BEE BUSINESS 57 



The queen is reared in a peculiar cell 

 of her own. It does not form a part of 

 the regular comb and is not to be found in 

 a hive except during the swarming sea- 

 son. Instead it is built either at the 

 bottom so as to hang downward, or is 

 attached at the side of the comb in a pend- 

 ant fashion. In shape and size it reminds 

 one slightly of an unshelled peanut stuck 

 on the side of the brood frame. 



The egg from which a queen develops 

 is exactly the same kind of an egg that 

 ordinarily would produce worker bees. 

 The difference in the result is due entirely 

 to the sort of food that the egg and larva 

 receive. This food has been termed 

 "royal jelly" and by removing some of it 

 from queen cells that are started and di- 

 viding it among a number of artificial 

 cells one may raise as many queens as one 

 likes. This, however, is a mighty partic- 

 ular job and one that the beginner, the 

 amateur or even the average beekeeper of 

 some experience can well leave to the 

 specialist. 



