THE AMERICAN BEE-KEEPER 



January 



However, for the sake of science in 

 bee-culture, we will grant that by a 

 concentration of forces at a given 

 ^oint, so easily effected at time of 

 hiving, places such a great amount 

 of wax at the disposal of the little 

 company of comb-builders, they feel 

 justified in the expenditure of it for 

 the more costly (?) worker-comb. As 

 the work advances and the colony 

 breaks up into groups of various sizes, 

 some of these groups may be embar- 

 rassed by a shortage of wax. Or, that 

 on account of the desertions in the 

 ranks of the builders as they attain 

 the age for foraging, it becomes neces- 

 sary for tliem to use a shorter cut, 

 so to speak, to keep abreast of the 

 field-gatherers. Now, upon a super- 

 ficial view, that might be taken con- 

 clusively; but please note that drone- 

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 room. Those little companies of work- 

 ers, being too busily engaged to ex- 

 plore the combs of the hive, come to 

 feel their isolation and deprivation of 

 the com])anionship of tlie queen; then 

 they build drone-comb. Look at it 

 in this way: Bees will build queen 

 cells in any part of the hive where 

 brood, in any manner, is separated 

 from the main brood nest. Now, it 

 bees on old combs containing brood in 

 all stages of development and these 

 combs adjoining those wliere the 

 queen holds forth, feel the isolation 

 and loss of the queen to such an ex- 

 tent that tlie.v seek to repair her loss, 

 why doesn't the same hold true in tlie 

 other case? The fact that the queen 

 of a swarm often seeks drone-comb 

 and occupies it with brood when there 

 is unoccui)ied worker-comb awaiting 

 her is significant, and, un(}uestional)l.y, 

 it points back to the primitive purpose 

 of drone-comb. 



There is a two-fold purpose, never- 

 theless, in tlie laying of drone-eggs 

 when the queen has calculations of her 

 own. rile nurse bees are clamoring 

 for l)rood and were the queen to at- 

 temi»t to gratify their wishes by lay- 

 ing none but worker-eggs she would 

 be, conse(iuentl.v, in no fit condition 

 to accomitany the swarm when it is- 

 sutid from its newly-furnisiied home. 

 By laying drone-eggs she can reduce 

 her avoirdupois while maintaining a 



given demand for the food secretion* 

 of the nurse bees. One drone larvae re- 

 quires for its development, food suffi- 

 cient to mature several worker larvae. 

 In this manner the queen meets the ex- 

 igencies of the case without any seri- 

 ous inconvenience to herself. When the 

 time arrives for the departure of the 

 swarm, there is then every necessary 

 means for tliose left behind, to renew 

 their joys in another queen mother. 



How beautifully perfect are the 

 combs built under the guidance of a 

 home-loving queen in the bloom and 

 vigor of youth! Her contented way 

 sheds an influence through eveiy part 

 of the hive; and, no matter how pres- 

 sing are th,e needs of store-comb, the 

 bees do not consider it an advantage 

 to them to build anything but worker- 

 comb. When their wax-secreting ma- 

 chinery is running full blast they do 

 not care for comb with fewer parti- 

 tions in it. Their queen is Avilling to 

 plod along with the use of the smaller 

 cells, and why shoiddn't they continue 

 to make them? Their mathematicians 

 fail to figure that there will be any 

 gain in time by making the larger and 

 thiclvcr combs. 



There can be only so many bees, 

 working on the knife-like edge of the 

 comb at the same time, whether it be 

 drone or worker-coml). The cell walls 

 are brought up later by a different 

 force of I)ees who must wait, patient- 

 ly or otherwise, till tlie foundation of 

 the coml) l»as been laid by a limited 

 few. Why should tliose industrious 

 toilers further retiird labor on tbe 

 comb, in like manner, l)y framing it 

 with fewer side walls — walls to fi^t 

 those born idlers, the drones? 



Evidence one more example of this 

 kind. In the crowded brood-chamber 

 of an establislied colon.v, having no su- 

 per-combs for the storage of hone.v, the 

 bees will fill an empt,y frame given " 

 them, with drone-comb and drone- 

 brood tlv)ngli thousands of comb-build- 

 ers are idle and storage room is sore- 

 ly needed. Ah, there is no mistaking 

 the motive in such action at any time* 

 Drone-comb is the expression of a love 

 of the assuring jiresence of those big 

 gentlemen Avhenever a spirit of ad- 

 venture pervades the ranks of the 

 coinb-builders. Natural drone-comb i» 



