Clipping Queen's Wing. 243 



cage. A cell is put into each of these, and then they may 

 be put into any hive. Of course the bees can not destroy 

 the cell, as they can not get at it. Dr. Jewell Davis's queen 

 nursery consists of a frame filled with such cages, which 

 can be hung in any hive. I have tried both, and prefer 

 this to the lamp nursery. 



SHALL WE CLIP THE QUEEn's WING? 



In the above operation, as iu many other manipulations 

 of the hive, we shall often gain sight of the queen, and can, 

 if we desire, clip her wing, if she has met the drone; but 

 never before^ that in no case she shall lead the colony away 

 to parts unknown. This is an old practice, for Virgil 

 speaks of retaining the bees by tearing off the wings of 

 " the king." This does not injure the queen, as some 

 have claimed. General Adair once stated that such treat- 

 ment injured the queen, as it cut off some of the air tubes, 

 which view was approved by so excellent a naturalist as 

 Dr. Packard. Yet I am sure that this is all a mistake. 

 The air tube and blood vessel, as we have seen, go to the 

 wings to carry nourishment to these members. With the 

 wi-ig goes the necessity of nourishment and the need of the 

 tubes. As well say that the amputation of the human leg 

 or arm would enfeeble the constitution, as it would cut off 

 the supply of blood. 



Many of our best apiarists have practiced this clipping 

 of the queen's wings for years. Yet these queens show no 

 diminution of vigor; we should suppose they would be 

 even more vigorous, as useless organs are always nourished 

 at the expense of the organism, and if entirely useless, are 

 seldom long continued by nature. The ants set us an exam- 

 ple in this matter, as they bite the wings off their queens, 

 after mating has transpired. They mean that the queen 

 shall remain at home, nolens volens, and why shall not we 

 require the same of the queen bee? Were it not for the 

 necessity of swarming in nature, we should doubtless have 

 been anticipated in this matter by nature herself. 



Some of our first apiarists think that queens with wings 

 clipped are not as acceptable to the other bees. I have now 

 had experience for eighteen years in this practice, and have 



