For the American Bee Journal. 



A Proper Time for Queen-Rearing. 



G. 31. DOOLITTLE. 



Years ago, when Mr. E. Gallup con- 

 tributed largely to the pages of the 

 American Bee Journal, he told us 

 that the time to prepare our bees for 

 winter was the month of August, and 

 not to wait till October or November to 

 do such work, if we wished to have 

 success. 



The reasons for such a course are that 

 the bees form themselves into a sphere 

 or ball as cold weather approaches, sur- 

 rounding themselves with honey close 

 at hand for use in cold weather. To this 

 end, we find them in the fall unsealing 

 the stores on the outside of the outer 

 combs, and carrying it to the part of the 

 hive selected for winter. Therefore we 

 see, if after this is accomplished we dis- 

 turb them by uniting, changing combs, 

 etc., we must of necessity lessen the 

 chances of safe wintering. In view of 

 the above, which we believe to be cor- 

 rect, we have made it a practice to have 

 all our queen-reariug done up before 

 Aug. 20, and all nuclei and small colo- 

 nies united, so that they may have suf- 

 ficient time to prepare themselves for 

 winter. 



Again, as a rule, in this locality 

 there is scarcely any honey gathered af- 

 ter Aug. 25, and queens reared out of the 

 honey season have proved, as far as we 

 have experimented, to be inferior in 

 nearly all respects. We have had queens 

 reared both before the harvest com- 

 menced in spring and after it had ceased 

 in the fall, by the loss of the old queen, 

 none of which proved to be efficient lay- 

 ers for any length of time. Nature de- 

 signed queen-rearing and swarming 

 only during a period that honey as well 

 as pollen was being gathered from the 

 fields, and we can always consider it safe 

 to go according to the teachings learned 

 by a close observation of our pets, and 

 unsafe to go contrary to the rules and 

 laws which govern the economy of the 

 hive. 



In view of the foregoing, we were not 

 a little startled to read on page 130 of 

 the Exchange for August, this advice by 

 the editor : 



"As this is the season when queens can be most 

 cheaply reared or bought, there is no reason why the 

 stock of queens cannot be reared now preparatory to 

 next season's increase of colonies." 



As the August Exchange put in its ap- 

 pearance August 26th, we are driven to 

 the conclusion that this is the way the 

 cheap queens are reared cheaply so they 

 can be afforded at 05c, 75c. and $1.00 



each. Except in some portions of the 

 West, where fall flowers are abundant, 

 queens reared by commencing opera- 

 tions Aug. 26th, would not be worth 25c. 

 each, calling a queen reared under the 

 swarming impulse worth $3.00 as a 

 standard. At least, such would be my 

 estimation of them from the experience 

 of the last 8 years. 



This rearing of cheap queens at all 

 seasons of the year is suicidal to the best 

 interests of the bee-keeping fraternity, 

 although perhaps profitable to a few. 

 As good prolific queens are of more im- 

 portance to honey producers than all 

 else combined, it stands us in hand to 

 rear only the best, and if we buy, pro- 

 cure only such as are reared during 

 June, July and the first half of August, 

 and we soon shall hear less of poor and 

 short-lived queens. On page 125, same 

 number of Exchange, Mr. Sayles makes 

 some close remarks and observations, 

 and asks : 



" Whether the necessity of rearing (queens) from 

 the egg is theory, or the result of careful and long 

 continued experiments 7" 



As this is a proper question, it may be 

 well to look into the matter a little. As 

 a rule, a larva fed for a queen from the 

 time it hatches from the egg till sealed 

 over, will produce a better queen than 

 if fed as a worker for the tirst three 

 days, and then fed as a queen, but we 

 would much prefer the latter reared 

 during July than the former reared in 

 April or October. 



Again, a prominent bee man advises- 

 as a sure way to get good queens, to get 

 a frame of eggs the oldest of which are 

 about hatching, place it in an empty 

 hive, and place said hive on the stand of 

 a populous colony. If you are sure you 

 get only eggs or larva? you will always- 

 get good queens, no matter (I suppose) 

 when this removal is made. Nonsense ! 

 Such queens would not be worth intro- 

 ducing if thus reared in October, and I 

 would rather have a nine-day queen 

 reared in July, than one reared from the 

 egg in this way at the same time. Still 

 a queen from the egg under precisely 

 the same conditions otherwise, is al- 

 ways preferable. When will our cheap 

 queen-breeders learn that nature de- 

 mands, to rear good qeeens, that there 

 should not only be plenty of honey and 

 pollen coming in from the fields, but 

 that there should be bees of all ages 

 in the hive to secure universal good 

 queens. 



Certainly no better queens can be 

 reared than those reared in the swarm- 

 ing hive, where the queen lays the egg 

 directly in the queen cell, and the larva 

 is fed for a queen until it is sealed over. 



