14 MANUAL OF APICULTURE. : 
almost certain to do, especially if one of the combs placed above con- 
tains some brood—a piece of queen-excluding zine placed over the open- 
ing between the two hives will keep her above, and three weeks later, 
when all the brood in the combs below has matured, the box hive may 
be removed and the combs transferred to frames, if worth using in 
this way; but if old or composed of drone cells or very irregular in 
shape these combs may be rendered into wax, after extracting any 
honey that may happen to be in them. Inverting the box hive will 
generally cause the bees to remove what honey they have stored in the 
combs. This honey will be utilized in building out the foundation 
placed in the added story, or, having these combs completed, the bees 
will store in them whatever remains. Should the queen fail to enter 
the superposed hive, the plan may be adopted of driving her with her 
workers into the added story, as described on page 72. When the 
lower combs have been nearly deserted it will be safe to assume that 
the queen has gone into the upper hive with the main force of workers, 
and the excluder zine may be inserted. 
QUEENLESSNESS IN SPRING. 
The loss of a queen during winter or early spring can generally be 
discovered by noticing just at nightfall, after the first or second general 
flight, which colonies are restless and continue to buzz excitedly when 
the others are humming in a contented manner or have quieted down 
for the night. The workers of the queenless colony run in and out 
excitedly, searching over the front of the hive. Should it be opened 
they will not resent the intrusion, but, remaining on the combs, will at 
once set up a loud and prolonged buzzing. These symptoms become 
less pronounced from day to day. If a comb containing brood be 
inserted during this period it will be hailed with evident delight, man- 
ifested by the eager crowding of the bees from all sides toward it. A 
contented hum replaces the sound of mourning, and if young worker- 
larve are present preparations, as decribed on pages 88-89, are begun 
at once to rear a queen. However, if much reduced in numbers the 
colony should be joined to one with a queen, or several queenless ones 
united. The latter may be smoked and simply shaken or brushed 
together. But bees that have been queenless long when added to those 
that have not yet missed their own queen will frequently be killed at 
once. The queen should therefore be taken from her own bees and 
caged for thirty-six to forty-eight hours in the hive which has previ- 
ously been queenless, and her own bees added when she is released. 
(See page 94.) A board leaned against the front of the hive will cause 
the bees to note their change in location when they fly out and they 
will then easily find their new quarters when returning from their 
flight. 
