3^ 
FOLLOWING THE BEE LINE 
laying powers of the average queen begin to fail 
during her second year, and her “subjects” show no 
sentiment but set about supplanting her at once. 
Queen cells are built, and in sixteen days a young 
queen supersedes the old. Seldom are two queens 
found in one hive, although now and again a mother 
and daughter will be seen laying eggs side by side. 
Before long, however, the older lady disappears. 
The manner of her disposal seems uncertain. 
Queen rearing is a specialized business. Raised 
in great numbers, they are sold to beekeepers who 
make use of artificial supersedure. A queen is 
caught, caged with attendant workers to look after 
her, in a small wooden box, and sent out by parcel 
post. The purchaser “introduces” the caged queen 
to a hive cautiously. First he kills the colony’s 
old queen, if she is not already gone, then puts the 
cage containing the new queen in the hive for a 
couple of days before releasing her, lest the new¬ 
comer be “balled” before she acquires the colony 
odor, or the bees fully realize that they are queen¬ 
less and in need of an egg-layer. 
“Balling” is a strange barbaric practice. The 
workers form a tight, living ball about the queen 
until she smothers to death. Inexorably as they re¬ 
move her, they yet display a reluctance to use physi- 
