170 Securing Queen-Cells. 



The best colony in the apiary — or, if there are several col- 

 onies of equal merit, one of these — should be stimulated to ine 

 utmost, by daily feeding, and by increase of brood taken from 

 other colonies. As this colony becomes strong, a comb con- 

 taining drone cells should be placed in the centre of the brood 

 nest. Very soon drone eggs will be laid. I have often had 

 drones flying in early May. As soon as the drones commence 

 to !i'>near, remove the queen and all eggs and uncapped 

 brood from some good, strong colony, and replace it with eggs 

 or brood just hatched from the colony containing the queen, 

 from which it is desired to breed. By having placed one or two 

 bright, new, empty combs in the midst of the brood nest of 

 this colony, four days beforehand, we shall have in these combs 

 just such eggs and newly hatching brood as we desire, with no 

 brood that is too old. 



If we have more than one colony whose excellence warrants 

 their use to breed from, then these eggs should be taken from 

 some other than the one which has produced our drones. 

 This will prevent the close in-breeding which would of neces- 

 sity occur if both queens and drones were reared in the same 

 colony; and which, though regarded as deleterious in the 

 breeding of all animals, should be practiced in case one single 

 queen is of decided superiority to all others of the apiary. 

 The queen and the brood that have been removed may be 

 used in making a new colony, in a manner soon to be describ- 

 ed under "dividing or increasing the number of colonies." 

 This queenless colony will immediately commenee forming 

 queen-cells (Fig. 78). Sometimes these are formed to the 

 number of fifteen or twenty, and in case of the Syrian and 

 Cyprian races, fifty or sixty, and they are started in a full, 

 vigorous colony ; in fact, under the most favorable conditions. 

 Cutting off edges of the comb, or cutting holes in the same 

 where there are eggs or larvte just hatched, will almost always 

 insure the starting of queen-cells in such places. It will be 

 noticed that our queens are started from eggs, or from larvse 

 but just hatched, as we have given the bees no other, and so 

 are fed the royal pabulum from the first. Thus, we have met 

 every possible requisite to secure the most superior queens. 

 By removal of the queen we also secure a large number of 

 cells, while if we waited for the bees to start the cells prepar- 

 atory to natural swarming, in Avhich case we secure the two 



