SWARMING AND HIVINS. 159 



To guard the young queen against such frequent mis- 

 takes, I paint the covered fronts of my hives, with the 

 alighting boards, and blocks guarding the entrance, of differ- 

 ent colors. This answers the same purpose as to paint the 

 whole surface of the boxes, some of one color, and some of 

 another. The only proper color for a hive when exposed 

 to the weather, is a perfect white ; any shade of color will 

 absorb the heat of the sun, so as to warp the wood-work 

 of the hive, besides exposing the bees to a pent and suffocat- 

 ing heat. 



When a young queen leaves the hive for the purpose 

 above mentioned, the bees, on missing her, are often filled 

 with alarm, and rush from the hive, just as though they were 

 intending to swarm. Their agitation soon calms down, if 

 she returns to them in safety. I shall give through the me- 

 dium of the Latin tongue, some statements which are impor- 

 tant only to the scientifi'c naturalist, and entomologist. 



Post coitum fucus statim perit. Penis ejectio, ut ego com- 

 peri, lenem compressionem fuci ventris, consequitur ; et 

 fucus extemplosimilis fulmine tacto, moritur. Dominus Hu- 

 ber ssepe videbat fuci organum post congressum, in corpore 

 feminse hcesisse. Vidi semel tam firme inhserens, ut nisi 

 disruptione reginse ventris, non possim divellere. 



The queen commences laying eggs, about two days after 

 impregnation, and for the first season, lays none but the 

 eggs of workers ; no males being needed in colonies which 

 will throw no swarm till another season. It is seldom until 

 after she has commenced replenishing the cells with eggs, 

 that she is treated with any special attention by the bees ; 

 although if deprived of her before this time, they show, by 

 their despair, that they thoroughly comprehended her vast 

 importance to their welfare. 



I shall now give such practical directions for the easy 



