CHAPTER VII 



THE GENESIS OF THE QUEEN 



IT has been said that the ways of the honey- 

 bee are nearly all subject to variation — ^that in 

 bee-life there are few hard-and-fast, undeviating 

 laws. The rule, of one queen-mother only to each 

 hive, appears to be more absolute than any other, 

 yet it is not without its exceptions. Well authen- 

 ticated instances are on record where two queens 

 have existed amicably in the same hive, each 

 laying her daily quota of eggs unmolested by the 

 other, and, apparently, with the full approval of 

 the hive-authorities. 



It is now also certain that a skilful bee-master 

 can accustom his bees to the presence of more 

 than one queen. Recent experiments in America 

 on this head, although convincing enough as far 

 as they go, need the test of time before their 

 practical value to apiculture can be rightly esti- 

 mated. To multiply its domestic deities may 

 prove anything but a blessing to the harmony 

 and welfare of a hive. But the fact has been well 

 established that the old rule, of one queen at a 



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