450 THE ITALIAN BEE. 



and more courageous and active in self-defence. They 

 strive on all hands to force their way into colonies of com- 

 mon bees ; but when strange bees attack their hives, they 

 fight with great fierceness and an incredible adroitness. 

 ■ From one Italian queen sent to him by Dzierzon, Be^lepsch 

 succeeded in obtaining, in the ensuing season, one hundred 

 and thirty-nine fertile young queens, of which number about 

 fifty produced pure Italian progeny. 



In order to secure an early supply of drones, as the basis 

 of his future operations, Berlepsch inserted empty drone 

 combs on the third of March, between combs filled with 

 worker brood, and fed the colony every evening, with diluted 

 honey, somewhat warmed. The cells of these drone combs 

 were speedily supplied with eggs, and on the 31st of March, 

 the first drones issued. But in the first week of April the 

 workers cast nearly all the drone brood out of the cells, and 

 not more than about 150 drones survived. The weather had 

 suddenly changed and become rough and cold, and at so 

 early a period the bees do not regard drones with much 

 favor. He proposes operating differently hereafter, by re- 

 moving the queen from some strong colonies, as soon as 

 drones emerge, and insert in their hives the comb contain- 

 ing drone brood, to be hatched there. The first young queen 

 emerged on the 3d of April, and on the 1 1th, a beautiful 

 Spring day, whilst drones were flying in great numbers, he 

 had the gratification of seeing the queen return to her hive 

 with evident marks of impregnation. This queen, and two 

 others, soon proved to be fertile, producing Italian brood. 

 On the 12th the weather became cold again, and so remained 

 till the 23d, when the thermometer rose to 80° in the shade, 

 and numbers of drones 'issued also from his hives of com- 

 mon bees. This undesired occurrence constrained him to 

 transfer his Italian hives to another locality. But even there. 



