THE AMERICAN APICULTURIST. 



173 



PROLIFIGNESS OF QUEENS 



By J. E. Pond, jr. 



Thp: questions are often asked by 

 beginners, "what need is there of 

 queens to lay so many eggs, and 

 why is a queen not considered val- 

 uable, unless she does actually lay 

 2,000 or more eggs per day in the 

 honey season?" 



The vast prolificness of queens 

 has always been a matter of sur- 

 prise to those not familiar with 

 apiculture, and doubts have been 

 entertained as to whether they ac- 

 tually lay the vast number of eggs 

 that is claimed at times they do. 

 When, however, it is fully under- 

 stood that an immense amount of 

 heat is constantly required to 

 enable the eggs to hatch, and that 

 as the heat is generated by the 

 bees themselves, an immense num- 

 ber is needed for that purpose, to 

 say nothing of the vast number re- 

 quired to constantly forage for 

 supplies, it remains a surprise no 

 longer. I am induced to write this 

 article, because I have lately re- 

 ceived several letters bearing upon 

 the subject, and I assume that it 

 will prove of interest to sorne be- 

 ginners who seek for knowledge in 

 the pages of the Apiculturist. 



In early spring following a long 

 and severe winter, those colonies 

 that were exceedingly strong the 

 previous fall will be found to be 

 terribly decimated in numbers, 

 and that something is required so 

 to increase them, that they will be 

 able to take advantage of the fast 

 approaching honey season. 



It is now generally admitted, 

 that a colony of bees, to be able to 

 give any considerable amount of 

 surplus, must consist of some 40,- 

 000 to 50,000 workers by the first 

 of June. If all the bees that were 

 hatched lived through the whole 

 season, a queen that laid 700 or 

 800 eggs a day might be able to 

 replenish a hive, in season for the 

 honey campaign, and keep it filled 

 with an effective working force ; 

 but when we know that bees in the 

 height of the working season live 

 only five or six weeks, and that a 

 sudden storm is liable to destroy 

 thousands from a single colony, the 

 necessity is at once seen of having 

 some means to keep up a supply of 

 workers, other than a queen that 

 lays but 700 or 800 eggs a day. 



We will suppose a colony to 

 have passed safel}^ through a long, 

 tedious winter, and is found in ear- 

 ly spring to consist of some 12,000 

 to 15,000 workers, which I presume 

 will be admitted to be a fair esti- 

 mate. Now it has been ascertained, 

 by accurate tests, that twenty-one 

 days are required to hatch out the 

 full fledged worker from the egg ; it 

 has also been ascertained that four 

 or five da3's elapse after the worker 

 emerges from its cell, before it can 

 attend to any duties inside the hive, 

 and ten to fifteen more before it be- 

 gins to forage. The honey-gather- 

 ing season ordinaril}'^ begins with 

 white clover early in June, and only 

 lasts till about the first of July ; and 

 in Massachusetts, at least, by far 

 the larger proportion of the honey 

 crops is gathered within those 

 periods. 



