BEEKEEPING IN ARKANSAS 25 



natural position (see Pig. 3.) The queen cells must be handled 

 with great care, for the young larvae are easily injured. If all 

 these virgin queens should mate with Italian drones the whole 

 apiary would be Italianized in a short time. However, even if, as 

 is likely to happen, some of the queens mate with black drones, 

 all the drones from the virgin queens will be Italian. Therefore, 

 all that remains to be done to complete the italianization is to 

 repeat the above procedure, preferably the following year. If 

 by the use of a drone trap or removal of all drone comb, all the 

 black drones are eliminated before the young queens emerge 

 the requeening need not be repeated the second year. 



Introducing Queens. One method, that of inserting mature 

 queen cells has already been discussed. If it is preferred, the 

 beekeeper may allow such queens to emerge before introduction, 

 protecting each cell by a wire protector so that the one emerging 

 first is prevented from killing all the others. A disadvantage 

 of this method is that the introduction of virgin queens is a 

 difficult matter and should not be practiced by beginners. 



The most common method of introducing queens shipped 

 thru the mails is to insert the mailing cage, between the combs 

 following closely the directions accompanying the cage. This 

 method usually is successful. 



A very simple introducing cage can be constructed out of 

 a small piece of screen wire. This is cut and bent in the form 

 of a small tray, about three inches long, two inches wide, and 

 three-fourths of an inch deep. The queen to be introduced is 

 placed in this tray and covered with a thin piece of cardboard, 

 a frame containing brood, eggs, and honey, or cells with pollen 

 and honey is then brot into the house. The tray with the 

 queen is put on the comb with the cardboard next to it where 

 she is supplied with honey and pollen or brood. The cardboard 

 is then drawn out and the edges of the tray are pushed into the 

 comb for about a quarter of an inch. This is known as the push- 

 into-comb method. The bees liberate the queen in 24-48 hours 

 by tunneling thru the comb. 



BEE DISEASES 



American Foul Brood. Of the five diseases commonly known 

 to affect bees, this is by far the most destructive. When it once 

 gets into an apiary and is allowed to proceed unchecked it may 

 in a few years destroy all the colonies. It is highly infectious 

 and because of the tendency that bees have of robbing weak 

 colonies, it often spreads rapidly from colony to colony and 

 from one apiary to another. 



American foul brood is caused by a pathogenic organism 

 known as Bacillus larvae. It attacks the larvae (or young bees) 

 in the cells when they are full grown. It is practically con- 



