also says his imported colonies were from 15 

 to 18 days behind, and they were behind 

 last year in swarming and honey gathering. 

 Having received queens direct from Italy, I 

 have had considerable experience witli im- 

 ported stock along-side of my improved 

 strain that produce drones with three bands 

 or as beautiful in their marking as the 

 worker, so without prejudice to either 

 strain, I find that the home-bred stock pro- 

 duce a little larger worker, and that they 

 are hardier and winter better. But as re- 

 gards other good qualities, they are no bet- 

 ter than the imported stock. I mean good 

 imported, as some imported queens that are 

 sold in this country are not worth introduc- 

 ing. If I desired early drones and swarms 

 I would breed in and in, and by so doing 

 would produce a short-lived strain of bees 

 that would rear drones very early in the 

 season, and supersede their queens and 

 swarm. This is not theory, as 1 know it to 

 be the case in this county with small bee- 

 keepers. J. M. C. Taylor. 



Wilmington, N. C, June 10, 1879. 

 This morning I found 7 of the inclosed 

 insects upon a chinquapin tree, and they 

 had captured a honey bee and were all 

 around him upon a leaf, and each had his 

 bill fixed in some part of the bee's body. 

 Their bill is nearly or full one-fourth of an 

 inch long, and apparently very sharp, as 

 they could push it into the carcass without 

 the least trouble. I inclose them (2 alive) 

 and put in a drone and worker bee for their 

 " support " on the trip. I would be glad to 

 hear from you through the American Bee 

 Journal or Gleanings or both, upon this 

 insect, which is a curious-looking and very 

 lively one. R. C. Taylor. 



[This enemy of the bee is an immature 

 bug, probably Stivetrus diana, though I 

 cannot be sure without seeing the mature 

 insect. As will be seen, it is closely re- 

 lated to the Phymata erosa, described and 

 illustrated in appendix of fourth edition of 

 my Manual, page 293 ; though as it does 

 not practice the concealment of the latter, 

 it cannot be so much of an enemy. I pre- 

 sume it will not do serious harm. I should 

 be glad of the mature insects, if Mr. Taylor 

 will be so kind as to send them. — A. J. 

 Cook. J 



Trevose, Pa., June, 1879. 

 There has been some speculation in the 

 columns of the American Bee Jouenal 

 at times as to whether the bees ever remove 

 eggs from one cell to another. A curious 

 case occurred with me a good many years 

 ago, say 15, when I was experimenting in 

 queens more extensively than I am now. 

 In going my rounds one day I found a nu- 

 cleus box that had been overlooked. It con- 

 tained no queen and no eggs or brood of any 

 description. The nucleus still being in 

 good condition, I immediately iniroduced a 

 young and fertile queen and she was well 

 received. Examining the nucleus a few 

 hours afterward, 1 found the bees had 

 changed their minds and were proceeding 



to make short work of her majesty. I re- 

 moved her, but forget her fate. As soon as 

 1 could make it convenient, say within a 

 few hours, I proceeded to examine the nu- 

 cleus to see if I could discover any cause 

 for their strange behavior. I then found a 

 queen cell just started and containing an 

 egg, and it was the only one in the box. I 

 have never been able to explain this quite 

 satisfactorily to myself. I have always 

 thought that the queen I introduced cer- 

 tainly laid that egg, and as certainly did not 

 lay it in a queen cell. C. W. Taylor. 



Springfield, 111., July 5, 1879. 

 What can the matter be ? I have 37 colo- 

 nies and have had but 1 swarm during the 

 season. Have made no swarms for fear of a 

 failure in the fertilization of the queen, as 

 there are no drones flying. What does all 

 this mean ? It is common throughout the 

 country, so far as I can learn. Bees have 

 done well storing honey. A. J. Kane. 



[Without more light on the subject, your 

 question is a poser. Your colonies may 

 have dwindled in spring and hardly become 

 crowded before honey-flow set in vigor- 

 ously, when the bees had no time or incli- 

 nation to prepare for swarming. With your 

 number of colonies, if strong, you would 

 have found provision made for drones in 

 case you had divided or practiced artificial 

 swarming. It is sometimes marvelous how 

 soon a strong colony, if deprived of their 

 queen for the purpose of starting queen- 

 cells, will develop a host of drones.— Ed.] 



Martinsburg, Mo., June 27, 1879. 

 We have had a very dry spring with some 

 cool days and nights, and on this account 

 bees have done but little in the way of stor- 

 ing honey— consumed it as fast as brought 

 in. I have, been compelled to feed some of 

 the weaker colonies, though apparently 

 they have increased in number of brood as 

 fast as when storing an abundance of honey, 

 and this is the report of all with whom 1 

 have talked. The drouth killed the white 

 clover, so it furnished but little pasture 

 until after the 15th of June, and since that 

 time it has been too wet for bees to work 

 more than about hajf of each day. There 

 has not been more than half a dozen swarms 

 so far as I can learn. E. B. Douglass. 



Cedar Rapids, Iowa, June 14, 1879. 

 How is this for wintering bees out on the 

 prairie, without as much protection as even 

 a wire fence : A friend of mine wishing to 

 get some honey in sections purchased 8 sets 

 of me for the Langstroth hive, then paid 

 me for putting them on his hives. About 

 June 1st 1 went to his farm, about 2 miles 

 from my ranch. Everything around his 

 place was a model of neatness, except 

 around his bees which were almost hid by 

 weeds. He said he had tried to mow the 

 weeds down, but the bees always chased 

 him away, so he gave it up. Some of the 

 hives were in good shape, others almost rot- 

 ten. We commenced to examine and put on 



