old bees. This results in a high winter mortality and, as a con- 
sequence, weak colonies in the spring. 
Removing the reigning (if that word may be used in this con- 
nection) queen and safely substituting therefor the purchased queen, 
presents some difficulties even to some apiarists with considerable 
experience. 
Removing the Old Queen 
A colony will not accept another queen so long as one is already 
in the colony, and therefore the old queen must be found and 
removed. 
The most formidable part of the operation of requeening is 
removing the old queen. This is especially true if the bees are 
black or hybrids, since these, under manipulation, display an ex- 
citability much resembling the behavior of a nest of large black 
ants when disturbed. This excitability is shared by the queen, mak- 
ing it more difficult to locate her. 
The writer knows of no rules which are of much value in finding 
the old queen. If anywhere in beekeeping there is such a thing 
as luck he believes it is manifested during this operation. 
There are, however, some suggestions which may prove helpful 
in finding black and hybrid queens, especially, and which also apply 
in a lesser degree to locating Italian queens. 
It is desirable that the colony be manipulated as gently as possible 
and that the smallest possible amount of smoke be used in order 
that the bees be not stampeded. 
It is rare except in a colony much overcrowded or which has 
been stampeded by too much smoke to find the queen on the outside 
frame. It is therefore safe to defer looking for the queen on this 
frame until the others have been examined and the queen not found 
on them. It is quite common, then, first to remove the frame which 
is second from the hive side. As soon as this frame is lifted from 
the hive the operator should hastily glance at the comb in the hive. 
Many times the queen will be seen on this comb running toward the 
bottom in an endeavor to reach the dark unexposed side. Should 
she be seen, the comb on which she is found should be quickly lifted 
from the hive to prevent her getting off on another comb. Should 
the hasty glance not reveal the queen, the comb in hand should 
be examined. 
This process is repeated, placing the removed combs into an 
extra hive body, until the queen is found or the examination of all 
combs fails to reveal her presence. Occasionlly she will be found 
on the hive side or bottom board after all combs have been removed. 
If this operation fails to disclose the queen’s whereabouts the 
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