DGE-KBEPliia a MANUAL. 35 



would throw some light on their condition(_since where 

 the queen is lost, the bees never gather this food of the 

 larvaejbecause they have no necessity for it, while in 

 that condition. I did perceive an occasional bee enter 

 with pellets of farina, and I at once took it for granted, 

 that the queen was among them, and that she would 

 prove fertile ; but owing to the very small number of 

 bees composing her family, I was aware that it would 

 be very late in the season, before she would be able to 

 replenish the hive in numbers, owing to the difficulty in 

 generating the necessary animal heat. After watching 

 during the month of May, in vain, for any apparent in- 

 crease, I concluded that if the hive remained much 

 longer in that condition, the moths would take posses- 

 sion, and give the handful of bees therein " notice to 

 quit ;" and if they should manifest any disposition to 

 refuse to comply with so reasonable a requisition, a 

 " writ of ejectment" would speedily follow ; and not 

 wishing to have any controversies arise between my 

 bees and so stubborn a creature as the moth, touching 

 the right of possession, I immediately commenced cut- 

 ting out a portion of the combs, in order to give the 

 bees a better chance to defend themselves, in case of 

 being intruded upon. 



In cutting out these combs, I discovered in one of the 

 centre combs, near to the top of the hive, a piece of 

 brood, about two or three inches square, which was en- 

 tirely drone-hrood. I searched in vain for any trace of 

 worker-brood, nor did I find a solitary worker larva, up 

 tp about the 20th of June, when the family was destroy- 



