O SPECIAL BULLETIN NO. 49 



another colony may be returned to it, and the queen also, if still alive. 

 If she is dead one cell may be given to the colony when they are all 

 mature. 



When to Use Cells 



On the tenth or eleventh day the cells are ready to use. Sometimes one 

 cell may be constructed on an older larva than the apiarist knows about and 

 the queen from such a cell may emerge on the tenth night and play havoc 

 with her defenseless younger sisters. So it is usually advisable to use 

 the cells on the tenth day unless examination shows them to be still im- 

 mature. The examination may be made by holding the cells between 

 the eye and a strong light (in sunlight). If the virgins are all dark in color, 

 or can move, they are ripe; if light, or even white, in color they are too 

 immature to stand handling and exposure. The best age for introduction 

 is when the virgins can kick their legs in the cells. 



Introducing Cells to Colonies 



Preparation for using these cells must be made six days before they 

 are ready, that is, four days after the frame of prepared larvae is hung 

 into the cell-building colony. This preparation consists first in finding and 

 killing the queens in the colonies to which the cells are to be given. 

 Then on the tenth day when the cells are ready, these colonies, having been 

 queenless six days, will contain queen cells constructed on their own brood. 

 These must all be destroyed. The bees will then be in a hopelessly queen- 

 less condition, having no young larvae, and will therefore be glad to accept 

 foreign cells. If, however, one were to kill the queens in his colonies and 

 give ripe cells immediately he would find most of his virgins absent on 

 the next examination. Bees usually rear cells, or try to rear them, irom 

 their own brood before they will accept foreign cells or foreign laying 

 queens. To ignorance of this fundamental habit of bees on the part of the 

 beekeepers most disasters to newly introduced cells or queens are due. 



Ten days after putting the cells into colonies most of the queens will be 

 laying. But some will have disappeared. One can not expect one hundred 

 per cent to mate and return to their hives. In fact not more than eighty 

 per cent of all virgins succeed in doing so. To those colonies whose queens 

 have been lost, a second lot of cells maturing ten days later than the first 

 may be given. Or laying queens may be provided for them. If any still 

 remain queenless after the second trial, laying queens should be provided 

 or they should be given sealed brood before being given the third lot of 

 cells. Otherwise they are likely to decline in strength very decidedly 

 before they get laying queens. 



Sometimes when requeening old colonies an apiarist makes a few 

 nuclei of two combs of brood and bees each, mates queens in these, and 

 then unites one of these with each old colony which has lost its virgin. 

 This is an excellent plan for every one to follow because such nuclei, pos- 

 sessing only young bees, accept cells more readily than full colonies, and 

 because by mating extra queens one insures that each old colony may be 

 provided for at the proper time. 



