82 . AN EASY METHOD 



young bees can be raised without a living and fruitful qiieen. 

 In this instance, there were no eggs laid in the cells, nor 

 young' bees raised, and yet there were a plenty of drones in 

 the hive during the whole twenty days, and also during their 

 recess from labor, after the dead queen was dragged out of 

 the hive, until the season for their general massacre arrived. 

 We had five full observing glass hives at the same time in 

 full operation, varying in hiving swarms in them two or 

 three days. 



One, hived July 2d, had eggs laid the first night : eggs 

 were seen in some of the cells before they were to exceed 

 the eighth of an inch in depth, and chrysalides were forming on 

 the tenth day after hiving. In other hives, chrysalides were 

 not discovered until the thirteenth day. 



That no brood-comb will ever be made in a hive of bees 

 unless eggs are laid in the cells, is another fact which is cor- 

 roborated by other experiments in the case. Bee^ usually 

 make comb containing coarse cells in some sheets, and fine 

 ones in others, either of which are proper receptacles fpr 

 storing honey or bread ; but it does not appear that they 

 ever make either exclusively for raising young bees, unless 

 they discover eggs in the cells. Then, if the cells are too 

 deep, the bees cut them down to their proper depth, which 

 is about five-eighths or three-fourths of an inch for workers ; 

 if too shallow, they build on and extend them to the same 

 depth in new combs, and never alter them afterwards, unless 

 they were broken by accident or otherwise injured; so with 

 the coarse cells which are proper for drones, and are always 

 used for raising that class of bees ; when empty of honey, 

 eggs are laid in them, and they are altered to an inch in 

 depth. These cells are more liable to be changed after the 

 escape of the young drones, to suit the convenience of the 

 bees for storing honey ,^ 



