MANIPULATING. 7 1 



observed, some thin, warm honey should be dropped freely on 

 the ball : this will cause them to release their prisoner ; she 

 must then be placed in a cage for a day, or until the bees will 

 receive her again in a proper manner. Usually, in such cases, 

 they will receive her directly they have quieted down. When 

 a queen is balled she very rarely recovers from the rough 

 usage, unless she is released soon after it takes place. 

 "Balling" is the usual method of bees of taking the hfe of a 

 queen, although they sometimes sting her to death. 



120. Obtaining a Knowledge of a Queeuless Colony. 



— A queenless colony can be detected from outside as easily as 

 from inside appearances, except in late autumn, when it is rather 

 difficult. ' Almost directly a queen is removed from a hive the 

 bees become restless, running about in all directions in front of 

 the hive and on the alighting-board, flying a few feet from the 

 hive and returning again at once; they seem to be searching for 

 something which they cannot find. This is more noticeable when 

 all other hives in the apiary are quiet. These proceedings will 

 last for a varying period. In the event of there being plenty of 

 young larvse in the hive, they will not prosecute their search for 

 any considerable time, but will commence making queen-cells and 

 rearing another queen ; but where they have no chances of rear- 

 ing another they are uneasy for the rest of their existence unless 

 provided with one, and will search around the entrance for 

 days. No work will be done, an air of laziness pervades the 

 hive, pollen is rarely carried in, or, if it is, in very small quan- 

 tities, the pellets being about a quarter their normal size. The 

 inmates, instead of flying from the entrance with a quick dart, 

 listlessly crawl forth, take just a little turn round, and go 

 back again ; there is no rushing or tumbling over each other on 

 returning with a load, as a colony in a normal state, but a drowsy, 

 sleepy look seems to settle upon all the community. Queens 

 sometimes die naturally; this is more frequently the case in the 

 winter, and is then very easily detected, as upon the hive being 

 opened in the spring, the absence of brood is an unfailing sign. 

 The loss of a queen in late summer can frequently be dis- 

 covered by the colony allowing the drones to live, and they will 

 then tolerate their presence all through winter if they are allowed 

 to remain queenless. 



121. What to So with a Queenless Stock.— In spring a 

 queenless colony must be united to one having a queen (see " Unit- 

 ing," pars. 94 and 95), as then spare queens are most difficult to 

 obtain. In summer the advanced bee-keeper will have ready some 

 spare queens ; one of these must be introduced directly on dis- 

 covering the loss. In autumn either unite to a colony possessing 

 a mother, or introduce a queen. In autumn queens can be 

 obtained in any quantity from dealers. A very good plan is to 



