TRANSFERRING THE LARVAE 65 



bees are given a frame of cellcups containing larvae. These 

 cups are placed in the hive in the same manner as usual, except 

 that they have no royal jelly. A thin syrup made with sugar 

 and water or honey thinned with water is then poured freely 

 over the tops of these frames. The worker bees gorge them- 

 selves freely with the syrup and, since the brood in the upper 

 chamber is so far from the queen below, the bees are easily 

 stimulated to start queen cells. Usually from one to three of 

 these dry cells will be accepted, and two days later will furnish 

 an abundant supply of royal jelly for grafting purposes. A 

 second lot of cells is now prepared with jelly, and these are 

 given to the bees in the upper story in the same manner. Syrup 

 is poured over the frames as freely as before, with the result 

 that a large portion of the cells are likely to be accepted. The 

 author does not claim that the idea is altogether original with 

 him, but simply outlines it as his method of practice. Feeding 

 the bees freely at the time of giving a batch of cells is rather 

 common practice among the queen breeders in certain localities. 

 By this method, it is easily possible to secure a supply of royal 

 jelly without dequeening a colony or interfering with the laying 

 of the queen. If it is too cold to place an empty super between 

 the brood nest and the brood in the upper story, the plan will 

 usually work with only the excluder between. After the weather 

 becomes warm enough, it is easily possible to continue building 

 cells indefinitely above the same colony, by lifting the brood 

 above as fast as sealed in the brood nest. The young bees 

 emerging in the upper chamber continue to supply nurses as 

 needed. It will be readily apparent that to be successful this 

 plan requires a strong colony. 



Transferring the Larvae. 



Some beekeepers make a practice of placing a frame of 

 cellcups in the hive over night in advance of the grafting. The 

 idea is that the bees will work them over, smooth and polish 

 them, thus placing them in more attractive condition for the 

 acceptance of the prepared cells. The author has never been 



