SUPERSEDING QUEENS 167 



influence the bees in this their natural method of dis- 

 pensing with a queen that no longer fulfils the require- 

 ments of the hive. 



As bee-keepers of extended experience are well aware, 

 the welfare of the hive demands the queen to be prolific 

 and of sound health. The apiarist may seek to add other 

 qualifications, but that is a matter, however, more directly 

 concerning the bee-culturist than the bees. Take, for 

 example, the average hive about to supersede its queen. 

 Ninety-nine times in a hundred the queen of such a colony 

 will soon fail, which fact is apparent to the bees. True, 

 certain writers inform us of acts which cause bees to 

 supersede the queens : cutting off one of the queen 's legs 

 is said to bring about supersedure; however, better leave 

 cruelty out of bee-culture. Supersedure brought about 

 by similar means should not be within the purview of 

 the average bee-farmer. 



To hark back to natural conditions — the bees, aware 

 of the failing queen (this fact alone precludes her use for 

 a queen mother), proceed to construct, in a rather 

 deliberate manner, the number (never very many) of 

 queen-cells the bees imagine necessary for the purpose. 

 Now keen observers have decided that the bees are not 

 the best judges of the requisite quality of the queen cells ; 

 for some of the last built are frequently less than half 

 the size of the first ones sealed. It is obvious that the 

 queens naturally hatched from the smaller cells are not 

 always killed, and it is quite reasonable to believe that 

 such queens often supplant much better ones not only in 

 the supersedure colony, but in some of the hives adjacent 

 to it. Queens from the small cells usually have larger 

 heads and shorter bodies, which goes to show want of 

 development; in fact, they are more "worker" than 

 queen. What a contrast to those that hatch from 

 the large rough cells during the swarming season! 

 When this matter is entirely in the "hands" of the bees 

 it is pure chance that the hive is not ruled by a queen 

 very inferior indeed. 



