CONTROL OF DRONES 



27 



precaution, there will be much dissatisfaction on the part of 

 his customers from receiving mismated queens. 



If a breeder is so fortunate as to be within reach of a suit- 

 able place to establish a mating station where no other bees 

 are within reach, he can do much to improve the quality of his 

 stock. Under such circumstances, he can select his drones 

 with the same care that he selects the mother of his queens. 

 A colony combining as many as possible of the desirable char- 

 acteristics can be carried to the isolated position where the mat- 

 ings are to be made and left there. A few have undertaken 

 to rear queens on islands where no other bees are present. The 

 broad prairies of several states offer similar isolation. 



Fig. 3. Combs built on starters only or without foundation contain a 

 large percentage of drone cells and result in unprofitable colonies. 



Unfortunately, however, few breeders are so situated that 

 they can control the drones thus completely. After requeen- 

 ing all the bees within flying distance of the apiary, the next 

 thing is to select the best colonies as drone breeders and supply 

 them with an abundance of drone comb. This insures that 



