WORK WITH THE QUEEN .—Chapter X. 
A drone-layer may be a queen that has failed to mate during the first 
two or three weeks after emergence, or she may be a queen that is failing 
on account of old age. She should be found and killed, and the colony put 
into a normal condition by giving it brood in different stages of develop- 
ment and introducing a good queen. 
A Colony Hopelessly Queenless. 
When a colony suddenly loses a queen, it has eggs and young larvae 
from which they begin at once to rear a new queen. But sometimes such a 
queenless colony fails to raise a new queen, or perhaps she is lost in mat- 
ing, and the situation arises that there are no eggs nor young larvae pres- 
ent, and the bees are then unable to raise another queen. Such a col- 
ony will very soon become worthless, unless immediate steps are taken 
to put it in a more nearly normal condition. It should at once be given a 
comb containing eggs, young larvae and emerging brood to render the 
colony normal, and then a few days later a good laying queen should be 
introduced, first tearmg down any queen-cells that may have been started. 
If a laying queen cannot be obtained and introduced, the bees may be 
allowed to raise one in the natural way from a queen-cell, if the colony 
has enough bees to warrant it; but, if this condition arises only five or 
six weeks before the honey flow, the colony would not thus build up in 
time for the honey flow, because they could not have a laying queen for 20 
or 25 days. In this case, or if at any other time the queenless colony be 
very weak, the bees in it should be united with some other colony. (See 
the subject of “Uniting,” page 113.) 
Balling the Queen. 
When a strange queen is placed in a colony of bees they usually re- 
sent her presence, seeming to consider her an intruder. No doubt this is 
caused partly by her individual odor or by her unusual actions due to her 
fear. Sometimes before she has been in the hive more than a few seconds 
the bees form an angry mass, clinging closely to her body, thus either 
smothering or stinging her to death. 
If the bees attempt to ball a queen in this way she should be quickly 
rescued by puffing a little smoke, or, better, by dropping the ball of bees 
into lukewarm water, after which she may be introduced by the cage 
method. (See page 60.) 
When to Introduce. 
Since colonies that have been more than two days queenless are apt 
to ball the queen, no matter what method of introduction is used, queens 
should be introduced soon after the colony becomes queenless, within the 
first two days if possible; and in case one wishes to replace an old or de- 
fective queen (one that continues to lay but few eggs and places them ir- 
regularly), this queen should not be removed until the new one arrives, be- 
cause of the possible delay in the arrival of the new queen, And in case 
59 
