270 



QUEEN REAEING. 



ously against impending ruin, and never give up until their 

 condition is absolutely desperate. We once knew a colony 

 of bees not large enough to cover a piece of comb four inches 

 square, to attempt to raise a queen. For two whole weeks, 

 they adhered to their forlorn hope ; until at last, when they 

 had dwindled to less than one-half their original number, 

 their new queen emerged, but with wings so imperfect that 

 she could not fly. Crippled as she was, they treated her 

 with almost as much respect as though she were fertile. In 



Fig. 926. (Prom AUey.) 



the course of a week more, scarce a dozen workers remained 

 in the hive, and a few days later, the queen was gone, and 

 only a few disconsolate wretches were left on the comb. 



628. Mr. Alley, who raises queens by the thousand, has 

 published his method of queen-rearing. His queens are all 

 raised in very small nuclei which he calls miniature hives. 

 From a Ught-eolored worker-comb filled with hatching eggs, 

 he cuts strips with a sharp knife, as in fig. 926. 



"After the comb has been cut up, lay the pieces flat upon a board 

 or table, and cut the cells on one side down to within one fourth 

 of an inch of the foundation or septum, as seen in iig. 936which 

 represents the comb ready to place in position for cell build- 

 ing. "While engaged in this work, keep a lighted lamp near 



Fig. 936. (From Alley.) 



at hand, with which to heat the knife, or the cells will be 

 badly jammed * * * * 



