Bi'i'-],:eeping in Victoria. 



37 



latter case, accepted by the bees as part of their home as soon as required 

 and the crowded condition relieved. 



2, The presence of large numbers of drones is best avoided by the use 

 in the brood chamber of combs built from full sheets of foundation, or 

 combs which have been built by swarms during the first three weeks. The 

 cutting out of drone comb or the shaving off of the heads of drone brood 

 is of very little use, because drone comb is again built by the bees in the 

 same space, and the queen again lays drone eggs into the cells from which 

 the bees have removed the decapitated drones. 



3. Old or failing queens may be discovered during the first or second 

 examination of hives in Spring (Fig. i) by noting the irregular way eggs 

 are laid, as they are found scattered about instead of in compact circles. 

 Colonies having three-year-old queens will be found most inclined to 

 swarm ; those with two-year-old queens less so, and the previous season's 



Fig. 1. — Spring Examination of Hives. 



queens still less, while later on, when young queens of the same season's 

 rearing are laying, their colonies will not swarm the same season. Defective 

 and old queens should be replaced as soon as ripe queen cells are available. 

 In weak colonies the queen may be destroyed and a queen cell given at 

 the same time, the interruption of brood rearing can be made good by 

 giving a comb of brood a few days after the young queen hatched. If 

 the colony contains sufficient bees it may be divided into two on the same 

 stand, the old queen being kept laying in one till the young queen is laying 

 in the other, when the former may be removed and the two stocks united 

 by alternating the brood combs after smoking both. Uniting is best done 

 at or after sunset. 



Even when everything possible has been done to discourage swarming, 

 there will be a number of swarms, but they will be larger (Fig. 2) than 



