GENERAL HINTS 7 
the edge of the comb. It is when the eggs are 
hatched—three days after they have been placed 
in the cells—that the special treatment of the 
queen grub commences. It is taken charge of 
by the nurses and fed with the rich food— 
known as ‘‘chyle’’ food (see page 50), and it 
is this food alone that produces the difference 
between a queen and a worker bee. 
When the young queen is about a week 
old she will leave the hive to find a mate. As 
mating can only take place when the queen and 
drone are on the wing, she soars into the air 
followed by the rival and eager drones. When 
the mating is accomplished the queen returns 
to the hive and is then capable of laying eggs, 
both fertile and unfertile, at will. The drone 
also returns home, but only to die: he has laid 
down his life for the perpetuation of his race. 
A queen that has been recently mated can be 
identified by a white speck on the back near 
the end of the abdomen —the organ torn 
away from the drone. 
Should a queen fail to be mated within six 
weeks of her leaving the cell she is only cap- 
able of laying unfertile eggs. The egg-laying 
capacity of the queen, under the “‘ chyle-food”’ 
treatment is enormous, ranging up to 3,000 
eggs per day. 
