ITALIANIZING 
551 
queen, there is still greater loss. Under the 
heads of Nucleus and Queen-rearing these 
points will be found fully discussed. 
The average beginner at least can bet¬ 
ter afford to buy untested Italian queens 
rather than to rear his own on account of 
the inferior or black drones in his locality. 
Unless he uses drone-traps or unless he 
waits till the blacks and hybrids begin to 
kill off their drones before he attempts to 
mate his queens to select Italian drones of 
a colony that is queenless or one he is feed¬ 
ing, he will have impure matings. (See 
Hybrids.) Young Italian queens can 
be bought during late summer and early 
fall at low prices, so low indeed that it 
would hardly pay those who have only a 
few colonies to rear their own. 
Probably a large majority of the exten¬ 
sive honey-producers likewise buy their 
queens because they argue that they can 
make more money producing honey than 
raising queens. As a general thing they 
will buy them in lots of a hundred at a 
time, when they are the cheapest and at 
prices usually from 40 to 50 per cent lower 
than retail prices. 
Not every honey-producer has a locality 
that is free from inferior drones, and by 
buying these queens from some reputable 
breeder he will improve his stock rather 
than have it revert backward. 
Where one has plenty of time and would 
like the fun of raising his own queens the 
article on Queen-rearing should be read. 
He can purchase three or four choice tested 
queens, and rear his own queens from them 
after the honey flow. He should then put 
drone-traps on all his black and hybrid 
colonies, leaving only the Italian drones 
the freedom of the air. (See Drones.) Or, 
better yet, he should wait, till the blacks and 
hybrids begin to kill off their drones, at 
which time he can secure pure matings if 
he feeds the colonies of Italians. (See Hy¬ 
brids.) If the breeders are bought in the 
spring or summer months, the old queens 
should not be removed until near the close 
of the suipmer flow of honey. Instead of al¬ 
lowing natural swarming, two or three 
frames from each old stock may be taken 
about swarming time, making nuclei, and 
giving cells from the breeding stock. See 
Nucleus. 
When these queens begin to lay the nu¬ 
clei can be built up, with frames of brood 
given one at a time until they are full 
stocks. By such a course one will have the 
full benefit of old queens during the 
honey season, until the new ones are ready 
to take their places. After the honey yield 
the old queens can be removed, new ones 
introduced, and the now small colonies 
given queen-cells. This does the swarming 
for the season, and the Italianizing, at one 
and the same time. See Increase; also 
Nucleus. 
After the stocks have all been provided 
with Italian queens, by either of the plans 
given above, if one wishes the bees to be¬ 
come pure Italians he is to commence re¬ 
placing all queens that prove to be hybrids, 
as soon as the young bees have emerged in 
sufficient numbers to enable him to decide. 
(See Italian Bees.) If honey only is the 
object these hybrids should not be replaced 
until after the honey flow; for they will 
average nearly if not quite as good honey- 
gatherers, and will raise just as pure 
drones as pure Italians. If the bees of any 
particular queen are too cross to be endur¬ 
able she can be replaced. These hybrid 
colonies should not be allowed to swarm 
naturally; for if they raise a queen she 
will produce hybrid drones;* and this is 
something we wish most scrupulously to 
guard against. 
* To get rid of black drones, see Drones. 
