COMB. lO'J 



three weeks of scarcity, abundance comes again, and the build- 

 ing is resumed. But the queen is no longer among the work- 

 ers, waiting for cells; she is at the other end of the hive^ 

 where she lays in the cells which were left empty when the 

 larva3 that they harbored were bom. Result: About one-third 

 of store-combs. 



232. (c) This third swarm has a queen whose prolifieness 

 is deficient, yet she has been able to follow the builders for a 

 few days. She is at last left -behind, and the workers begin 

 combs with large cells. On reaching these cells, one or two 

 days later, she passes over them without laying (149), and 

 rejoins the builders, who hasten to comply with her desire to 

 have worker-cells. But she is soon left behind for the second 

 time, and the workers, unrestrained again, build large cells 

 till she again rejoins them, to be again left behind, and so 

 on. Result : Parts of store-combs mixed, here and there, 

 with worker-combs. 



233. (d) We have removed from a hive all its drone- 

 combs; but as the queen is occupied in filling empty worker- 

 cells in another part of the hive, the builders, following their 

 preference, reconstruct large cells, thus annulling our work of 

 removal. 



234. (e) We have given one or two combs to a swarm 

 as soon as it was hived, and we wonder why its bees have 

 built so much drone-comb. The cause is obvious: the queen, 

 finding empty cells to fill, remained a long time far from the 

 builders, who, following their inclination, constructed drone- 

 cells. 



235. We have to utilize the facts just enunciated. If we' 

 desire to prevent a swarm from building too many store-combs, 

 we should watch the builders, and remove the large cells as 

 soon as built; these combs, if worth saving, may be used in 

 the surplus sections. We must remember that, to succeed, it 

 is indispensable that no other cells but the ones to be rebuilt 

 be left at the disposal of the queen. The same rule applies 

 also to the removal of drone-combs at any time; and as the 

 fulfilling of this condition is not always possible, it is better 

 to replace the removed combs with worker comb or comb foun- 

 dation {6'74). 



