26 PLEA8UBABLE BEE-KEEPING. 



days. The difference in the time of issue from- the 

 cell is regulated mainly by the age of the egg or grub 

 on the loss of the queen. Queens should be raised 

 from a newly-hatched egg, or a grub not more than a 

 day old, in order that it can have full and proper treat- 

 ment. Unless the queen accompanies the swarm, she 

 only leaves the hive once during her life, and that is 

 four or five days after she issues from the cell, for the 

 purpose of mating with a drone or male bee. If suc- 

 cessful in her wedding flight she will in about forty- 

 eight hours be found depositing eggs in worker cells. 



Deones. 

 Drones (Fig. 3) are the male bees, and they are easily 

 distinguished from the workers by their large size, and, 

 when flying, by their loud hum. They are produced 

 in twenty-five days from an unfertilised egg deposited 

 by the queen in the larger horizontal or drone cells. 

 Drones appear early or late according to the season 

 and the strength of the colony, usually about April. 

 They are particularly numerous in cottagers' apiaries, 

 where thousands are to be found, although as many 

 hundreds would be ample. They are often known as 

 the lazy bees and great consumers of honey, conse- 

 quently their production should in all well-managed 

 apiaries be limited. This is an easy task to the bee- 

 keeper who uses "foundation," for with that valuable 

 aid to success he can in a day or two ensure combs of 

 worker cells only. The drones are only allowed to 

 exist during the summer months ; and as soon as the 

 honey-flow is over the bees turn them out of the hive 

 to die, 



