THE KEARINC4 OF QUEEN BEES. 
NATURAL QUEEN REARING. 
Before taking up any artificial methods of queen rearing, it is nec- 
essary to have well in mind the circumstances and conditions under 
which a colony of bees will undertake to rear a queen. It is w*-ll 
known to all bee keepers that workers are female bees, that, when a 
queen is to be reared, a larva which would under other circumstances 
become a worker is fed on a specially prepared food, and that thereby 
the reproductive organs are fully developed. All female larvae when 
just hatched from the eggs are alike in development, whether they 
are destined to become queens or workers. If then any female larva 
is chosen and so placed that this special food is given it, the resulting 
bee is a queen; on the other hand if the ordinary larval food is given 
it, a worker is the result. This discovery is generally attributed to 
Schirach, although the assertion is frequently made that the fact was 
known before his time. 
Since this change of food is exactly what is brought about in nature 
by the workers, in order to proceed intelligently, we must first know 
the conditions under which such a thing can be done; for, while bees 
are somewhat flexible in their instincts, too great a departure from 
their natural inclinations will result only in failure. The three 
conditions under which a colon}' will rear a queen in nature are (1) 
swarming, (2) supersedure, and (3) queenlessness. 
(1) Swarming. — In the spring of the year, as a rule, but at any time 
when the quarters in which the colony is located are too small, bees 
acquire what is known as the "•swarming impulse." In spite of all 
the work that has been done on the habits of these insects, just what 
brings this about and the exact physiological conditions leading up to 
it, are still unknown. Many weird and wild guesses have been made 
at various times, but it may be said, almost without fear of contradic- 
tion, that we are as far as ever from knowing the true cause of swarm- 
ing. It does not always hold true that cramped quarters produce the 
phenomenon, nor that sufficient room will prevent it. 
At an} T rate, when the swarming impulse is aroused the bees begin 
to build queen cells, and in these eggs are often laid by the queen. 
The queen cell is larger at its base than the worker cell and pro- 
jects, when completed, beyond the outside line of the comb, hanging 
down in an acorn-shaped projection with irregularly pitted walla 
The number of such cells which are produced depends on many things, 
among which may be mentioned temperature and the race of bees. 
In colonies of Italian bees the number is usually not great, but in 
Cyprians there are often from 30 to 60 queen cells, while in Tunisians 
there may be several times that number. When the queens are 
about ready to emerge from the cells, the old queen and part of the 
colony leave to establish a new one. 
11251— No- bl 
