THE n^ALIAN OK LIGUEIAX BEE. 323 



RAISING AND INTRODUCING QUEKNS. 



ABTIFICIA.I, QUEENS. 



I temi queens reared as about to be described, artificial 

 queens, in contra-distinction to those raised by the bees 

 in the process of natural sAvarming. 



We will first see how it is to be done with the movable 

 comb hive, for it is to be presumed that most who raise 

 them will use this hive in some form, as without it, all 

 the advantages will not be realized. 



HOW TO HEAR THEM. 



Rearing queens artificially is done by enclosing a few 

 bees, a pint or a quart, without a queen, with a small 

 piece of comb containing larvse or eggs. Make a little 

 box, or miniature hive, large enough to hold three combs 

 or more, four or five inches square. Suspend frames 

 within, just as in the hive. Fit in them pieces of dry 

 -^j_.,_— ^y=_— ^— ,-_a— .-nc clean comb, and fasten 



^^^JM^^^^BH^ piece of comb containing 



^^MMM^^toWy eggs or larvas, cut in this 



Fig. 34.— COMB coNTAiNiNQ BROOD ghape, two iuches long by 



FROM WmCH TO KAISE QUEBNS. ^ jj^^j^ ^^^^ ^^^^ j^^jf ^^ 



inch wide. Cut a piece the same size, except underside, out 

 of the middle of one of the combs, and insert it thus, sup- 

 ported by each end. — See Fig. 34. — The bees will 

 weld it fast in a few hours. The space cut out 

 below, gives room to make the queen-cells, and they are 

 quite sure to make them here. When the larvae are just 

 the right age, six or eight queens wUl sometimes mature 

 in 10 or 11 days, at other times, in 16 or 18. But 

 if the grub is over four days old, it is doubtful if it 

 can be changed to a queen. This shape of the piece of 

 brood comb is better than square, as it gives a 



