186 DR. miller's 



animals adapted to its particular climate and locality, and those of 

 tropical regions do not well endure the rigors of the far North. 

 So it is natural to suppose that bees in the South become less 

 hardy. But characteristics do not change over night, and if bees 

 become less hardy in the South it would be only through a long 

 course of years. Even if a southern breeder should have stock 

 that had been bred in the South for a hundred years, if there was 

 any suspicion that it had become less hardy, it would be the work 

 of a few weeks at most to have that stock entirely changed 

 through getting one or more queens from the North. 



So the usual reply that queens reared in the South are just as 

 hardy as those reared in the North may be counted correct for 

 all practical purposes. Italian bees are from a country with a 

 warm climate. It freezes but little in any part of Italy, and the 

 climate is certainly less severe than that of Texas. 



Queen-Rearing. — Q. How late in the season can queens be 

 reared and mated? 



A. That depends on the season. If honey is yielding, any time 

 through September. But you are not likely to have good queens 

 if you rear them too late, and losses on wedding flights will be 

 greater. 



Q. I have been considerably puzzled by a case called to my 

 attention in which a party claims that a hive of bees swarmed 

 with a virgin queen, leaving a clipped queen at the head of the 

 colony. I have been under the impression that the bees or the 

 virgin queen generally killed the old queen on account of her 

 inability to leave with the swarm. 



A. You are right in your impression as to the bees or the 

 virgin putting out of the way the old queen ; at any rate, when a 

 colony with a clipped queen swarms, and the beekeeper does not 

 interfere, you may count upon the old queen turning up missing 

 a week or more after the issuing of the prime swarm, and the 

 colony swarming with the virgin. But I think I have seen re- 

 ports of rare exceptions. At any rate, it is not impossible that the 

 old queen might be suffered to remain, perhaps both queen and 

 virgin going with the swarm, and then the old queen crawling 

 back into the hive. 



Q. My frames are about 9 inches square, inside measure. I 

 have some small hives that hold four and five frames each. Will 

 they rear strong queens if given eggs? These hives are used to 

 build up. 



A. A hive containing four or five frames, each 9 inches square. 



