THE AMERICAN APICULTURIST. 



165 



QUESTIONS BY G. W. DEMAREE. 



7. What is the average life of the 

 queen? and what is the greatest age 

 you know, either from personal knowl- 

 edge or authentic evidence, tliat a 

 queen has ever attained. 



8. At what stage of the development 

 of a queeu from a worker egg does the 

 material change take place which so 

 clearly distinguishes her from her 

 sister workers? 



9. Is a queen likely to be stunted or 

 injured in any way, by " mating" when 

 too young, as is the case with all 

 domestic animals? 



10. Does a laying worker live any 

 longer than other worker bees? and 

 how long is a laying worker capable of 

 laying eggs? 



ANSWERS BY J. HEDDON. 



1. The Dzierzon system says they 

 are; many excellent breeders dispute 

 it, however. My own opinion is, no 

 authority above the references given. 



2. I think sometimes two or three 

 miles and sometimes oidy a few rods. 



3. In my opinion not to exceed 

 eight. 



4. I have never used the Cyprian 

 or Syrian bees. 



5. We have used the tin and wood 

 separators considerably the past sea- 

 son. We see no use for separators at 

 all ; that is, no advantage offsetting cost 

 and trouble of manipulation. We see 

 no advantage that wood has over tin 

 excepting its cheapness, which tlie tin 

 fully oflsets because of its durability 

 and taking up no room between the 

 frames. I do not think the holes would 

 be of any advantage. 



6. I should use the tin points in 

 preference to the glue every time. 



7. That depends upon the system of 

 management. Where no special stim- 

 ulation to breeding is used their life 

 averages about four years; where it is 

 much less I have had queens live five 

 years and for aught I could realize did 

 as much usefulness the tlfth as the 

 tirst or second year. I believe from 

 statements I have no reason to doubt 

 that queens reach the age of six or 

 seven years. 



8. I am unable to answer this 

 question. 



9. Such may be the case with some 

 queens, perhaps those reared upon the 

 hot-bed plan or hatching from cells 

 left where all were cut out but the one. 

 Where queens were reared in the 

 natural way those of highest develop- 

 ment first make a small hole through 

 the capping through which they partake 

 of food fed to them by the workers, 

 becoming so active and strong before 

 they emerge from the cell that they 

 often fly into the air, apparently with 

 perfect vigor. As queens usually wait 

 from three to five days and sometimes 

 fifteen before mating I think with 

 properly reared queens there is little or 

 no danger from this cause. 



10. Having always discovered and 

 superseded laying workers shortly after 

 the beginning of their career I cannot 

 answer this question better than to say 

 that I think from known laws regarding 

 both queens and workers that laying- 

 workers would probably outlive their 

 sisters. 



Dowagiac, Mich. 



ANSWEHS BY PROF. .J. HASBROUCK. 



1. After a good deal of effort to find 

 out whether such drones are pure, I 

 am satisfied that they are not. I have 

 had, several times, half of a lot of 

 queens raised from the same brood, 

 fertilized as I know positively by drones 

 from a queen producing all three- 

 banded workers, and the other half by 

 drones from a hybrid queen, and always 

 the Avorkers of the former were all 

 three-banded, and the progeny of the 

 other was mixed in various degrees — 

 always better than from a queeii having 

 met a black drone, but never pure. This 

 is one reason why the usual directions 

 given in the bee-bo'oks for Italianizing 

 an apiary never work in practice. If 

 there is a reader of the Apiculturist 

 who has succeeded in getting every 

 stock in his apiary, to the number of 

 ten or more, unmixed Italians in five 

 years, without killing three hybrid 

 queens, yearly, for every pure one 

 saved, by the methods given in the 

 books of Prof. Cook, L."c. Root, H. 

 Alley, A. I. Root or the King Bros., 

 I wish he would stand right up and 

 give his name. I should like to know 

 if the thing was ever done. I bought 

 a dozen one-dollar and warranted 

 queens the past season of as many 

 different breeders. One warranted 

 one I had duplicated, as she was evi- 

 dently hybrid. All the others seem 

 pure except on a close inspection. 



