94 



MANUAL OF APICULTURE. 



FIG. 66. Benton queon-iiitroduc 

 ing cage. (Original.) 



any other. Fig. OG shows a pipe-cover cage as made by the author, 

 the size of which may be greater if circumstances require- that is, when 

 it seems advisable, with a queen of great value, to include under the 

 cage a number of cells containing emerging brood. Ordinarily the size 

 here shown will suffice. The queen is caged before a closed window on 

 a comb of honey, with live or six recently emerged bees taken from the 

 hive to which she is to be introduced. The comb holding the caged 



queen is to be placed in the center of the 

 queenless colony, where the bees will cluster 

 on it, yet with the end of the cage pressed 

 firmly against the adjoining comb, so that the 

 cage will remain in place even though a heavy 

 cluster should gather on it. On the following 

 day, just before dark, the queen should be 

 released, provided that upon opening the hive 

 the workers are not packed densely about the 

 cage trying to sting her through it. In the 

 latter case she should be left twenty-four or 

 even forty- eight hours longer, and in the 

 autumn it is generally advisable to keep her 

 caged several days or even a whole week. If left longer than one day 

 all queen cells should be hunted out and destroyed a few hours before 

 releasing the queen. Feeding while the queen is caged is a good plan 

 if gathering is not going on briskly. Upon freeing the queen, diluted 

 honey drizzled down between the combs will serve to put the bees in a 

 good humor for the reception of the new mother bee. The entrance 

 of the hive should be contracted for a short time so that but a few bees 

 can pass in or out at a time. 



The conditions necessary to success in introducing queens are com- 

 plied with by the above plan, namely: The bees are queenless long 

 enough to have become fully aware of the fact, yet usually not long 

 enough to have started queen cells; the strange queen is caged a suf- 

 ficient length of time to acquire the peculiar odor of the hive to which 

 she is to be given; the bees are all at home when the queen is released, 

 and thus all become thoroughly gorged with food and are well disposed 

 toward the new queen. IsTo robber-bees come about, and by morning 

 all is in order. 



As queens mate only once (p. 19), and workers and drones live but a 

 few weeks o^ at most a few months (p. 20), if an Italian, a Carniolan, 

 or other choice queen mated to a drone of her own race, be introduced 

 to a given colony the bees of this colony will soon be replaced by others 

 of the same race as the queen introduced. All of the colonies of an 

 apiary may thus be changed; or, from a single breeding queen the 

 apiary may be supplied with young queens pure in blood, and, since 

 these (even though mated to drones of another race) will produce 

 drones of their own blood the apiary will soon be stocked with males 

 of the desired race. 



