Fertile Workers. 179 



the hiving of a colony perched high up on some towering tree, 

 would soon vanquish this argument of time. 

 ..To clip the queen's wing, which we must never do until she 

 commences to lay eggs, take hold of her wings with the right 

 thumb and index finger — never grasp her body, especially her 

 abdomen, as this will be very apt to injure her — raise her oif 

 the comb, then turn from the bees, place her gently on the left 

 hand, and press on her feet with the left thumb sufficiently to 

 hold her. Now with the right hand, by use of a small, deli- 

 cate pair of scissors, cut ofi" about one-half of one of the front 

 or primary wings. This method prevents any movement of 

 legs or wings, and is easy and quick. 



Some apiarists complain that queens thus handled often^ re- 

 ceive a foreign scent, and are destroyed by the bees. I have 

 clipped hundreds, and never lost one. I believe that the 

 above method will not be open to this objection. Should the 

 experience of any one prove to the contrary, the drawing on 

 of a kid glove, or even the fingers of one, might remove the 

 difficulty. 



FERTILE WOEKEES. 



We have already described fertile workers. As these can 

 only produce unimpregnated eggs, they are, of course, value- 

 less, and unless superseded by a queen will soon cause the de- 

 struction of the colony. As their presence often prevents the 

 acceptance of cells or a queen, by the common workers, they 

 are a serious pest. 



The absence of worker brood, and the abundant and care- 

 less deposition of eggs — some cells being skipped, while others 

 have received several eggs — are pretty sure indications of 

 their presence. The condition that favors these pests, is con- 

 tinued absence of a queen or means to produce one. They 

 seem more common 'with the Cyprian and Syrian bees. 



To rid a colony of these, unite it with some colony with a 

 good queen, after which the colony may be divided if very 

 strong. Simply exchanging places of a colony with a fertile 

 worker, and a good strong colony, will often cause the destruc- 

 tion of the wrong-doer-. In this case, brood should be given 

 to the colony which had the fertile worker, that they may rear 

 a queen ; or better, a queen-cell or queen should be given 

 them. Caging a queen in a hive, with a fertile worker, for 



