14 



Thus the wing power of the species is kept up. The mating 

 of the queen is almost beyond the control of man. 



Something may be accomplished, however, by encouraging 

 the production of drones in one or more of the best colonies, 

 the workers of which are known to possess the desired quali- 

 ties, and by restricting to the least number practical in the unde- 

 sirable colonies. Even then, if other bees are within two or 

 three miles, either domestic or in hollow trees in the woods, 

 a large part of the queens may mate with these. The produc- 

 tioji of drones should be kept down as much as possible in all 

 other colonies. This is best accomplished by using full sheets 

 of foundation in the brood frames when hiving new swarms, 

 and by replacing drone comb with worker comb. Drones 

 pass off the stage of action at the close of the honey harvest. 

 So long as nectar is coming in freely they are allowed to live 

 but when it fails to a certain point, they are dragged outside 

 by the workers and not allowed to enter, where once they were 

 welcomed or at least tolerated boarders. They soon perish of 

 starvation and cold. The presence of drones in a colony late 

 in the season is an indication that they are queenless, or have 

 a worthless queen. In such cases, a queen should be given 

 them at once or the colony united with a normal one. 



TABIvE SHOWING DEVELOPMENT OF EGG TO THE ADULT BEE 



Queen) 

 No. days 



Egg 3 



I^arva 5i 



Pupa -Jl 



l6 21 24 



Location oe an Apiary 



Care shouldd be taken in the selection of the place where 

 the bees are to be kept. They should not be located near a 

 place where people or animals must frequently pass. If it 

 must be done, a tight board fence should be erected between 

 the street, road or path and the bee yard high enough so that 



