QUEEN-MATING 123 



The apiarist will now observe a number of bees witb 

 heads buried in the cells, taking in a supply of honey, so 

 it is an easy matter for him to pick them up by the wings 

 and place them in the cage to accompany the queen. 

 Young bees — distinguished by their hairy appearance 

 and lighter colour — should be selected for mailing cages, 

 as they are better able to withstand the rigours of a 

 journey in the P.O. bags. Most breeders place on the 

 back of the address card full instructions how to 

 introduce. Generally, it is pretty safe for the novice 

 to observe carefully the directions so furnished. 



Until the novice has gained some experience, he will 

 lose fewer queens by the use of the cage : the veteran will 

 very probably have developed a scheme of his own. It 

 is advisable, however, to detail a few of the methods now 

 generally in use. There is one rule that underlies all 

 systems of queen-introduction, and that is to make sure 

 that the hive is queenless before attempting to give it 

 a new mother. 



SIMMINS PLAN. 



The Simmins plan is very simple, and very successful. 

 To introduce by this method the hive should be queenless 

 at least 8 hours, and not more than 1% days. If longer 

 than two days, the bees will have queen-cells well under 

 way; they are then inclined to favour rearing a queen 

 for themselves in preference to accepting a change. To 

 proceed, cage the queen by herself and keep her alone 

 and hungry for 30 minutes. Just at dusk, raise the hive 

 lid in a deliberate and extremely careful manner, so that 

 the bees are almost unaware of the act, give a puff of 

 smoke, run in the queen, another puff, and leave the hive 

 severely alone for 5 to 7 days. 



MILLER PLAN. 



During the last few months, an apiarist in the United 

 States of America has brought forward smoke introduc- 

 tion, and great- claims are made for it. He simply smokes 



