116 rORTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES. 



projects above the surface like so many little marbles, 

 being thus projected because drone-brood is in worker- 

 cells. 



Often the presence of laying workers can be detected 

 before there is any sealed brood, by the fact that drone- 

 cells are chosen in preference to worker-cells, that is, 

 drone-cells will be filled with eggs or brood — perhaps two 

 or more eggs in a cell — while plenty of unused worker- 

 cells seem handy. Eggs in queen-cells are also likely to 

 be found, and if you find a queen-cell with more than 

 one egg in it you may be pretty sure laying workers have 

 set up business. Sometimes a dozen of eggs may be 

 found in one queen-cell. An egg in a queen-cell with no 

 other brood or eggs present is a pretty sure sign of 

 laying workers. 



TREATMENT OF LAYING- WORKER COLONIES. 



When a colony of laying workers is found early in 

 the season, about the only thing to do is to break is up, 

 and it matters little what is done with the bees. They are 

 old, and of little value. Indeed, there are never any very 

 young bees with laying workers, when the bees are 

 Italians or blacks, and it may be the best thing in all cases 

 to break them up, distributing the bees and combs to other 

 colonies. 



Yet if a strong colony is found at any time with 

 laying workers, and if, for any reason, it may seem de- 

 sirable to continue the colony, a queen-cell, or a virgin 

 queen just hatched may be given, for it is not easy to get 

 them to accept a laying queen. 



DRONE-LAYING QUEENS. 



Drone-brood in worker-cells may be present with no 

 laying workers — the work of a drone-laying or failing 

 queen. The brood in that case, however, will not be so 



