67 
freely through it. Whatever may be the method by which a 
queen is introduced to a stock, it isalways best that she should not 
be released yntil the evening, and if it is desired to introduce a 
queen to a stock in the daytime, it is best to do so by means of 
a cage or match box as described in this paragraph. A caged 
queen may generally be released with safety 24 hours after her 
introduction. Before introducing a queen, make sure that 
there is neither a queen nor a queen cell in the hive. A stock 
that has been queenless for twenty-four hours, will be in the 
best mood to receive a queen. If a stock has been queenless 
and broodless for more than a week, give it a frame of brood 
the day before introducing the queen, and keep her caged for two 
days. Examine the stock a few days after introducing a queen, 
to ascertain if she is all right. 
If the dome cage (55) is used, get the queen into the cage, place 
the latter on a card, and then lay the card with the cage on it on 
the honey cells in the comb of a frame taken from the centre of the 
hive in which it is proposed to introduce her, laying the frame hori- 
zontally for that purpose : then carefully withdraw the card, and 
while taking great care not to injure the queen, screw the cage 
into the comb to the depth of the cells; leave it thus for thirty- 
six to forty-eight hours, and then release the queen ; after doing 
so, watch her closely, and if the bees attack her, cage her again 
and leave her for twenty-four hours longer, after which she may 
be released. 
Another method is to introduce the queen by a match-box as 
described in paragraph 1538, but instead of allowing the queen 
at once to enter the hive, the match box when placed in position 
should only be opened 3 inch, just sufficiently to allow the bees 
in the hive to have access to the queen, but not to enter the 
match box, and taking care that the match box is so placed as 
to permit of this; after twenty-four hours the queen may be 
released as described in paragraph 153. 
A queen may be introduced by any of the methods mentioned 
in this paragraph, at any hour of day or night, but she should 
not be released until after dusk. A queen may generally be 
released with safety twenty-four hours after she has been intro- 
duced. 
As a general rule, queens may be introduced to hives by the 
‘direct ’? method, with every prospect of 
153. Direct Intro- success, provided that the operation is 
duction of performed after nightfall, that the queen has 
Queens. been fasting for at least half-an-hour, and 
that the stock has been queenless for at 
least six, preferably for twelve to twenty-four hours. Place the 
queen in an ordinary chip or cardboard box for holding matches ; 
after dark, turn back the flap of the feed hole in the quilt (102) 
sufficiently to leave a hole through which the queen can pass into 
the hive, place the match box over this hole, in such a position 
that the box shall cover the hole, and that when the box is 
