290 THB bsb-kbepbr'S guide ; 



only produce unimpreginated eggs, they are, of course, value- 

 less, and unless superseded by a queen will soon cause the 

 destruction of the colony. As their presence often prevents 

 the acceptance of cells or a queen, by the common workers, 

 they are a serious pest. The absence of worker-brood, and 

 the abundant and careless deposition of eggs — some cells being 

 skipped, while others have received several eggs — are pretty 

 sure indications of their presence. The condition that favors 



Fig. 138. 



Hive- Scrape r. — Origina I. 



these pests, is continued absence of a queen or means to pro- 

 duce one ; thus they are very likely to appear in nuclei. They 

 seem more common with the Cyprian and Syrian bees. 



To rid a colony of these, unite it with some colony with a 

 good queen, after which the colony may be divided if very 

 strong. Simply exchanging places of a colony with a laying 

 worker, and a good, strong colony will often cause the destruc- 

 tion of the wrong-doer. In this case, brood should be given to 

 the colony which had the laying worker, that they may rear a 

 queen ; or better, a queen-cell or queen should be given them. 

 Caging a queen in a hive, with a laying worker, for thirty-six 

 hours, will almost always cause the bees to accept her. We 

 may also use the Doolittle candy cage with the opening covered 

 with paper. Her escape is so tardy that she will be safe. 

 ■Shaking the bees off the frames two rods from the hive, will 

 often rid them of the counterfeit queen, after which they will 

 receive a queen-cell or a queen. But prevention is best of all. 

 We should never have a colony or nucleus without either a 

 queen or means to rear one. It is well to keep young brood in 

 our nuclei at all times. Queens reared from brood four days 

 from the egg are often drone-layers, and never desirable. 



