THE AMERICAN APICULTURIST. 



Ill 



2. Yes. Reversing will prevent 

 swaijnin^ if properly condncted. 

 The entire brootl-chaniber should 

 be reversed jus ollen as once each 

 four days to break up the swaiin- 

 ing fever, or rather in order to de- 

 atro}' the queen cells. A queen 

 cell is capped on the fourth <lay 

 after the bees commence to con- 

 struct it, or after the egg hatches. 

 In order to prevent a swarm from 

 coming otf, the combs should be 

 reversed before the queen, cell is 

 capped, or a swarm would issue. I 

 have practised reversing at the 

 time a swarm issued and had good 

 success. As soon as the bees had 

 left the hive, and while they were 

 on the wing tiie brood-chamber was 

 reversed. When the bees came 

 back, they really supposed they had 

 entered a new hive, as all appears 

 so strange to them b}^ the combs 

 being turned bottom up. 



The queen was released from the 

 trap and went in with the bees. 

 The queen cells were soon torn 

 down, as the reversing process de- 

 stroyed the embr3'o queens and 

 then the bees, of course, removed 

 the cells. 



3. I hardly thinkitwould doto re- 

 verse the brood-nest three days after 

 a swarm issues and introduce a 

 queen. Some one of the cells might 

 hatch and should aqueen emerge the 

 one introduced would be killed or 

 the colony swarm. The proper way 

 to introduce a queen by any metli- 

 od is to do so before any queen 

 cells are capped. The three-day 

 method which I have practised so 

 man}' 3'ears with such good results 

 is founded on this principle : It is 

 generally from twelve to twenty- 

 four houi's before the queen is 

 missed from a large colony of bees 

 after she is removed. Now, I in- 

 troduce a queen in three days or 

 seventy-two hours from the time 

 the colonj^ is made queenless. The 

 bees do not have time to construct 

 and cap a queen cell in that time, 



and if a new queen is introduced 

 before the cells are capped, she is 

 at once accepted. As soon as her 

 presence is discovered, the bees 

 cease to work ni)on the queen 

 cells. The new queen makes a vis- 

 it to each one and destroys the 

 larva ;in less than foi'ty-eight hours, 

 all traces of the new queen cells 

 have been removed. 



It strikes me that any one can 

 introduce a queen b}' this process 

 provided the principle is under- 

 stood. 



WHO CAN ANSWER? 



West Fallbrook, Cal. 

 Cnn a ]inre Italian qucfii always be distin- 

 giiislieii iVom one with aniixttire of Cyprian 

 or Holy Laud blood ? If so, liow ? 



B. .J. Rice. 



[It would be rj^iher difficult to 

 tell a pure Italians queen from one 

 that has been crossed with an}^ of 

 the yellow races. Yet it is an easy 

 matter for an expert to distinguish 

 the worker bees of an Italian queen 

 matetl to a Cyprian or Holy Land 

 drone by their markings. As 

 American beekeepers are novv done 

 with the Cyprian and Holy Land 

 races this question is of little im- 

 portance]. 



BEST USE OF OLD COMBS— GETTING 

 BEES TO WORK IN TIIIC SLCTIONS. 



Constantia, Ohio. 

 1. Having lost a colony of be-es from star- 

 vation, what Will be the best use to make of 

 the combs ? 



( The combs weve diagonally across the 

 frames. Our hives are the American.) 



'2. How can we gel the bees to put some 

 honey m pound sections for us ? 



MKS. W. O . C. 



ANSWER BY W. M. BAUNUM. 



1. Trim the "diagonal combs" 

 and press them into the frames, 

 according to the directions given 

 on page 295 of the An, for last 

 year. 



Tlien put them away until about 



