94 THE BOOK OF THE HONEY BEE 



this, the queen must again be sought for on the first 

 favourable opportunity. 



Direct introduction is carried out as follows : — 



The new queen is to be inserted in the evening of the 

 day on which the old queen has been removed, and 

 previous to introduction she is to be kept quite alone and 

 without food for at least thirty minutes, taking care that 

 she be not chilled meanwhile. A short test tube is 

 handy for the purpose, and should, for the half hour it 

 is occupied by the queen, be kept either within the vest 

 or in the trousers pocket. 



After darkness has set in, proceed to the queenless 

 hive — with a lamp if necessary — lift up the quilt from 

 one corner, drive the bees back with a little smoke, and 

 let the new queen run in. Cover all up at once, and on 

 no account interfere with the hive for fully forty-eight 

 hours. 



Fertile workers. — It sometimes happens that in the case 

 of a queenless colony one or more of the workers com- 

 mences to lay eggs. Huber supposes that these fertile 

 workers are bees who have been reared in the cells 

 nearest to queen cells, and whose ovaries have been 

 somewhat more fully developed from their partaking of 

 " royal food" accidentally placed in these cells. What- 

 ever may be their origin they are a great pest. Of 

 course a fertile worker is only capable of laying drone 

 eggs. These pests are easy of detection, the eggs 

 being laid in the most irregular manner here and there 

 over the surface of the combs. 



The best way to deal with such colonies is to unite 

 them to one or more other colonies having a fertile 

 queen. 



