1904 



THE AMERICAN BEE-KEEPER. 



185 



i'ailing quxh'ii. and that she was re- 

 ponsible for that cTii'ono brood. A fail- 

 ng- queeu will lay in either worker cf 

 Irone cells. But even if his queen was 

 lot all right the presence of drone 

 brood maj' have been due to laying- 

 workers. These so-called pests are of 

 far more frequent occurrence than has 

 lieretofcce been suspected. This has 

 become particularly noticeable since 

 he introduction of the yellow blood, 

 .. Syrians and Cyprians. These 

 ave been used to brighten Italians 

 nd have carried many of their traits 

 s well as their color. 

 Laying workers will appear under 

 11 sovts of conditions. For example, 

 )ne colony wj ^ accidentally divided by 

 wo old, black combs. The queen did 

 lot pass by them, and in a few days 

 aying workers were doing a land of- 

 ice business in the other half of the 

 irood nest. Another case was of a 

 irgin queen in a one-frame nucleus of 

 3ld bees. She mated, began to lay and 

 imultaneously so did the workers. 

 The comb was a sight. Apparently the 

 lueen was worthless, but the addition 

 if two combs of emerging brood 

 hanged the whole complexion of af- 

 ak's. The queen enlarged her work, 

 md though the worker's drone brood 

 anie to maturity, their laying stopped. 

 The presence of laying workers does 

 lot necessarily mean queenlessness, 

 or they are tjfteii present with a 

 jueen under either of the following 

 onditions: extremely small colony; 

 Absence or scarcity of young bees; a 

 iivided brood nest; a failing queen; 

 Dr before a newly introduced queen 

 aas got to laying. They cause but lit- 

 le trouble other than occupying a lit- 

 le Gonib which the queen could use. 

 They do not interfere with the safe in- 

 Toduction of queens when pa-oper 

 oaethods are followed. 



A. failing queen is often said to have 

 ?one to laying an excess of drone eggs 

 when as a matter of fact laying work- 

 rs are responsible for much of the 

 rouble. 



In relation to failing queens it will 

 )e well for the novice to bear in mind 

 hat before he (replaces such a queen 

 e must be sure her daughter is not 

 ilready present or that a ripe cell is 

 lot there. I think it may be accepted 

 IS a law that under normal conditions 

 i.e., where man does not meddle or 

 iisturb) the new queen always nia- 

 iires and begins to lay before the old 

 3ueen disappears. 

 Providence. R. I.. August 10, 1904. 



Calaveras, Tex., 8, s, '04. 

 Friend Hill— 



Your answer to a previous note was 

 received but you did not answer a 

 (iuestion that I asked, viz., Color of 

 queens, workers and hustling qualities 

 and proliticness of the Punic bees, also 

 as to their gentleness. I would like 

 to see an article in the American Bee- 

 Keeper as to the:ii" characteristics if 

 you feel like giving it. You, I believe, 

 are testing them and no doubt others 

 would like to learn something of them 

 likewise. 



On page 14.3. W. H. F. tells of bees 

 being killed when returned to their 

 own hive. Now, of course, I am not 

 a beginner nor am I hankering after 

 that dollar but. that aside, there are 

 some questions that might come up in 

 order to understand the why and 

 wherefore of such actions on the part 

 of the bees. He does not tell if honey 

 was coming in at the time, nor if they 

 were left off any length- of time. Then 

 returning them at night I do not think 

 was best, as all the old bees were at 

 home, also if the bees were left in a 

 place whei-e they might acquire a dif- 

 ferent odor I should expect them to 

 be killed. They would be as strangers 

 to the old colony. To sum up, it may 

 have been caused by, 1st, No honey 

 coming in; 2nd — Time of returning 

 them; 3rd, Too long off the hive; 4th, 

 Acquiring a different odor; 5th, The 

 presence of some stranger bees. Re- 

 member bees are not very discriminat- 

 ing when they become angry. When 

 they are in an angry mood from the 

 presence of strangee- bees they are li- 

 able to kill their own bees that had 

 been off the hive for some time and 

 perhaps acquired a different odor. Any 

 of these may have caused it. I think 

 along these lines may have been the 

 cause but it is for a different purpose 

 that I write this letter. I, for one, 

 would like to see this formaline gas • 

 treatment for foul brood stopped. 



If it is not a complete success with 

 the experts (and it is not) what must 

 it be with the novice? It Is a danger- 

 ous experiment and the country will 

 never be free from foul brood by us- 



