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Beekeeping 
be removed before the queen is returned or swarming may 
occur. These methods are employed only on colonies that 
have made active preparations to swarm (having advanced 
larvae in the queen cells) and they are successful as a rule, if 
the swarming period is not prolonged sufficiently to allow 
time for the swarming tendency to be developed anew. The 
particular time for making colonies queenless must be deter¬ 
mined by the stage in the development of the queen cells 
present in the colony preparing to swarm. If only young 
larvae are found in the queen cells, the cells may simply be 
cut out as a precautionary measure against swarming, but if 
the queen cells are advanced, their removal will not prevent 
swarming and the colony should be dequeened. However, 
a colony with the queen temporarily removed or even sepa¬ 
rated from the brood is often not in the best condition for 
storing, especially when first made queenless, and these 
methods have sometimes been condemned because of this 
fact. Dequeening is to be preferred in obvious cases of 
supersedure or in colonies in which the working force is not 
large, but which still persist in preparing to swarm. 
Requeening combined with dequeening. 
Requeening is desirable whenever a queen is unable to 
keep up the population of the colony, and many beekeepers 
find it advantageous systematically to requeen every two 
years. The presence of a young queen was mentioned earlier 
as a preventive of swarming, but this is not a guarantee that 
needed (“Put-up Plan,” C. C. Miller). Another modification which 
followed this is described above, in which the queen is put below an ex¬ 
cluder on one frame of brood and empty combs. Numerous beekeepers 
have advised requeening in connection with the dequeening, others have 
modified the plan by making the lower hive into a nucleus for queen rear¬ 
ing, while in one case it is recommended that a nucleus be established on 
the side of the hive in which the queen is mated, so arranged that by pull¬ 
ing a slide of perforated zinc, the queen is introduced to the colony after 
mating. These various systems are mentioned here mainly to show their 
relation to the fundamental principle of restricting egg-laying and also 
to suggest the various methods so that the beekeeper may choose the one 
best suited to his plans. 
