QUEEN-REARING IN ENGLAND. 



45 



Fig. 29. 

 Trav«lling Cage. 



instance, American 

 basswood — measur- 

 ing 4in. by i|in. by 

 |in., with three 

 holes of lin. dia- 

 meter bored in it 

 (Fig. 29). The 

 holes are connected 

 "by a hole of fin. 

 diameter, bored 



through them. The 

 I in. hole at one end 

 is filled with the queen candy. This hole is lined with 

 wax to prevent the wood absorbing any moisture from the 

 candy. The queen, with her attendants, occupies the two 

 other I in. holes, the end one of these having a saw cut, 

 or several little holes, to provide ventilation. A piece of 

 wire-cloth of the kind used in America for screening win- 

 dows covers the cage, and this is fastened down securely, 

 together with an outer lid or card, by means of a few fine 

 wire nails. It is convenient to insert the queen and her 

 attendants through the end of the fin. hole shown in the 

 figure, each bee being picked up in the fingers by the wings 

 and popped head first into the hole. A small square of 

 tin plate is afterwards tacked over this hole. 



In the case of a virgin queen not more than about thirty 

 hours old the workers need not be taken from the same hive 

 as she. But in the case of putting a fertile queen with 

 strange workers, the latter must be caged about four hours 

 beforehand and well fed, and then when the queen is about 

 to be introduced they must be well shaken and made to run 

 about the box until they hum and expose the scent organ. 

 If they continue to do this when the queen is introduced 

 she is safe from attack. 



The above travelling cage is perfectly suitable for queens 

 dispatched during summer and autumn, but in March, April 

 and May, when the nights may be cold, and in June also, 

 if the queen is an old one and ovipositing rapidly, she being 

 then in a delicate, easily chilled state, it is better for the 

 queen to be accompanied by about 100 workers in a little 

 box containing a small piece of tough comb filled with sealed 



