QUEEN REARING IN NATURE 21 



kept together in a single apiary, as is the case in practice of 

 commerical beekeeping, the beekeeper may keep the number 

 down to the minimum, without danger that a sufficient number 

 will not be present. Hundreds of apiaries are unprofitable 

 because their owners fail to take the necessary care to insure 

 the reduction of the number of drones, which consume the sur- 

 plus of the colony instead of adding to the store. 



Except in the case of the queen breeder who wishes to 

 propagate large numbers of males from choice colonies for breed- 

 ing purposes, the presence of an over-abundance of drones is a 

 serious handicap to the success of the beekeeper. The use of 

 full sheets of foundation in the brood frames is the best insur- 

 ance against the raising of drones. 



The cells in which drones are reared are similar in appear- 

 ance to worker cells, except that they are larger in size. They 

 are utilized for the storage of honey the same as are the worker 

 cells. When the brood is developing the high arched cappings, 

 like rifle bullets, will instantly distinguish them from the smooth 

 capping of worker brood. Twenty-five days is necessary for 

 the development of the drone from the time the egg is laid 

 until it reaches maturity. Mating of honeybees takes place 

 on the wing, and the act is fatal to the drone. He dies almost 

 instantly, and his sexual organs are torn from his body and 

 borne away attached to the body of the queen. After all the 

 seminal fluid has been absorbed by the queen, the parts are 

 removed, apparently by the workers which can sometimes be 

 seen pulling at them after the return of the queen. 



Queen Rearing in Nature. 



Under normal conditions the bees build queen cells on 

 two occasions, to supersede the old queen or in preparation 

 for swarming. Where the old queen shows signs of failing, 

 the bees will often build only one or two cells. When the 

 young queen emerges, she will often be mated and begin laying 

 without manifesting any antagonism toward the old queen. 

 It thus happens that the beekeeper frequently will find two lay- 



