FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 225 



mark their location upon emerging. Although queenless bees 

 are much better than others at staying wherever they are put, 

 there will be still fewer bees return to the old jilaee if the 

 nucleus is fastened in twenly-four hours or longer. 



LOOKING FOR EGGS. 



Twelve or fourteen days after forming the nuclei I look to 

 see if the queens are laying. I might find eggs in less time, but 

 not always, and at any rate not in considerable number, and it 



Fig. 82. — Bees Playing. 



saves time on the whole not to be in too much of a hurry. If 

 no eggs are found a comb of young brood is given as an en- 

 couragement to start the young queen to laying, and a day or 

 two later, if queen-cells are started on this young brood, a ma- 

 ture queen-cell is given. 



KEEPING BEST QUEEN IN NUCLEUS. 



Instead of having my best queen in a strong colony, as in 

 the plan just given, she is usually kept in a two-frame nucleus 

 throughout the summer, the nucleus being streng-tbened into a 



