94 REARING AND INTRODUCING q.UEENS. 



and perfectly white in color. They remain in this 

 form, two to three days, at the end of which time 

 they change to the form ot a grub or maggot. After 

 this change it is a risk to depend on them for queen 

 raising, so be sure to secure for your purpose eggs. 

 Cut from the brood comb a piece about two inches 

 long and one-half inch wide, using a very sharp, 

 thin knite, so as not to mutilate the comb. Cut out 

 a piece from the center comb of the miniature hive, 

 and fit in its place the piece containing the eggs. 

 The middle of a warm day is the best time to do 

 this work. It is best to have one of the comb frames 

 of the miniature hive filled with honey, to furnish 

 food for the bees for a few days. 



As soon as you have fitted the piece containing 

 the eggs in its place in the" miniature hive, put on a 

 close-fitting cover. Do not nail it as you will want 

 to look at it every few days. Close the entrances 

 to the miniature hive, so no bees can escape. Now 

 open the hole in the top of the box in which the 

 bees are confined, and set the miniature hive con- 

 taining the eggs over it quickly, allowing no bees 

 to escape. The bees will then pass from the box 

 up into the miniature hive, cluster on the comb con- 

 taining the eggs, and immediately commence the 

 rearing of queens from the eggs thus furnished them. 

 Keep the bees confined to the miniature hive for 

 about thirty-six hours. Give them their liberty at 

 first about one hour before sunset. If you do not 

 confine them for the time stated, they will return to 

 the hive from which you took them, but if so con- 

 fined, they will forget their old home, and adhere 



