132 



ONE YEAR AMONG THE BEES. 



to get a start of this kind, as they will everlastingly keep it up if they 

 get a taste. To prevent it, we must furnish all colonies with good 

 fertile queens, and make examination of every one to ascertain if they 

 have laying queens. When bees become queenless they will not de- 

 fend their stores, and robber bees soon find them out. We must not 

 leave honey lying round carelessly or have it stored where the bees 

 can reach it. All cracks and crevices about the hives except the en- 

 trance proper must be closed, and very weak colonies may have the 

 entrances to their hives contracted, so they can better defend them. 

 Queens now will cease laying to a great extent, and the hives that 

 contain spring hatch of queens will be about the only ones that will 

 continue to lay eggs and keep up their colonies in fairly good 

 strength. Queens over two years old had better be removed, and also 

 all others that failed to do good service during the honey season, and 

 replaced with young, fertile queens of the present year's raising, if we 

 can produce or prjcure them. We should be able to rear our own 

 queens, so we can thus keep up our stock in the best of order without 

 going to the expense of buying them. But we can if we wish pur- 

 chase them in any quantity, as there are plenty of apiarists who make 

 a business of rearing them for sale. At this particular season of the 

 year they are usually sold at one dollar each, or ten dollars per dozen, 

 for good, tested Italian queens. 



FIG. 25. Outside view of house containing bees, showing 

 the entrance to the hives. 



