116 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 



ony, a comb containing eggs and young brood. I make a record 

 of giving them this young brood thus : "May 20, no eg gybr,' 

 (no eggs; gave young brood), and in perhaps a week I look to 

 see in what condition they are. If I find queen-cells started I 

 am pretty sure they have no queen. 



QUEBNLESS COLONIES. 



What shall be done in that case depends. If the colony is 

 viesk, it is at once broken up, brood and bees being given 

 wherever they may be needed, and I heave a sigh of relief to 

 think I am rid of the weakling. If it is strong — an accident 

 may have happened to the queen of a strong colony at the last 

 overhauling — it may be broken up and the hvood and bees dis 

 ti'ibuted where they will do the most good, but more liljely a 

 weaker colony with a good queen will be united with it. Just 

 possibly, the queen-cells started may be allowed to go on to 

 completion. 



BROOD AS A STIMULANT. 



If it happened that they had a virgin queen when the 

 young brood was given them, the presence of this brood is sup- 

 posed to stimulate the queen to lay the sooner, and I may find 

 eggs on this later inspection. It may be, however, that I shall 

 find neither eggs nor queen-cell, in which case I consider it 

 probable that they have a queen which has not yet commenced 

 to lay, and they are left for examination later. 



LAYING WORKERS. 



Although laying workers are not so likely to be found 

 early in the year, it is still possible. In some cases the scat- 

 tered condition of the brood awakens immediate suspicion. This 

 scattered condition is shown in Fig. 59, but the picture does not 

 clearly show how the sealed brood 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 be- 

 fore there is any sealed brood, by the fact that drone-cells are 



