62 
Beekeeping 
tion may be likened to the simple fission or division observed 
in the protozoa, by which they increase in number. 
Preparation for swarming. 
As the colony increases in strength, the rearing of brood 
is no longer confined to the worker and drone cells but 
special queen cells are built (Fig. 45), in which female larvae 
are fed a specially prepared food, 
royal jelly, and in which the 
course of their development is 
so modified that there result 
queens with their special organs 
instead of worker bees. The 
rearing of queens also occurs if 
a colony becomes queenless by 
the death or removal of the 
queen, provided eggs or young 
larvae are present, or when a 
queen is about to be superseded 
by a young queen because she 
fails in egg-laying. Queen cells 
may be built in advance of the 
laying of eggs in them (pre-con- 
structed cells), as is usually the 
case in swarming, or the cells may 
be built around small female larvae 
which would otherwise become 
workers (post-constructed cells), as is necessary in queenless 
colonies. The eggs from which queens and workers develop 
are identical, the only known cause of the difference in the 
course of their development being the special cells and the 
food provided for the developing queen. 
Issuing of the swarm. 
When the larvae in the queen cells are fully fed, they are 
sealed over as are other larvae. At about the time of this 
sealing, the first (prime) swarm usually issues, although it 
Fio. 45. — Group of queen 
cells. Natural size. 
