106 MONEY IN BEES IN AUSTRALASIA 



QUEENS FERTILISED DURING FLIGHT. 



The act of copulation takes place on the wing, and 

 the whole of the genital organs of the drone are expelled 

 from his body with a distinct sound, and are absorbed 

 by the queen. The whole act has been witnessed, and 

 fully described in that fine journal Gleanings in Bee 

 Culture. This rupture invariably kills the drone. The 

 author has often witnessed the return of the queen from 

 her mating trip, with the fine white thread, already 

 partially dried, still protruding from her abdomen. The 

 worker bees appear very excited and follow the queen 

 about stroking her with their antennae and generally 

 making a fuss. The apiarist will now discern a great 

 change within the next 48 hours. 



DIFFICULTY IN FINDING VIRGIN QUEENS. 



Previous to her wedding journey the virgin queen 

 was of a restless, nervous disposition, running hither and 

 thither whenever the hive was opened. Her body was 

 verj' little larger than that of a worker bee, and her quick 

 movements made it difficult to find her. In fact, practical 

 queen breeders make no effort to find virgins : they rely 

 on the surroundings and temper of the bees to determine 

 whether the hive is queenless or not. 



After her marital flight the queen 's abdomen fills out 

 in a most astonishing manner. The next day she walks 

 over the combs with her shapely body held high up from 

 the comb (a sure sign of age in a queen is a dragging 

 gait as if the legs were no longer strong enough) in a 

 slow dignified way. Her whole attitude is that of 

 attending strictly to the business of egg-laying. Very 

 often when removing a comb one may notice the queen 

 investigate a cell with her head, then insert her abdomen 

 in a curved manner and when she withdraws it the tiny 

 egg, like a speck of white cotton, is plainly visible attached 

 to the bottom of the cell. This usually takes place about 

 the tenth or twelfth day after she liatched from the cell. 



