142 DR. miller's 



her before I send for the new one? I have heard there is less 

 danger of having the queen Icilled when she is introduced if the 

 colony has been without a queen for some time. Should the 

 queen be clipped before she is introduced? 



A. You will probably do as well to wait until some time in 

 June. Better not kill the old queen till the new one arrives. 

 There may be considerable delay, and it is not well for the colony 

 to be too long queenless. You can have the same, or greater, ad- 

 vantage by keeping the new queen caged in the hive two or three 

 days before allowing the bees of the colony access to the candy to 

 liberate her. Most beekeepers nowadays prefer to have queens 

 clipped, and most of those who sell queens will clip them before 

 sending, without extra charge, if you so request. 



Jouncer. — Q. What is a jouncer? 



A. A frame-work upon which a super rests, allowing the bees 

 to be shaken out of the super by jouncing the ends of the jouncer 

 up and down alternately. It has not proven a success with 

 everyone. 



Krainer Bees. — Q. Have the Krainer bees from Krain, Austria, 

 ever been imported to this country? Are they more hardy than 

 Italians? 



A. You have probably heard and read quite a little about 

 Carniolian bees. Well, Krain is merely the German word for Car- 

 niola. I'm not sure whether the claim for greater hardiness has 

 been well established, but some think well of a cross with Italians. 



Labels. — Q. How do you stick labels on tin cans? I don't 

 seem able to make them stick. 



A. The favorite way is to have the label pass clear around 

 the can and overlap, in which case any common flour paste will 

 answer. Flour paste with water sticks to tin. A\'iping the can off 

 with a dry cloth to remove the greasy substance left in tinning 

 will help make labels stick. 



Larvse. — Q. Is there any way of determining accurately the 

 age of the larva, or, in other words, how long it has been in 

 process of development, without waiting for it to be sealed over? 



A. Nothing very definite. In general terms it maj^ be said 

 that the larva makes most of its growth in the last two days of 

 its five days of larval existence; and I think it doesn't cover the 

 bottom of the cell till after it is three days old. 



Q. At what time and in what way are the young bees fed? 



A. They are fed by the nurse-bees for five days or more from 

 the time the larva hatches out of the egg until it is sealed over. 



