THE BEGINNER IN BEE CULTURE. 



taken as a desirable method of replacing queens, in many cases a similar 

 one is used where a better system is not available ; that is, by placing a 

 frame of selected brood with a queenless colony, or by introducing a queen 

 from a populous colony for the purpose of raising cells to replace unsatis- 

 factory queens in the apiary. In the case of a beginner the biood placed 

 should contain some eggs, as his knowledge of the right age for larvae would 

 be limited. 



Virgin Queens. 



A. queen is termed a '" virgin " from the time she issues from the 'cell 

 until successfully mated with the drone. Strange to say, this virgin queen 

 could lay eggs that would produce live drone bees, but in order that the 

 queen may lay eggs that will produce worker bees it is necessary for her tp 

 be fertilised by the drone. The mating usually takes place in about five 

 days after issue from the cell. Selecting a nice sunny day if possible, the 



The Government Apiary, Wanchope; 



young queen issues from the hive aud mates with the drone whilst on the 

 wing. The queen absorbs the organ of the drone, which has the eflfect of 

 killing liim immediately, and she then returns to the hive, where she 

 will commence to lay in a few days. In most cases the queen will be laying 

 within ten days from the time she issues from the cell, though the weather 

 conditions sometimes cause the time to vary. A queen may even be mated 

 late in the autumn and not lay until the spring. 



A virgin queen is very difficult to find in the hive on account of her small 

 size and shyness, but a change takes place shortly after successful mating, 

 for the queen develops in a wonderful manner, due to the presence of eggs 

 forming in the abdomen. When this takes place the queen is usually easily 

 discovered. 



The life of a queen bee is about three years, and only once during that 

 .period is she mated. Despite the average period of a queen bee's life, it is 

 usually advisable to replace her after two seasons' work. 



