OTJT-YABDS AND ITALIANIZING 75 



Italian race with a minimum of trouble, but when the 

 colony consists of black bees, the very keenest eye will 

 sometimes fail to see "her majesty." Some authorities 

 advise placing a strip of perforated zinc (queen-excluder) 

 over the entrance, shaking the bees from the combs in 

 front of the hive, and allowing them to run in. The 

 queen, of course, is unable to pass and should be found 

 struggling to get through the perforations. 



This sounds nice in theory, but when put to a practical 

 test it develops one or two very objectionable features. 

 First, if the queen is very small, as black queens 

 generally are, she may possibly wriggle through the zinc 

 guard, and, in certain circumstances cause a deal of 

 inconvenience. Secondly, bees will not, as a rule, enter 

 the hive very quickly if the queen is outside, in 

 consequence the insects hang out in great bunches on the 

 hive and bottom board, among which it is almost 

 ■impossible to see the desired object. Again, the 

 disturbance of shaking the bees places them in an 

 abnormal condition, and therefore out of order for the 

 day. At swarming time a good way is to place a swarm- 

 catcher on the colony, and when the swarm issues, the 

 queen — that is a large one — will be detained in the trap 

 and may be readily caught. 



Bee-keepers often wish to remove a black queen outside 

 of the swarming season, and the following plan has its 

 advantages. Go to the colony at a time of day when the 

 bees are flying strongest, and have on hand a hive 

 containing frames with starters ; lift out a comb of larvae 

 and place it with the frames in the new hive, after which 

 brush the remaining bees on to the starters. You will 

 now have all the bees in a new hive with seven empty 

 frames and a comb of larvae. This hive should be carried 

 to a distance of one hundred yards or so from the old 

 stand and allowed to remain until the bees have quietened 

 down. 



In a little while, if the apiarist lifts out the brood- 

 comb, the queen or queens will be found on this frame. 

 This is a good method if the removal of the queen has 



