OF MANAGING BEES. * 45 



The idea of raising her royal liighness, and elevating and 

 establishing her upon the throne of a colony, may by some 

 be deemed altogether visionary and futile ; but we will assure 

 the reader that it is easier done than can be described. We 

 have both raised them and supplied destitute swarms re- 

 peatedly. 



When the drawer containing bees and brood-comb is re- 

 moved, the bees soon find themselves destitute of a female, 

 and imm.ediately set themselves to work in constructing one 

 or more royal cells. When completed, which is commonly 

 within forty-eight hours, they remove a grub {larva) from 

 the worker's cell, place the same in the new-made queen's 

 cell, " feed it on that kind of food which is designed only 

 for queens," and in from eight to sixteen days they have a 

 perfect queen. 



As soon as the bees have safe'ly deposited the grub in the 

 new-made royal cell, the bees may have their liberty. Their 

 attachment to their young brood, and their fidelity to their 

 queen, in any stage of Its minority, is such, that they will 

 never leave nor forsake them, and will continue all their 

 ordinary labor^Vith as much regularity as if they had a per- 

 fect queen. 



In making queens in small boxes or drawers, the owner 

 will not be troubled by their swarming the same season they 

 are made. There are so few bees in the drawer, they are 

 unable to guard the nymph queens, if there are any, from 

 being destroyed by the oldest, or the one which escapes from 

 her cell first. 



In examining the drawer in which I raised an extra queen, 

 I found not only ^ the queen, but two royal cells, one of 

 which was perfect in shape ; the other was mutilated, proba- 

 bly by the queen which hatched out first. Now when there 

 are few bees to guard the nymphs, it would not be very 



