THE AUSTRALIAN BEEKEEPERS’ JOURNAL. 
189 
so the queen has something to live on, cells of 
hone}', although the bees will not let her die for 
hunger, even if they were to kill her was she 
free. The cage is screwed into the comb to 
the midrib ; it cuts its way easy and neatly, 
the next comb just touches the wire-top, and 
keeps it from falling off. The bees soon 
fasten the cut cells close to the cage, which 
keeps it in place, as they now' begin to remove 
these cells which touch the cover. A space of one 
quarter-inch all round is of wire net, through 
which they get known to each other even if 
they do not remove the cells touching the 
cover. Some bees try to bite their way 
through the wire to attack the queen ; 
others (young bees) reach their tongue 
through it, and feed the queen. She 
receives the odour of the hive and the bees, 
and they get used to her. Two days is 
generally sufficient to make their acquaint- 
ance, and the cage is removed. Care must be 
taken not to disturb the bees, or else they 
begin to pinch the queen on her wings, legs, 
etc., when she gets frightened and tries to 
escape. The bees, well knowing how they 
have to depend on her, prevent her escape in 
a peculiar way — by surrounding her ; but 
soon the whole lot becomes excited, and what 
they begun in a protecting instinct ends in 
the massacre of the queen. Having well 
studied their ways, we avoid all disturbance, 
and release the queens mostly towards eve- 
ning ; the bees are then tired and well-fed. 
For the next three or four days they should 
he left alone, in which time she has gained 
full sovereignship. It can generally be noticed 
whether the bees like the new queen, or not. 
When they like her, they run about the cage 
with their wings open ; when they dislike her, 
they bite the wire, in which case it is better 
to leave her caged for another twenty-four 
hours Sometimes we do not remove the 
cage, but with a penknife we make a hole in 
the comb from the opposite side of the cage 
sufficiently large enough to let the queen pass 
out. This has saved many queens as they 
got free when all was quiet, and the bees 
went into her cage before she came out. 
This method is certainly safer than the one 
in which a wax plug has to be removed by 
the bees to make the queen free. The reason 
is plain and easy to 'perceive. Of other 
methods I need make no remarks, as they are 
less useful. 
To make this matter as plain as possible it 
is necessary to say a few words as regards the 
conditions of the hive into which a new queen 
Bhall be introduced. 
1 have found it of little or no difference 
whether the now queen is introduced as soon 
as the old one is removed, or whether she is 
given a day or two after. But if a hive is 
queenless for more than two days (from two to 
seven), I found it best to destroy all queen 
cells before the queen was leleased, ami if a 
hive is queeuless from five to nine days, the 
queen-cells should be destroyed ou introducing 
the queen. A colony which has no yonng 
brood and no queen-cells, is totally queenless, 
and accepts a new queen willingly. Such 
colonies that do not fill the brood-room, accept 
ft new queen willingly, as a rule, whilst those 
that crowd the brood-room feel inclined to 
swarm as soon as a change of queen takes 
place. This shows that under such circum- 
stances it is best to keep them queenless for 
six days, then destroy all the queen-cells, and 
give them the new' queen. A better plan is 
this : — Take about five frames with capped 
bropd, with allthe bees on the combs, and cage 
the queen from a strong hive, and place the 
frames And bees in an empty one on a new 
stand, and insert the caged queen for a day or 
two. All the old bees return as a matter of 
course to the old hive, but euough remain 
behind, and thousand or more hatch every day, 
so that in a week’s time this is a nice lot of 
bees. This plan has not failed, and for the 
simple reason, the old bees returned to the old 
locality, while the young ones remained, and 
young bees take to a new queen most w illingly. 
I also found that a hive which swarmed a day 
or two previously received a new queen 
willingly, f e queen-cells being destroyed 
on introducing her. A hive that lost a queen 
by her marriage flight receives a new queen 
readily, if given soon after ; but if they were 
queenless for several weeks, they have killed 
two and three queens given in succession, and 
some brood had to he given to get young bees 
into the hive and with them a queen. 
The hive into which a new queen is to be 
given must not only be not over-crowded with 
bees, and it must also have empty cells. It is 
therefore necessary to extract full honey 
combs before the queen is introduced. When 
the honey-crop is scarce, and robbing the 
order of the day, great care must be taken to 
avoid robbers from entering the hive which 
has got the new queen or she is sacrificed. 
Therefore, a queen may be introduced at any 
time in the day, but she should be released 
towards evening. 
We come now to the question as to the time 
in the season when a queen may he introduced, 
and I may say that we introduce them at any 
time in the summer season, and such hives 
are selected as suit the circumstances. Now I 
have often heard the remark — it is too late 
in the sermon, although it is in February or 
March. I consider these months, and April 
and May, if the latter is nice ami warm, as 
suitable for the purpose as September and 
October, and preferable to the swarming 
season, because in the latter end of the season 
the bees have given up swarming, they are 
not so strong as in the height of the breeding 
season, and in consequence more suitable for 
the introduction of the queen. Moreover', 
some queens may he too old and not fit for 
next season , so if they are removed then, and 
yonng ones intiodnced ; it is a step in the 
