ADVANCED BEE-CULTURE, 



51 



taken, the cells are often built in clusters, 

 and it is impossible to separate the cells 

 without destroying some of them. 



I have not tried either of these methods. 

 They seem too "fussy." My method of 

 getting cells is to remove the queen from 

 a populous colony and leave the bees un- 

 disturbed for six or seven days. By this 

 time cells will be started, and nearly all 

 of the larvae will be sealed. Young bees 

 will be hatching in abundance, but there 

 will be only a small quantity of brood to 

 be nursed, and in a day or two there will 

 be none. All of the queen cells that have 

 been started are cut out aud a comb of 

 just hatching larvae, from a choice queen, 

 is given. To secure this comb of larvae, 

 a dry, clean comb (one built the previous 

 year is preferable) is placed in the center 

 of the brood nest of a desirable colony 

 about four days before the comb will be 

 needed. All around the edge of the 

 patch of just hatching larvae, I cut holes 

 an inch in diameter. Around these holes 

 the bees build the queen cells, usually 

 three or four at each hole. Of course 

 this method mutilates the combs, but, in 

 a good honey flow, the bees will soon re- 

 fill the holes. About the ninth day after 

 the comb of eggs was given, it is removed, 

 leaned against the side of the hive, ' and 

 the cells carefully cut out; smoke being 

 used, when necessary, to drive the bees 

 out of the way. The comb is then re- 

 turned, and another comb of just hatch- 

 ing eggs given. It will be noticed that 

 young bees are continually hatching in 

 this colony, and all the brood there is to 

 nurse is in the one comb that is given. 

 A colony so treated will build three 

 batches of good cells, and I then give it a 

 queen. 



Nothing is gained by commencing 

 queen rearing operations before steady 

 warm weather has set in. In this latitude, 

 about the loth of May is usually early 

 enough to have queen cells started. To 

 secure good cells, IhVee things are nec- 

 essary; warmth, food in abundance, and 

 plenty of young bees. Early in the sea- 

 son, when the brood is i?icreasing all the 

 time, simply removing the queen from 



a colony does not always result in the 

 best of cells. Later in the season, just 

 at swarming time, for instance, quite 

 good cells can often be secured by this 

 plan. One great objection to this plan 

 seems to be that the bees, in their im- 

 patience to secure another queen, some- 

 times choose larvae that are too old. 



Batches of cells should be started at 

 regular intervals, and there must be no 

 forgetfulness in regard to dates. It is 

 well to have a large calendar hung in 

 a conspicuous place, and the dates and 

 hive numbers marked thereon. It is a 

 difficult matter to so calculate that there 

 shall always be enough laying queens to 

 fill orders, and enough young queens or 

 mature cells to replace them, and none 

 left over. When a breeder has orders 

 ahead all of the time, he can very nearly 

 make things come out even, but not al- 

 ways. A spell of cool weather, or a stop- 

 page in the honey flow, may cause a de- 

 lay in the queens' beginning to lay, and 

 then there will be no place to put the 

 newly hatched queens. Hot weather or 

 a honey flow may bring opposite results. 

 It is best, however, to always have on 

 hand an abundance of cells even if quite 

 a number of their occupants must eventu- 

 ally be destroyed. With one hundred 

 nuclei I have found it a safe plan to start 

 a batch of cells each day. 



After the cells are taken from the hive 

 they are placed in a lamp nursery, where 

 the queens hatch in three or four days. 

 During the day, the lamp nursery is ex- 

 amined about once in two hours. Just 

 at twilight the room is darkened and each 

 cell passed before an aperature in the 

 window shade. Any queen that will 

 hatch before morning can usually be de- 

 tected — will make some movement with 

 a leg — and may be placed in a cage or 

 apartment by herself. I had sixteen little 

 boxes, two inches square, put into a single 

 wide frame that could be hung in the 

 nursery. Each box had a glass door, 

 fastened on by a piece of cloth pasted on, 

 and held shut by a pin driven into the 

 wood and then bent over the door. To 

 open the door, the pin was turned to one 



