THOUSAND ANSWERS 173 



can feed her, she would likely endure confinement several times 

 as long as she would if the cage were left out of the hive with 

 candy for the queen to eat. I have often had a queen caged in 

 her hive ten days or so with no apparent harm, and my guess 

 would be that she might stand it three to five times as long. 

 Caged outside the hive, ten days might be all or more than she 

 would stand. 



Q. Can you cage a queen and put her in a colony having a lay- 

 ing queen? If so, how long can she be kept there? 



A. Yes, and she may remain weeks, or she may be dead in a 

 few days. She will be more sure to remain in safety if the cage 

 is provisioned than if she has to depend upon the bees to feed her. 



Q. Wouldn't it be better to cage queens on a comb of unsealed 

 honey, on the push-in-cage method, than in cages with candy? 



A. The way you suggest would be better if the queen be caged 

 in a strange colony; if caged among her own bees there would 

 be no advantage in it. For in that case the bees feed the queen, 

 which is probably better than for her to feed herself. 



Q. What is the proper procedure necessary in the caging of 

 a queen over another hive, as in the case of taking one out for 

 ten days or so, in the several different methods of management? 

 What kind of a cage is used, and how and what is the queen fed? 

 Is the common Benton mailing cage all right when provided with 

 good candy? 



A. Any cage that will go easily between the combs will 

 answer, such as the Miller cage. The Benton cage is too bulky. 

 Sometimes, however, instead of being put between the combs, 

 the cage is merely thrust into the entrance of the hive. No need 

 of any food in the cage; the bees will feed the queen. 



Q. In sending queens by mail, what are escort bees put in for, 

 to keep up the temperature, or feed the queen? 



A. The escort bees feed the queen and keep up the tempera- 

 ture, and it is quite possible that they serve an important pur- 

 pose in keeping up her spirits by their genial company. 



Queens, Clipping.— Q. Is there any danger of clipping the 

 queen's wing too soon or before she takes her mating flight? 



A. Great danger. If you clip her before mating she will be 

 a drone-layer, if she lays at all. 



Q. What is the advantage of clipping the queen's wings? 



A. The advantage is that a prime swarm with a clipped queen 

 will return to its hive because the queen cannot go with it. 



