286 A Modern Bee-Farm 



when liberated the same have already been largely stocked 

 "with eggs by the new queen. 



Colonies long Queenless. 



When I am aware a colony has been queenless for 

 any length of time, I generally take out one of the 

 central combs and allow the queen to run among the 

 bees ; if favourably received, replace the comb, but if, as 

 it seldom happens, they reject her, then give them a 

 frame of honey and brood, and insert the queen at night 

 according to the " fasting " method. 



In times of scarcity it is always better to have the feed- 

 ing-bottle going when it is decided to insert a queen by 

 any caging process. All the foregoing plans have 

 reference to fecundated queens, but with regard to the 

 intoduction of 



Virgin queens, 



ihitherto there has been great uncertainty, and the only 

 satisfactory plans I have found are : — (i) By introducing to 

 a confined nucleus as shewn above for fertile queens ; (2) 

 by the tubular cage before mentioned ; in this case pressing 

 the open end into thin foundation after putting in the 

 young queen, or by pushing the open end diagonally 

 •downwards into the sealed stores near the top bar ; (3) by 

 allowing three days to pass after the removal of a fertile 

 queen, and then inserting at night, and (4) by duplicate 

 queens caged where a queen already laying is to be 

 removed.* (See also Queen Rearing.) 



Queens dying in Cage. 



When inserting queens by the cage it sometimes 



''No. 4 was mentioned in my " New Queen-Rearing " Pamphlet, 1S94 ; 

 while the other methods were described in my earlier works. 



