Development of ^neen Bee. gi 



tents of the alimentary canal simply, very likely a special 

 secretion is added. These cocoons are shown nicely when 

 we melt old comb in the solar wax extractor. The queen 

 now spends nearly three days in absolute repose. Such 

 rest is common to all cocoon-spinning larvaa. The spin- 

 ning, which is done by a rapid motion to-and-fro of the 

 head, always carrying the delicate thread, much like the 

 moving shuttle of the weaver, seems to bring exhaustion 

 and need of repose. She now assumes the nymph, or 

 pupa state (Fig. 24, «'). At the end of the sixteenth day 

 she comes forth a queen. While a queen usually comes 

 forth in sixteen days, there may be delay. Cold will delay 

 hatching of the egg, and retard development. Sometimes' 

 queens are kept for a time in the cell, after they are really 

 ready to come forth. Thus there may be rarely a delay of 

 even two days. Huber states that when a queen emerges 

 the bees are thrown into a joyous excitement, so that he 

 noticed a rise in temperature in the hive from 92° F. to 104° 

 F. I have never tested this matter accurately, but I have 

 failed to notice any marked demonstration on the natal day 

 of her ladyship the queen, or extra respect paid her as a 

 virgin. When queens are started from worker larvae, they 

 will issue as imagos in ten or twelve days from the date of 

 their new prospects. Mr. Doolittle writes me that he has 

 known them to issue in eight and one-half days. My own 

 observations sustain the assertion of Mr. P. L. Viallon that 

 the minimum time is nine and one-half days. 



As the queen's development is probably due to superior 

 quality and increased quantity of food, it would stand to 

 reason that queens started from eggs are preferable; the 

 more so as, under normal circumstances, I believe they are 

 almost always thus started. The best experience sustains 

 this position. As the proper food and temperature can 

 best be secured in a full colony — and here again the natural 

 economy of the hive adds to our argument-^we should 

 infer that the best queens would be reared in strong colo- 

 nies, or at least kept in such colonies till the cells were 

 capped. Experience also confirms this view. As the quan- 

 tity and quality of food and the general activity of the bees 

 are directly connected with the full nourishment of the 



