AlGLST, iyj(U 



G 1> E A N 1 K Li ti 1 i\ li K E C L" 1. T I" l: ]•; 



INTRODUCING BY FASTING 



The Behavior of the ^een Appar- 

 ently More Important Than the 

 Odor When Introducing, 



MR. Dii'iiier's 

 article in 

 the June 

 issue of Glean- 

 ings prompts nie 

 to Avrite about 

 the "fasting" 

 o r starvation 

 method of queen 

 introduction. Mr. 

 J)iemer stresses the need of the introduced 

 queen 's aci|uiring the colony odor to insure 

 acceptance. So important does he consider 

 this that it is mentioned thrice in the art- 

 icle referred to. He admits, however, that 

 there is no need of this if a good honey flow 

 is in evidence, and also claims ready accept- 

 ance of a queen in a colony nine days queen- 

 less, first destroj'ing cells. 



Much has been said about odors in man- 

 aging bees; even Father Langstroth recom- 

 mends the use of peppermint in connection 

 with some manipulations. (See Langstroth, 

 L. L., 1863, "The Hive and Honey Bee, re- 

 printed bv The A. I. Root Co., Medina, Ohio, 

 1914.) 



It would be of interest to know if any- 

 one has direct evidence that odors play any 

 part, prominent or otherwise, in queen ac- 

 ceptance. Can anyone show that the be- 

 I'.avior of the queen herself is not the decid- 

 ing factor? 



The introduction of queens both for the 

 control of European foul brood and improve- 

 ment of stock is claiming much attention, 

 and a safe and easy plan is needed. Undoubt- 

 e<lly the greater part of shipped queens are 

 introduced in the mailing cage, because in 

 the case of the experienced apiarist this in- 

 volves less labor, and for the amateur it is 

 simpler. A 10 per cent loss of queens intro- 

 duced in this maimer is common, and is ex- 

 pected. While there may. be no 100 per 

 rent perfect plan of queen introduction, the 

 ■fasting" plan when intelligently used 

 gives a high percentage of successful intro- 

 diictions under all conditions. 



Simmins, in his "A Moilern Bee Farm," 

 in the 80 's, gives this plan and mentions a 

 definite time, .^0 minutes, for fasting the 

 queen. He also recommends that the queen 

 be introduced at "dusk." In discussing 

 this point with Mr. Buchanan of Tennessee, 

 at the St. Louis convention in 191.T, he said 

 In- did it at any time of day. 



.\ gooilly number of tests of the plan, un 

 der all conditions, has led to the belief that 

 when the queen has been without food until 

 .she is weak from lack of nourishment and 

 when dropped into any queenless colony 

 ;isks for food, almost never do the bees re- 

 fuse to feed her, and when they have given 

 her food she is treate<l as tho they nexcr 

 knew another queen. 



.\ queen direct from a nucleus f>f a colony 

 where she is laying freely will "starve 

 down" much quicker than one which has 

 not. been depositing eggs for some time. 

 Forty-five minutes will usually suffice in the 

 ■ .(se of an actively laying (|ueeii — in fact, is 





By Elmer G. Carr 



463 



sometimes long- 

 (' 1' t h a n neces- 

 siuy. A queen 

 from the mails 

 o r o n e long 

 c a g (' d may re- 

 quire an hour or 

 more to become 

 in a comlition 

 to behave her- 



self when introduced. 



The advantages of the fasting ]>lan are the 

 high percentages of successful introductions, 

 and the queen is at once at liberty to go 

 where she will in the hive. In a few hours, 

 therefore, she will be depositing eggs in the 

 colony, thus reducing to the minimum the 

 break in egg-production in the colony. The 

 disadvantage is the necessity for transfer- 

 ring the queen from the mailing cage to the 

 fasting cage. This is also involved in Mr. 

 Diemer's plan. It is usually recommended 

 that this be done by opening the cage be- 

 fore a closed window and catching the queen 

 as she crawls up the window pane. Many, 

 however, experience diflficiilty in handling a 

 queen with the fingers. Such persons may 

 allow the queen to crawl up into the fasting 

 cage as she crawls up the glass of the win- 

 dow. 



One difficulty with the plan is that the 

 beekeeper frequently does not have the win- 

 dow at the apiary. He is in the same fix as 

 was Dr. Miller in regard to Mr. Doolittle 's 

 advice to make a bee-celkr in a hillside — ho 

 did not have the hillside. 



I have no excellent plan for transferring 

 the queen alone, safely and easily, to the 

 fasting cage. However, there is evidence 

 of much inventive genius among beekeepers, 

 and it is to be hoped such will turn their at- 

 tention to this subject and give us an en- 

 tirclv satisfactorv .plan for accomplishing 

 this. 



The fasting plan, in brief, is to p^ace the 

 queen to be introduced in a cage without 

 food and attendants and leave her until her 

 movements become sluggish when she is dis- 

 turbed, indicating a weakening froin lack 

 of food; then place her loose on top of the 

 frames of the queenless colony, using only 

 such an amount of smoke as may be abso- 

 lutely necessary to handle the colony and 

 immediately closing the hive. 



Simmins mentione<l 4n minutes as the 

 proper fasting period, and was using (jucens 

 direct from nuclei. .\ longer time will 

 probablv be needed in the case of queens 

 which have not deposited eggs for some 

 time. 



The oft reco7nmended plan of dequeening 

 a colony and in about four days destroying 

 queen-cells and then introducing the queen 

 seems to have little to recommend it except . 

 to increase the labor. A colony which has 

 built cells appears more unwilling to accej)t 

 the new queen than one requeened as soon 

 as de(|uecned. 



New Egypt. N, ,T, 



