20 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



[For the American Bee Journal.] 



DoQueets Mate with two Drones? 



It has occurred to me that queens sometimes 

 mate with two drones, from the fact that I have 

 frequently had Italian queens whose progeny, 

 when they first commenced depositing egtrs, 

 appeared almost pure, and after a few weeks 

 would change almost entirely to black ; and, 

 again, after some weeks, or sometimes months, 

 the progeny would change back again. 



This changing I have noticed both with the 

 Italian and black queens in half a dozen or 

 more cases, within the past tour years. 



While examining a small nucleus last season, 

 I saw the queen had just returned from her 

 bridal tour, showing the usual signs of having 

 mated with a drone. The next day I opened 

 the nucleus to ascertain, if possible, how long 

 before she would commence depositing her eggs, 

 (as some writers profess to tell us the time), 

 and to my surprise she was not in. I am sure 

 she was not, for she was a large well colored 

 Italian, and the bees in the nucleus were few in 

 number and of the black nice. I could there- 

 fore easily have found he/, but she was not in. 



I opened and looked again in a short time, 

 and saw her bearing fresh signs of having met 

 with a drone or drones. Two days after this 

 she was depositing eggs, which produced black 

 bets for some weeks ; and afterwards others, as 

 bright almost as pure bred bees, proceeded from 

 the eggs she laid. This spring the progeny is 

 black again ; though a great majority of the 

 bees bear the shape, but not the stripes, of the 

 Italian — while others having the shape of the 

 common black bee, have one or two stripes or 

 bands. 



Did not this queen mate with two drones ? 

 or why the change in the color, markings, and 

 shape, of her progeny ? 



If birds and animals will mate with two of 

 the other sex, why may not insects also ? 



I wish your scientific readers would give this 

 their attention, and devise some way that we 

 may have our queens mate with the kind of 

 drone we wish to breed from. Cannot we 

 Americans do what a German has done ? Let 

 every reader of the Journal, try some experi- 

 ments of his own this summer, and I feel sure 

 we shall accomplish the much desired end. 



H. Nesbit. 



Cynthiana, Ky. 



[For the American Bee Journal.] 



Bees in Tennessee. 



We have the finest bee country here in the 

 world. White clover is becoming the sponta- 

 neous growth of our bottoms. Besides, we have 

 an abundance of other bee pasturage, which 

 lasts all the time that bees can be out. 



We have no patent hives here yet, nor any 

 Italian bees ; and I hope to get some instruc 

 tions in regard to both from your paper— of 

 which send me the back numbers for the pres- 

 ent s'-ear. 



Forked Deer River Bottom, near where I 



live, abounds with wild bees. You cannot 

 place honey out anywhere in it without its be- 

 coming in a few minutes covered with bees. 



Will some of your experienced bee-men give 

 me some instruction as to the best mode of 

 hunting bees, and the best time to do it ? I 

 have heard a great deal about "coursing" bees, 

 but I do not believe that one bee in a hundred 

 will fly in a direct line for its hive, when leav- 

 ing the bait. I have watched them, after cir- 

 cling for some time, start off in an apparently 

 straight course for the hive ; but they would 

 then curve so much as to leave me in entire un- 

 certainty as to the direction they went. Nor is 

 there any indication of the elevation of the hive 

 irom the ground, by noticing the height to 

 which the beeswil' rise, in circling, before leav- 

 ing ; as all bees, when passing through woods, 

 homeward bound, will fly over the tops of the 

 tallest timber. 



I would be glad to hear from some of your 

 correspondents on this subject. 



S. W. Cole. 



Andrews Chapel, Tenn. 



tW In the February, March, and May num- 

 bers of the last volume of the Bee Journal, 

 our correspondent will probably find the infor- 

 mation desired. 



[For the American Bee Journal.] 



Mr. Editor : — Can you inform me what is a 

 neutraliser or solvent of beeswax and propolis, 

 to remove it from glass or cloth ?* 



Bees are in good condition here this spring, 

 having been w r ell supplied with honey last fall. 



In the statements of your correspondents, 

 boasting of the productiveness of their bees, I 

 have not seen anything better than that of a 

 colony I sold to a neighbor, which yielded him 

 last season four swarms. The first swarm 

 swarmed twice.; and two of the casts swarmed 

 also — making in all seven from one. Two of 

 these went to the woods. The remaining five 

 became strong and rich for winter. The old 

 colony and the swarms yielded, besides, eighty 

 pounds of surplus honey. 



I have an Italian queen that was reared last 

 fall. On the 12th of March she had only one 

 inch of comb filled with eggs. On the 23d of 

 April she produced drones, principally even in 

 worker cells. The lower part of her abdomen 

 is enlarged, so that although she is very intent 

 on laying eggs, she only succeeds in getting one 

 deposited after several efforts, and it is then 

 placed at half the depth of the cell. 



At this date she lias ceased to produce any 

 workers, and very rarely is a drone produced 

 in the worker cells, while the eggs she is now 

 laying in drone comb are developing uniformly. 

 I gave fifteen dollars for her last fall. If you 

 wish to experiment with her, I will freely send 

 her to you. I think she must have dropsy, or 

 an enlargement of the ovaries. 



R. Wilkin. 



Cadiz, Ohio, May 16, 18G8. 



*Propolis may be removed from glass by means of 

 alcohol, and vislk by a solution of potash. (Jloth 

 would probably be injured by the latter. 



