130 



GLEAKIKGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Mar. 



A BOOK ON INTRODUCING QUEENS. 



ALSO SOMETHING ABOUT UNITING BEES. 



^E make the following extracts from a 

 m little book of 28 pages, coming from 

 -' Sam'l Simmins,liottingclean, Brigh- 

 ton, Svissex, England : — 



For many years thei-e has been no better way of 

 introducing an alien queen to a stock of bees than 

 that of confining her in a cage for a number of 

 hours, until the bees get acquainted with her; and 

 should the operation be conducted at a time when 

 there are few young bees and no brood, it is often nec- 

 essary to encage the queen several times before the 

 bees will accept her, and occasionally even then she 

 is destroyed after all the loss of time and labor. 



Some of the foremost bee-keepers of the day are 

 now and then perplexed with a diflScult case, and 

 resort to the unnecessary practice of stupefying the 

 bees to get them to take a strange queen. One 

 scientific bee-keeper reports how, after making a 

 colony senseless seven or eight times, they destroy- 

 ed his queen after all. 



During summer) when bees are breeding, and 

 bringing in honey, it is generally an easy matter to 

 get them to take a new sovereign; but bearing in 

 mind the many inconveniences, and loss of time oc- 

 casioned by using the cage, and, above all, the col- 

 ony being deprived of a laying queen for a day or 

 two, perhaps at the most important time, I deter- 

 mined on prosecuting a series of experiments, in 

 the hope that I might ultimately dispense with the 

 old method entirely. 1 have, fortunately, succeed- 

 ed beyond my most sanguine expectations, and un- 

 der my system, described in the following pages, 

 a queen can be introduced direct, and absolutely 

 without risk, to any colony, whatever may be its 

 condition, providing there is no other queen in the 

 hive. 



I have successfully introduced queens forthwith 

 to colonies with fertile workers, having at the same 

 time queen- cells sealed over. Also to old bees that 

 had been queenless and broodless for several months, 

 and to ordinary colonies with queen-cells in all stag- 

 es of development, up to the moment of hatching. I 

 have also exchanged a queen of one hive with that 

 of another at one and the same operation, and the 

 bees have taken no notice whatever of the change. 



IHE SIMMINS METHOD OF DIRECT INTRODUCTION. 



Haviilg often united bees without disagreement, 

 by alternating the combs of the respective hives, I 

 came to the conclusion that a queen on a comb, 

 parading unconcernedly among her own bees, would 

 be taken no more notice of than the others; and 

 this I have, by unvarying success, proved to be the 

 case, and the amount of vexation, time, and labor, 

 saved to myself, has already been considerable. 



INTRODUCING QUEENS FROM NUCLEI STANDING IN 

 THE SAME APIARY, OR RECEIVED FROM A DIS- 

 TANCE — ON STANDARD FRAMES. 



Where one has spare queens in nuclei, and all the 

 frames are of one size, a queen can be introduced to 

 the desired colony simply by inserting the frame of 

 comb on which she is, surrounded by her own bees. 



Carry the comb from one hive to another In an 

 ordinary comb-box; remove the queen that is to be 

 superseded (if one), and as soon as the stranger, 

 with her attendants on their comb, is placed in the 

 hive, the union is certain, and there is no need to 

 examine them again until their turn comes in the 

 ordinary course of manipulations. 



It will be observed, that instead of the bees being 

 first permitted to find out their loss, the exchange 

 is completed before they are aware of the fact; and 

 the colony is not without a laying queen even for 

 five minutes — a great consideration, especially 

 when building up at the commencement of the 

 season. 



A queen received from a distance in a nucleus 

 hive with frames of the right size, can be united, 

 together with her bees, in the same way; but it is 

 advisable that the nucleus be first placed near the 

 full colony, and the bees allowed to fly. By evening 

 they will have recovered from the excitement of the 

 journey, when the union may take place. 



QUEENS RECEIVED IN SMALL BOXES; OR THOSE ON 

 ODD FRAMES. 



In the above case the queen should be shaken 

 with her attendants into a comb-box on to a comb 

 containing unsealed honey;* close up securely, and 

 leave them for a few minutes, while the colony to 

 be operated upon is being deprived of its queen, 

 when the combs should be parted at about the cen- 

 ter of the hive or cluster of bees. The sides of ^ the 

 combs nearest this vacant space and the adhering 

 bees may then be sprayed with sweetened water (not 

 scented), when the occupants of the comb-box on 

 their comb may be immediately inserted, as in the 

 first instance, and all will be well. 



A queen can also be inserted alrmc, on a comb of 

 unsealed honey (or syrup). In this case she should 

 be without food for a short time previous to being 

 placed on the comb, when she will at once proceed 

 to feed at the open cells, and, while doing so, can be 

 inserted (together with the comb) as before.t 



Where on odd frames, a queen can be brushed off 

 the comb with a good number of bees into the comb- 

 box, with a feather, and then united in the same 

 way. 



CONDITIONS NECESSARY TO INSURE A SUCCESSFUL 

 UNION. 



Brushing the queen from a comb with a feather is 

 much to be preferred to handling her; and if the op- 

 eration is quickly performed with a light touch, she 

 is not rendered restless and nervous, as is the case 

 when liberated from the hand. 



When introducing a queen on the comb from her 

 own hive, no syrup whatever is necessary, and none 

 should be used; but where she is first placed on to 

 another comb, the conditions are different. She has 

 been disturbed by being turned from one box or 

 hive into another, and in some cases a long journey 

 has preceded the change; therefore it is best to use 

 a little, as advised, just to give the bees something 

 to do for a time, in case any such queen should show 

 a momentary nervousness, which, however, will 

 soon pass off, and no hostility i« shown toward her. 



On no account, in any instance, should a queen he 

 daubed with syrup, or disturbed more than is abso- 

 lutely necessary, as so much depends upon her ap- 

 pearing among her new subjects in an unconcerned 

 manner. This is just the secret of the success of 

 this system. The queen is placed where she feels at 

 home — on a comb, surrounded by a number of her 

 own bees. On the other hand, bees are delighted to 

 receive a comb of honey, especially if it also con- 



* If a comb containing unsealed honey is not at hand, a little 

 syrup can be substituted by pouring it into the cells on either 

 side of a comb before it is given to the strangers, previous to 

 their introduction. 



+ Wherever a queon may be placed, whether being alone or 

 with a few attendants, she should be kept warm; the slightest 

 chill being injurious to her constitution. 



