To Prevent Undesirable Mating. 



175 



nearly closed, and cover the bees so as to preserve tlie heat. 

 The main caution in this is to he sure not to get any old queen in 

 a nucleus. In two or three days the queens will hatch, and in 

 a week longer will have become fertilized, and that, too, in 



Queen Cell with Hinged Cap. 



case of the first queens, by selected drones, for as yet there are 

 no others in the apiary. I cannot over-estimate the advantage 

 of always having extra queens. To secure mating from 

 selected drones, later, we must cut all drone-comb from inferior 

 colonies, so that they shall rear no drones. If drone larvae are 

 in uncapped cells, they may be killed by sprinkling the comb 

 with cold water. By giving the jet of water some force, 

 as may be easily done by use of a fountain pump, they 

 may be washed out, or we may throw them out with the ex- 

 tractor, and then use the comb for starters in our sections. It 

 is very important that those who rear queens to sell shall have 

 no near neighbors who keep bees, and shall keep only very 

 superior bees, that undesirable mating may be prevented. If 

 drones are flying from undesirable colonies, they can be kept 

 from leaving the hive by use of the entrance guards (Fig. 79). 

 These are made of the perforated zinc, and while they permit 

 the passage of the workers, they restrain the queen and drones. 

 By shaking all the bees in front of the hive, we can, by use 



