and 

 throw her away. The cage containing 

 the queen to be introduced should be 

 covered up so that she shall be just as 

 quiet as possible, then I take a little 

 Irom the hive on the point of a knife 

 and as the queen passes out of the cage, 

 smear her with honey. In this way I 

 have never lost a queen. It acts upon 

 the queen as water does upon bees; 

 the bees begin immediately to clean 

 the honey from the queen, and as long 

 as we can keep the bees quiet whon 

 introducing the queen all is well. 



Mu. DiCKixsoN. — I disapprove of the 

 smoking process which I think injures 

 both the queen and bees. I prefer to 

 adopt the following method; shake a 

 portion of the bees ofi" the combs into a 

 box, first disposing of the old queen, 

 put the new queen in the box with the 

 bees (and as my queens are all clipped 

 there is no danger of her flying away) 

 then take the box and rock it in such a 

 way, as to thoroughly nux the queen 

 with the bees (meanwhile conHning 

 the bees in the hive by closing the en- 

 trance) ; after this let the bees run into 

 the hive by shaking them down in front 

 of the entrance. 



Dk. Mauks.— Tiie best way is to put 

 the queen into a cage on top of the 

 frames and leave then 25 to 48 hours if 

 necessary, then remove the slide of the 

 cage and in nineteen times out of 

 twenty the bees will receive her kindly. 



Mu. AsrlxwAi.i,. — Assuming that I 

 have received the queen in good condi- 

 tion, I go to a colony that has been 

 queenless say five hours, remove a 

 comb and cage the new queen in one 

 side of this comb in one of the little 

 round "Betsinger" cages. These cages 

 are about l-i inches in diameter made 



