122 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOLJR^AL. 



The chief means of preventing the occuiTence 

 of queenlessness in an apiary are these : First, 

 that the sAvarm must invariably be set where 

 tlie parent stock stood, and the latter removed, 

 immediately after swarming, to as great a 'dis- 

 tance in the apiary as practicable, from its 

 former location. Second, that the hives of 

 parent slocks be set as much apart as possible 

 irom all others in the apiai-y, and made to differ 

 iVom them in external appearance by affixing 

 to tliem some prominent mark in front, easy to 

 be recognized by the returning young queen; 

 and that the hives of any afterswarms we choose 

 to preserve be treated in the same manner. 

 Tiiird, that care be taken not to stand in front 

 of any hive containing j^oung unfertilized 

 queens, from noon to eve, so as to interfere with 

 the flight of the l)ees, or mislead the queen on 

 her return. Fourth, that the queens of tlie non- 

 swarming store stocks be removed before becom- 

 ing super-annuated — doing this at a time when 

 there are eggs and worker brood in the hive, 

 and at a season when drones still abound. 

 Fifth, that care be taken not to injure or muli- 

 tate the queen when stores are removed, orth-.it 

 she be not carried off where a super or a surplus 

 honey -box is taken away. 



It is easily ascertained by examination 

 whether a queen is or has become a drone- 

 breeder, because such a queen deposits her eggs 

 almost exclusively in worker ce!ls,and the brood 

 is as compactly placed as the worker brood in 

 normal stocks, but the cells are covered Avith 

 elevated or concave caps, and the great mass of 

 the emerging young are small-sized drones. 



It is much more difficult to ascertain season- 

 ably whether a queen is barren or not, either 

 from disease or advanced age, or from not hav- j 

 ing had concourse with a drone. In these cases 

 there is a qu-eu present, though she produces ' 

 no eggs. The only certain evidence here is the I 

 gradual decrease of popidatiou, and the entire j 

 absence of worker brood. It rarely happens j 

 that a fertile worker begins to lay drone eggs in i 

 the presence of u young unfecundated queen. i 



When there is no queen in a hive, the fact is 

 more readily ascertained. The surest evidence 

 thereof is when, in spring or fall, we observe 

 drone brood placed in irregular patches or 

 clusters. Frequently a number of such cells 

 are built together, and have only one common 

 cap or cover, or some few arc more elevated 

 than others, and capped distinctly. No worker 

 ^rood whatever is seen; the population is weak; 

 the bees are scattered about on the combs, and 

 on lifting the hive they do not rush forward in 

 crowds, but come singly, with a kind of inter- 

 mitting plaintive Vv'ail. When such appearances 

 present themselves, the colony is almost infal- 

 libly lost, whether it have a drone-breeding 

 queen or none. The bees have become dispir- 

 ited, and, being now old, will generally refuse 

 or neglect to rear a queen, even if suitable brood 

 be offered them, and the season be otherwise 

 favorable. The winding up is usually a sudden 

 inva^iou by hordes of robbers, and an entire 

 abandonment of the premises. A competent 

 apiarian will of course not let matters come to 

 this pass. Seasonable observation will have 

 enal)led him to discern by ceriain indications 



which of his colonies are queenless, oral len.st 

 in a suspicious condition, while remedies iire 

 yet available. Among these indications are tlie 

 following : 



1. In the evening of the day on which a col- 

 ony has lost its queen, the bees will be excee-.T- 

 ingly restless and excited, running in and out 

 of the hive, and over the alighting-board, hur- 

 riedly and frecpiently jostling each other, ap- 

 parently in great uneasiness and alarm, as 

 j though in search of something. Equally strik- 

 I ing are the sadly mournful tones they occasio- 

 [ nally utter in the hive, followed by prolbund 

 silence. This is an evidence of queenlessness 

 described already with minuteness by old 

 writers on bee-cuUure, and of the correclnesa 

 of wjiich we had the misfortune to have ocular 

 proof in our apiary the first year we kept bees. 

 It will be found to present itself even in the 

 case of the strongest and most populous store 

 stocks and magazine hives, if we happen to be 

 present when the loss occurs, though in such 

 the commotion is more transient, as the bees, 

 consciotis of their strength, are apt to neglect 

 taking the needed prompt measures to repair 

 then- loss, and thus remain queenless. It is 

 hence judicious to watch the hives daily, in 

 spring and summer, from about four o'clock in 

 the afternoon to eight in the evening, so that 

 anything suspicious in the deportment of the 

 bees at such time may not escape observation. 

 Populous colonies especially, and such as have 

 roomy hives, should be regularly inspected, 

 because in such the diminution of numbers is 

 not so soon noticed, and they frequently con- 

 tinue gathering pollen much longer after losing 

 their queen than weaker stocks do. Store 

 stocks also should be daily subjected to close 

 scrutiny, because, as they do not swarm, they 

 change tlieir queens occasionally, and are there- 

 fore exposed to the danger of becoming queen- 

 less on such occasions. 



3. It is much easier to detect queenlessnessin 

 stocks which have produced a swarm. Lift the 

 parent stock early on the morning of the twen- 

 ty-eighth day afLer the first swarm left. If the 

 drones are then found lying compactly on the 

 bottom board of the hive, it is evidence that 

 the young c[ueen is fertile and has begun to lay 

 eggs. If the drones are not so found, the colony 

 is queenless. If the first swarm and the parent 

 stock were transposed after the swarm was 

 hived, this evidence will present itself still 

 earlier, often as early as on the fourteenth day, 

 and can be confidently relied on. 



Koautr says : "If we cut out a piece of drone 

 comb densely covered b}' Avorkers, on the 28th 

 day after the colony has produced a swarm, and 

 lind eggs in the cells — some of these even con- 

 taining several eggs — we may conclude that the 

 colony is certainly queenless." This is doubtless 

 so; but occasionally no eggs are found, as there 

 happens to be no fertile Avorker among the bees, 

 and yet the colony may be queenless. On our 

 system of transposing the parent stock and the 

 frAvarm, Ave can ahvays tell in about ibiu'teen 

 days hoAV matters stand. If in that time the 

 bees have been quiet, manifesilng no symptoms 

 of uneasiness, and if on the tweiuy-eighth day 

 or sooner the drones are literally packed down 



