ports of queens reared in the fall having mated the following spring, 
but positive evidence on this point is lacking. 
Any female larva less than two days old may become a worker 
or queen, depending upon the manner in which it is reared. If the 
larva is in a cell one-third of an inch in diameter and is fed on 
“royal jelly” for the full feeding period, the result will be a fully 
developed female—queen. If by accident or otherwise a colony be- 
comes deprived of its queen and still has female larvae less than 
two days old it is possible for the bees to produce a queen from a 
female larva by enlarging the cell and giving the royal food for 
the full feeding period. In this manner the loss of a queen may be 
corrected if there are still female larvae young enough. But if the 
larvae are older than two days a queen cannot be developed and the 
colony is said to be hopelessly queenless. 
A queen will deposit more eggs the first year than in any sub- 
sequent year of her lifetime. 
Abnormal Queens 
Beside the normal queen just discussed there are the following 
abnormal ones: (1) Those which deposit eggs irregularly (poor 
layers); (2) those whose eggs produce drones only (drone layers) ; 
(3) those whose eggs do not hatch, and (4) queens which do not 
deposit eggs. The work of the poor layer is distinguished by the 
combs of capped brood having scattered through them cells vacant 
or containing young uncapped larvae instead of solid spaces of brood 
of uniform age. If, from any cause, a queen is not able to take the 
mating flight before she becomes some weeks old, she can and usually 
will produce eggs which will hatch. These eggs, however, because of 
the absence of spermatozoa in them, will give rise to drones only. 
Such a queen is known as a drone layer. The work of a drone layer 
may be recognized by drone brood in worker comb, indicated by the 
very convex cappings over the cells plus the eggs regularly placed in 
the bottom of the cells. 
Occasionally there is found a queen depositing unfertile eggs. 
This is rather uncommon, and more so is the case of a queen which does 
not deposit eggs at all, although these abnormal queens are some- 
times seen. 
There is but one normal laying queen in a hive except in case of 
supersedure, when both mother and daughter may, for a time, produce 
eggs in the same hive, Soon, however, the old queen disappears. 
WoRKERS 
The workers (Fig. 3) are undeveloped females and do not pro- 
duce eggs except under abnormal conditions. 
ll 
