152 NUMBER OF QUEEN CELLS. 



is the examination of the interior. If the combs be black 

 and ill-flavoured, it is the certain sign of an old hive ; if 

 they be of a pale yellow, it indicates a hive of the current year ; 

 but even in this point of view, a young and inexperienced 

 apiarian may be deceived. In the common straw hive, when 

 the combs have been extracted on either side, the bees will 

 soon construct new ones, and from the colour of those 

 combs, the purchaser might be inclined to consider the hive 

 a young one. It is not, however, the side combs, but the 

 middle ones, which should be examined, and the colour 

 will immediately indicate the age of the hive. 



Some criterion may also be formed of the age of a hive by 

 the number of queen cells which are to be seen : if they be 

 numerous, no doubt can exist of the oldness of the hive. In 

 this respect, however, Huber must not be consulted as an 

 authority ; for he affirms that he has seen twenty-seven queen 

 cells in a hive at one time, as the generation of one season, and 

 all of them with embryos in them. The greatest number that 

 we ever knew to be bred in a hive during one season was seven, 

 but in this climate, five are the general average. From this 

 hive we had three swarms, and in the first swarm there were 

 two young queens *. We could thus account for four of the 

 queens, but we could never discover the fate of the other 

 three. Reaumur says, that from four to seven are the general 

 number of queens bred in one season. Swammerdam limits 

 the number to eight ; Latreille to six ; Duchet never knew 

 more than six ; Delia Rocca says, that he once had eight queen 

 cells in a hive; Bonner estimates the number at six, and 



* This circumstance once occurred to us with a hive belonging to Mr. Mans- 

 field at Nine Elms. On the swarm alighting, it was immediately hived, 

 but the bees would not stop ; we hived them again and again, but the 

 bees always flew away : we conjectured at last that there might be two 

 queens in the swarm, and on examination, our conjecture proved to be well 

 founded. We took one of the queens a prisoner, until the disposition of the 

 bees was ascertained relative to the queen which was left amongst them, 

 when, on finding that they were satisfied with her, we, though very reluct- 

 antly, killed the superfluous queen. 



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