THE ITALIAN BEB. 453 



The safest course appears to be, to remove the queen several 

 days before the substitution is intended to be made, and to 

 destroy all the royal cells and embryo queens the day before 

 the Italian queen is introduced. At the time of her introduc- 

 tion, the combs should again be thoroughly examined, and if 

 any more royal cells have been started, they must likewise 

 be destroyed. The Italian queen should be placed in a cage * 

 for her protection, and a small quantity of pure honey in 

 open cells should be put in the cage. The conduct of the 

 workers will speedily show whether and when they will re- 

 ceive her. Mr. Lange advises that the Italian queen be in- 

 troduced immediately after the bees of a deprived colony 

 manifest undoubted consciousness of the loss they have sus- 

 tained, and before they have" started any royal cells, or made 

 arrangements for doing so. 



German Apiarians designate as lastardized such Italian 

 queens as have been impregnated by common drones, and 

 also such common queens as are impregnated by Italian 

 drones. The progeny of each is termed bastard, and not 

 hylrid, as they do not seem to constitute an intermediate 

 breed, but are sometimes of the one kind, and sometimes of 

 he other. 



Truly yours, 



SAMUEL WAGNER. 



Eev. L. L. Langsteoth. 



Otto Radlkofer, Jr., of Munich, in a communication to the 

 Beinenzeitung, July, 1856, says that a colony of Italian bees 

 which he transferred in February, began to build new comb 

 before the middle of March, and by the middle of April 

 made more than 323 square inches ; while his common bees 

 had not, at the date of his communication, (the last of April,) 



* See page 236. 



