BEES 635 



Stocking the Apiary. — Bees may be secured more easily at swarming 

 time and the colonies are apt to be stronger at that time. Usually the 

 purchaser provides a hive into which the apiarist puts the new swarm. 

 This may be moved at night and, if taken a distance of a mile or more, 

 there is no danger of the bees returning. A good strong colony purchased 

 at this time wall yield a second swarm if the season is favorable. 



Introducing a New Queen. — The prosperity of the colony depends 

 much upon the strength of the queen. Bees from a strong queen winter 

 better than those from a weak one, and are more prolific in spring. If the 

 queen becomes weakened, it is best not to wait until the workers destroy 

 her, but to make away with her and introduce a new one at once. Queens 

 may be purchased from any dealer in bee-queens. They are sent through 

 the mail in a small cage, accompanied by a few workers. 



Many methods of introducing a new queen are used, but if the queen 

 is a valuable one, it is best to use a perfectly safe method. Remove the 

 old queen in the evening. In the morning lay the cage containing the 

 new queen and attendants, wire side down, on the frames under the quilt. 

 Close the hive and leave it alone. In a short time the bees will have 

 eaten their way into the cage and released the queen. The wait over 

 night is necessary on account of the excited condition of the bees when 

 their queen is removed. This excitement might cause them to destroy 

 the new queen. Queens introduced in this manner are generally at work 

 in two or three days laying eggs. 



Some introduce by first blowing tobacco smoke down the hive to 

 drive the bees down, then release the queen and allow her to run down 

 between the combs, blowing a little smoke after her. This not only obscures 

 all strange odors about the queen, but stupefies the bees. 



Introducing a queen makes the opportunity to change breeds of 

 bees, as the new queen is usually mated when purchased. Queens are 

 sold under one of three labels: tested queens that are mated with a 

 drone whose race is known; untested queens mated with an unknown 

 drone; and breeding queens, those that have shown superiority for breed- 

 ing purposes before leaving their home. The bees in the colony have no 

 influence on the progeny of the new queen already mated. By the time 

 the new brood hatches out, the old ones begin to die, and soon the race 

 is changed. 



Uniting and Transferring Colonies. — It often becomes advisable to 

 unite two weak colonies, making one strong one. Some fundamental 

 facts about bees must be understood in order to make this a success. 

 Every colony has a distinct odor and resents bees from other colonies. 

 It is necessary, therefore, to obscure this odor by using smoke. Smoke 

 also stupefies the bees and renders them more docile. Both colonies 

 should be smoked, but care should be taken not to use too much smoke, 

 or the bees will be completely overcome. One queen should be destroyed; 

 the one saved should be caged for a day or so to prevent the bees killing 



