^^^ THE PRACTICAL BEE GUIDE. 



and becomes a pupa or nymph {Fig. 8i, d), gradually becom^ 

 ing transformed into a perfect bee; in which condition, on 

 the twenty-second day, she bites the capping and gains her 

 liberty. The cell is at once cleaned and prepared for the 

 reception of another egg. Twenty-four hours later the young 

 bee begins her life-work by acting as a nurse to the larvae in 

 their cells ; a few more days elapse before she flies from the 

 hive ; and, about thirty-six days after the laying of the egg, 

 and fourteen days after her exit from the cell, she begins the 

 work of foraging (204), which work, arduous as it is, will 

 exhaust her energies and bring about her death in five or six 

 weeks of summer. 



191. New Combs for Breeding The adhering to the cell 



walls of the cocoons spun by the larvae (190) tends to reduce 

 the size of the cells, and eventually to render them unsuitable 

 for the rearing of vigorous bees (73). It is said that combs 

 quite twenty years old have been found capable of producing 

 bees as large and as strong as those reared in new combs ; 

 but it is not desirable to retain combs so long for breeding 

 purposes, and modern bee-keeping favours frequent renewal 

 of combs in the brood nest, for the reason indicated, and also 

 upon principles of hygiene. Three or four frames of founda- 

 tion given to a colony every year, thus renewing the combs 

 every third year, fulfills a rule that is well worthy of general 

 observance. 



192. Stimulating in Spring — For the rearing of larvae, pollen 

 (74), liquid food, and a temperature of from So" to go" are 

 required. To assist the nurse bees, and to encourage the 

 queen to increase the circles of her brood, the bee-keeper 

 begins "stimulative feeding" (313) early in the spring, and 

 also adds fresh, warm wraps to preserve the heat of the hive. 

 A cake of flour candy is given over the cluster (324). Later 

 on, once or twice a week, the sheet is quietly rolled off the tops 

 of one or two frames, and the cappings of some of the honey 

 cells are scratched, or bruised, to entice the bees, and to cause 

 them to use the honey. This can be done without removing 

 the frames or disturbing the bees. If the carbolic feather (176) 

 be passed between the combs, the bees will move down before 

 it, and,' with the flat of a knife, cappings can be bruised so as 

 to expose the honey, which will stimulate the queen and bees 

 to fresh efforts. A feeder (119) is placed on the frames directly 

 over the brood nest, and each evening, when the bees have 

 ceased flying, a small quantity of thin syrup — no more than 

 the bees will take down during the night — is given warm, 

 the doors of the hive being closed to about half-inch space to 

 prevent robbing (310). In some districts natural pollen is so 

 plentiful early in the spring that bees will not use artificial 



