58 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Secretary Nellis asked how short to clip. 



Mr. Ehvoocl thought one wing two-thirds 

 oft" was best. 



Mr. Quinbj' stated that the object of clip- 

 ping was to prevent the queen from ftyiug 

 when the swarm comes from the hive, and 

 without the queen the .swarm Avill not depart. 

 yThe question is, Is the queen rendered less 

 fertile by the clipping V 



Mr. Nellis. At the Louisville Conven- 

 tion, a member read a paper on bees' wings, 

 in which it was stated that .several of the 

 functions of the bee were located in the 

 wings, such as breathing, etc. I think the 

 theory very erroneous. I have practiced clip- 

 ping for live or six years, and have seen no 

 bad results. I have at present more than 

 forty queens with wings cut oft' and consider 

 them as servicable as others. 



Mr. Doolittle, of Onondaga Co. I would 

 like to ask how many wings were cut, and 

 what instrument was used V 



Mr. Nellis. I have sometimes cut all the 

 wings two-thirds oft', and I did not consider 

 the queen injured. Formerly I cut the wings 

 with a knife, but now I use a small pair of 

 lady's scissors. I would advise cutting tlie 

 wings on one side two-thirds oft'. 



Mr. Vandervoort. I have clipped ({ueens 

 for ftfteen years, and never saw any injury 

 from it, except where I had cut so short as to 

 hurt the bone. 



Captain Heatherington. I have practiced 

 clipping some time. I have had three and 

 four hundred clipped at once. Clipped queens 

 are more likely to be superseded. I think 

 this happens because the ([ueen is regarded 

 as a cripple by the otiier bees. But I shall 

 practice clipping, nevertheless. 



Mr. Doolittle. I am certain that clipping 

 oft' both wings and one leg will not injure the 

 queen's capacity. 



Mr. Alexander. I have no doubt that the 

 bees perceive the deformation, and are led 

 to supersede her. I think, also, tliat contin- 

 ued clipping might, after generations, aft'ect 

 the insect. "There are sensations located in 

 the wings, and bees communicate by the 

 noise made by them, but convenience calls 

 for clipping, nevertheless. 



Mr. Doolittle. I think I can prove the abil- 

 ity of clipped queens. 1 have clippeci oft" a 

 queen's wings and a hind leg close to tlie 

 body, and the bee worked for four years. 



Mr. Heatherington. Tlie point needs wi- 

 der proof tlian a single instance. 



Mr. Doolittle. I liave several queens all of 

 wliose wings are clipped close to tlie body. 



Mr. Bc^ltsinger, of Onondaga Co. I agree 

 with Mr. Doolittle. 1 have .seen his crippled 

 queen. She is a good eft'ective queen. 1 have 

 clipped for eight years. I began by clipping 

 one of the four wings, and the queen went 

 with tlie swarm. 1 then elipi)ed oft" eveiy 

 wing entirely. I have ninety queens witlunit 



a vestige of a wing, and I can say. Do not be 

 afraid to clip oft" the Avings. 



Mr. Heatherington. I am certain that na 

 queen with a wing clipped can light witli a 

 swarm upon a tree. 



Mr. Doolittle. I have known of cases like 

 that instanced by Mr. IJettsinger. 



Mr. Nellis. I think even a little of the wing 

 clipped would retard the flight. I can not 

 comprehend how a queen with a whole wing 

 gone could go with a swarm. 



Mr. Quinby. I know of a case in which a 

 sw^arm went out Avith a young queen, and 

 left the clipped queen in the hive. Perhaps 

 some of the contradictions may be accounted 

 for by the fact of new queens. 



Mr. Doolittle. A queen, after ridding her- 

 self of her eggs, becomes as slim as a working 

 bee, and can fly with one wing gone. 



Mr. Elwood. I claim that clipi)ing off" all 

 the wings subjects them to liazard in falling, 

 as a C[ueen with part of a Aving gone could 

 not fall as one with all gone. I think clipping 

 one Aving on each side of the body might bal- 

 ance the insect and enable it to fly. 



Mr. Heatherington. A clipped queen is 

 most likely to drop from a cluster in moving. 



Mr. Bettsinger. Black bees arc more liable 

 to drop than the Italians. Italians cling close 

 ly to the comb. I experiment continually, 

 and have tried to see Avhether the clipping 

 injured the queen. The Avings are to beai' 

 the body through the air. They cannot use 

 them in the hive. They cannot make a noise 

 Avith them; they can not do anything Avith 

 Avings but go through the air. The ([ueen's 

 business is in the hive, wings are of no use 

 there. 



The question next presented Avas, "How 

 soon after hatching is the queen capable of 

 laying ? " 



Mr. Quinby had knoAvn them to lay in sev- 

 en days. 



Mr. Nellis believed, in the working .season, 

 the average Avas nine days. 



Mr. Doolittle said the shortest time he had 

 knoAvn Avas thre(! days, generally from four 

 to six days. ]Mr. Bettsinger approved of four 

 to six days, under favorable circumstances, in 

 the majority of cases. Mr. Ehvood said, once 

 his trouble Avas to get them to lay at all. 

 Sometimes tAvo Aveeks elajised, and in the fall 

 it was longer. Mr. Bettsinger Avould kill 

 queens Avhicli did not lay in ten days. By 

 favorable circumstances, he meant a full 

 SAvarm, Avith bees Avorking well and i)utting in 

 lotsof honey. Mr. Doolittle made a distinction 

 between natural, arliticial and forced (lueens. 

 He thought forced ([ueens good for nothing. 



Vice I^resident Alexander, assuming the 

 chair, submitted the question Avhether tho.so 

 queens raised by artiflcial nu-ans are equal to 

 the natural jn'oduction of the hive. 



.Mr. Doolittle said he meant, by forced 

 queens, those which are h: t''hed in From seven 



