QUEENS 107 



QUEEN DESTROYS CELLS. 



As mentioned elsewhere, the first queen hatched will — 

 unless prevented by the bees — destroy all the mature 

 cells. To prevent this it is well for the apiarist to make 

 himself familiar with the signs that denote the age and 

 condition of queen-cells. 



The day before the queens are due to leave the cells 

 the bees remove the wax tip (No. 3, Fig. 51) and leave 

 the end of the cell quite smooth. Actually the larva 

 when spinning the cocoon inside the sealed cell is unable 

 to reach right into the sharp tip, and the moving of the 

 head from side to side during the process of weaving 

 determines the distance reached by the cocoon, so when 

 the bees remove the pointed tip it exposes the cocoon, 

 which is smooth (No. 4, Fig. 51). 



The cocoon is very tough indeed, and if a "ripe" 

 queen-cell is held up to the ear the sound made by the 

 insect's jaws is quite audible. It is always safe to take 

 care of the cells when the sharp tip is removed in this 

 way: it is really the stage referred to as "ripe." On 

 odd occasions, queenless bees will remove the tip several 

 days before the due time, perhaps in eagerness to see 

 their prospective mother. The strong aversion queens 

 have for one another prompts the first queen out of the 

 cells to look around for rivals to the monarchy. The 

 cells are hardly safe even for a very short while. The 

 free queen looks for a little refreshment from some 

 unsealed cells of honey before she starts out as a royal 

 executioner. Thus strengthened she make a savage 

 attack upon the other cells. 



Now it is a strange thing to record, but it so happens, 

 that when the royal larva spins a cocoon, unlike many 

 other insects, it weaves it in such a way that it covers 

 but half of the insect — the head and thorax. The 

 abdomen in the base of the cell is not protected by the 

 silken covering, but only by the successively cast skins 

 of the larva. The cocoon, woven of bee-silk, is extremely 

 tough; it will resist a strong pull with the fingers, and 

 only reaches up to the dotted line on No. 3, Fig. 51. 



