32 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



[August, 



main in the empty basket or box for one day, so 

 that the queen and bees may become thoroughly 

 accustomed to each other. Now drive out for 

 the second time the queenless stock, and give 

 this swarm a fertile queen from the reserve 

 queens. 



The now almost empty parent hive needs at- 

 tention, and all queen cells must be destroyed. 

 The first swarm with its freed fertile queen will 

 now be returned to the parent stock, and placed 

 on the old stand. As this swarm has maturing 

 brood in abundance, and the queen begins to lay 

 immediately, under judicious management the 

 swarm will increase so rapidly as to send off an- 

 other and sometimes a secund. 



After the second swarm has accepted the 

 queen, it can be placed upon a hive ; in case that 

 is not in a position to be used, the swarm is left 

 in the empty nucleus box, which is somewhat 

 screened from the sun. As this swarm has also 

 a fertile queen which will begin immediately to 

 lay eggs, it will in a few weeks be strong The 

 beekeeper has thus at least two strong swarms. 

 The cause of queenlessness in the parent stock 

 is either occasioned by over-swarming or by the 

 loss of the queen on her bridal trip. If the bee- 

 keeper has fertile queens at his disposal, the 

 trouble is speedily remedied, as such a stock will 

 instantly accept a fertile queen. It can be im- 

 mediately released among the bees, yet it is best, 

 first to cover the queen with honey, so that she 

 will be cleaned by the bees and thereby attain 

 the scent of the hive. If the beek' eper 

 should have no fertile queens, it is best to 

 give the queenless stock a small after-swarm, 

 having a good queen. 



Should a stock become queenless, and have as 

 yet built no combs and have no brood, it will 

 either return to the parent stock from which it 

 came, or enter a neighboring one, unless it be 

 immediately supplied with a queen. After- 

 swarms must be carefully watched, and immedi- 

 ately on their becoming queenless, supply them 

 with a fertile queen in a queen cage. 



Far more dangerous is the loss of the queen 

 by a first swarm, than that ocasioned by too 

 frequent swarming or by after-swarm. To get 

 them to accept a queen, will often require a 

 great deal of trouble. An unfertile queen will 

 on rare occasions be accepted ; they even for a 

 long time will show hostility to a fertile queen, 

 while they have any brood from which to rear a 

 queen. In such cases it is very necessary to 

 drive out the bees, place them in an empty box 

 and let them in it so long, until they are willing to 

 accept the proffered fertile orunfertile queen. The 

 combs containing brood must be placed with an- 

 other stock having a queen, otherwise the brood 

 would be lost. If you have no swarm to dispose of 

 in that manner, drive out only the larger portion 

 of the queenless stock and give them the queen, 

 leaving in the hive bees sufficient to warm and care 

 for the brood. When the driven out swarm have 

 accepted the queen, drive out all the bees re- 

 maining in the parent hive, and unite them with 

 the others, and place the united stock on the old 

 stand, taking care to destroy all the queen cells 

 that may have been commenced. 



Hesime. 



Defective Queens. 



Just as disadvantageous as queenlessness is a 

 defective or imperfect queen. A queen is defec- 

 tive or imperfect when she lays no eggs, barren 

 ones, few worker and drone eggs, or drone eggs 

 alone. The barrenness of a queen has its origin 

 in either sickness, or some internal imperfection 

 which will render impregnation and the laying 

 of eggs impossible. 



Partial unfruitfulness is thus caused ; either 

 the queen, owing to age or sickess, lays but few 

 worker eggs mixed with drone eggs, while the 

 masculine semen by which the eggs arc fertilized, 

 has exhausted itself; or, with a young, defective 

 queen, the impregnation has remained imper- 

 fect owing to some defective organism. 



A drone-producing queen, is caused either by 

 the masculine semen being exhausted, or, when 

 a young queen has never been impregnated. 

 This last arises from several causes. When 

 from long continued unfavorable weather, or 

 some physical imperfection, as lameness, a crip- 

 pled foot or wing, &c, the queen is hindered 

 from flying out ; or the queen may fly out at an 

 inopportune time, when there are no drones, as 

 early in spring or late in fall. 



The causes of defectiveness in a queen are in 

 part external. Therefore every queen should be 

 carefully examined before being given to a. stock. 

 Should it have any defect whatever ; does it want, 

 for instance, an atenna, a leg, etc., or even a por- 

 tion thereof, it is best at once to dispose of her. 

 With already impregnated queens, an outward 

 deformity will not involve total unfruitfulness, 

 but as a deformed queen will never be as useful 

 as a well formed one, it is always the most ad- 

 vantageous course to substitute for such a one 

 a sound one. 



In basket or box hive bee-culture, one seldom 

 sees the queen, so cannot always judge as to its 

 external deformities. Besides, mere outward 

 deformity is not a positive sign of the imperfec- 

 tion of the queen, as she may have some internal 

 deformity which will render her unfruitful. You 

 can always judge safely as to the defectiveness 

 of a queen by her brood. Is the queen entirely 

 unfruitful, then the stock will have no brood. 

 Queens producing barren eggs, lay them continu- 

 ously, but they never develop ; they are removed 

 by the bees, but to be replaced by the queen. 

 With such stock eggs alone will be found, but 

 no larvre or sealed up brood. 



Is the queen only partially unfruitful, you will 

 find worker and drone brood mixed together, and 

 as drone larvae in developing has not room suffi- 

 cient in the worker cells, the bees lengthen them 

 when the larva} commence spinning the coccoons, 

 and place a large cover over them, while the 

 worker brood lies much lower and is more regu- 

 larly covered. The brood has an uneven appear- 

 ance. 



With a drone laying queen, drone brood alone 

 is found in the hive. The brood is close together, 

 or in most cases is uneven, and has the appear- 

 ance of the above mentioned brood. It is easy 

 to distinguish between the drone brood of a 

 drone laying queen and that of a queenless stock. 



