RAISING QUEEN BEES 



At the close of the season these little swarms 

 can be brushed into some weak colony that 

 has been well smoked, or several of them can 

 be united and given to a queenless colony and 

 a queen provided, and the little boxes set 

 away for use the following year. 



Just a word of caution : Don't begin queen 

 rearing too early in the season, or else you will 

 fail. Wait until fruit bloom, when the weather 

 is warm and the bees are flying nicely, and 

 if you should need queens for your own use 

 before it is time to rear them, remember that 

 the better plan is to secure them by mail from 

 some southern breeder whose warmer climate 

 enables him to start breeding before it is possi- 

 ble in the North. 



The next thing is to introduce a queen to a 

 colony that needs one, and whether the queen 

 to be introduced is one of your own raising or 

 has come by mail from a distant breeder, the 

 method is the same. The queen to be intro- 

 duced is enclosed in a small introducing or 

 mailing cage, and one end of the cage is filled 

 I 113 



