CHAPTER IX.REARING AND INTRODUCING QUEENS.

So much of the bee keeper's success depends upon the strength of his colonies, and this in turn upon the character of the queens heading these colonies, that he needs to be well informed as to what constitutes a really good queen and how to produce such, and, having this knowledge, it will be profitable to be constantly on the alert to see that all colonies are supplied with the best queens procurable. With a queen from a poor strain of bees, or an unprolific one from a good strain, a colony, even in a season of abundant honey secretion, will give little or no return, while the seasons are not frequent during which one given a fair start and having a large, prolific queen of an active honey-producing strain can not collect a fair surplus beyond its own needs. Admitting this, it will be plain to all that queen bees differ proportionately in value as much as horses or cattle, and the keeper of bees who does not know how to select and produce the best can not be called a bee-master.

When bees swarm they generally leave a number of sealed queen cells in the parent colony. With blacks and Italians there are usually 6 to 10; rarely more than a dozen. Carniolans generally construct about two dozen, but under favorable conditions can be induced to build 75 to 100 good cells at a time. Fig. 62 represents a comb from a hive of Carniolans which had built at one time 70 queen cells. Cyprians usually make 30 or 40 queen cells, but may greatly exceed this number under the best conditions, while Syrians nearly always exceed it, sometimes even building as many as 200; and the writer has seen 350 cells constructed at one time by a single colony of bees in Tunis. It might be thought that where so many were constructed only a small proportion of them would produce good queens. Such is not the case, however; for in general a much larger proportion of the cells formed by these eastern races produce well developed queens. But in all hives some queen cells are undersized. This may be because they are located near the bottom or sides, where space for full development is lacking, but in many instances it arises from the fact that they are formed last, and larvæ that are really too old to make full sized, perfect queens have to be used. These smaller cells are usually smooth on the outside and show thin walls. In selecting cells only the large, slightly tapering ones, an inch or more in length and straight, should be saved.Yet good queens may frequently be obtained from crooked cells, in case the latter are large and extend well into the midrib of the comb.

Fig. 62.—Comb showing worker brood and queen cells. (Original—from photograph.)

When a laying queen is removed from a colony during the working season, eggs and larvæ of all ages are left behind. As indicated inChapter II, any egg which has been fertilized may be made to develop into a queen. So also larva? from such eggs may, up to the third day, be taken to rear from without danger of producing inferior queens. Cells in which to produce queens will be started over some of these larvæ on the edges of the combs, or, by tearing down partitions and thus enlarging the lower portion of the cell, a beginning is obtained for a queen cell. Fig. 63 shows such queen cells constructed over eggs or larvæ originally designed to produce workers. They are known as emergency cells. The young larva is at once liberally supplied with a secretion, which is probably a production of the glands of the head, and which analyses have shown to be rich in nitrogen and fatty elements, being similar to that given at first to the worker larva. This is continued throughout the whole feeding period, while, as Dr. Von Planta has shown, in the case of the workers and drones, after the third day the proportion of the constituents of the larval food is so changed that they receive much less albumen and fat and more sugar. It is chiefly the influence of this food which causes the larva that would have developed as a worker to become a queen. The latter has somewhat changed instincts,, and its reproductive system is developed, instead of abortive as in the case of the worker. The size of the cell, and, to a less extent perhaps, its position, no doubt influence this development, but the food seems to be the main factor, for small cells built horizontally, if their larvæ are supplied with the food designed for royal larvæ, will be found to contain queens, and frequently these queens, even though small, are quite prolific, and show in all respects the instincts of a queen.

Fig. 63.—Queen cells and worker brood in various stages. (Original.)

It is believed by most queen raisers that in order to secure the best development of the young queens a colony should be allowed to build but a few cells at a time. That their belief is not well founded is shown by the facts just cited concerning the large numbers of well-developed queen cells which produce also perfect and prolific queens. It lies within the skill of the bee-master to establish conditions favoring the production of food for the queen larvæ—the so called "royal jelly"—and this having been brought about, there need be no hesitancy in permitting the construction of hundreds of queen cells in one colony if such numbers are needed.

It was formerly the plan, after removing the queen from a colony in order to secure queen cells, to trim the lower edges of the combs containingeggs or very young larvæ, or to cut out strips of comb about an inch wide just below worker cells containing eggs or just-hatched larvæ. This practice gave the bees space in which to build perfect full-sized cells, but it had certain disadvantages. Good worker combs were mutilated, often quite ruined, in order to secure the construction of the cells and also in cutting out the latter. Cells so formed are often in groups so close together that they can not be separated without injury to numbers of them, necessitating, if desirable to save all, a close watch, or at least frequent examination, for hours or even days, since all the queens are not likely to emerge at the same time.

To remedy this Mr. O. H. Townsend, of Michigan, devised a plan which is described in Gleanings in Bee Culture for July, 1880 (Vol. VIII, p. 322). It consists in cutting combs whose cells contain eggs or freshly hatched larvæ into narrow strips and pinning or sticking these on the sides of brood combs in such a manner that the cells containing the eggs or larvæ from which queens are desired shall open downward. Mr. Townsend removed the larvæ from some of the cells, believing that he secured better developed queens by limiting the number, and also because he could then cut them out more easily for insertion in separate hives. In the succeeding number of Gleanings (August, 1880), Mr. J. M. Brooks, of Indiana, illustrated a plan for securing even greater regularity. This consists in shaving off the cells on one side down nearly to the midrib of each strip of worker comb containing the eggs or larvæ selected to rear queens from, and then sticking these strips on the undersides of horizontal bars nailed in ordinary comb frames. Mr. Henry Alley, in his work on queen rearing, published in 1883, recommends sticking the prepared strips, shallow cells downward, on the lower edges of combs which have been trimmed so as to round downward. This leaves plenty of space for the full development of queen cells, the eggs or larvæ in alternate cells having been removed as in the plans previously mentioned. All conditions being favorable, many cells conveniently located are thus secured, and if the exact age of the eggs or just-hatched larvæ has been noted the time the young queens will emerge may be known beforehand, so that preparation can be made for them. Nuclei—small clusters of bees containing a quart to two quarts—are to be placed in separate hives and given combs, emerging brood, and a supply of food, and to each of these a mature cell is to be given. The nuclei thus prepared may be confined to their hives with wire cloth and placed in a cellar for two or three days, and when set out, just at dusk (p. 117), the bees will adhere to their new location. Full colonies, whose queens it is desired to replace, may also be made queenless about two or three days beforehand, and when mature the cells inserted one each in these. In cutting out the cell a small piece of comb, triangular shaped, 1½ to 2 inches long and about 1½ inches broad at the top, is to be left attached to it whenever practicable, since it will then be easy to insert it in one of the combs of the queenless colonyor nucleus, by cutting out a corresponding triangular piece. Fig. 54 shows a queen cell inserted in a brood comb. It is safest not to cut the cells out until they are within twenty-four to forty-eight hours of their full maturity. In case a nucleus or colony has not been queenless long enough to make it ready to accept a queen cell, the latter may be placed in a cell protector made of wire cloth or of a spiral coil of wire and then inserted between the central combs of the hive. The lower end only of the protector is open, so that the upper portion of the cell—the part easily bitten open by the workers—is wholly covered.

Queen nurseries on the general plan devised many years ago by Dr. Jewell Davis, of Illinois, are used to hold surplus maturing cells and the young queens, after emerging, for which colonies or nuclei are not ready at once. These nurseries consist of compartments about 1½ inches square, made of wood and wire cloth, and so arranged that they may be suspended in the center of a colony of bees, a frame being filled with them for this purpose. Each compartment contains a bit of soft candy to sustain the life of the queen in case the bees fail to feed her. Spiral coils of wire somewhat longer than those used as queen-cell protectors have been arranged with a metal cup for food, so that, in principle, they are the same as the compartments of the Davis queen nurseries and are used for the same purpose.

The young queens will usually mate when from five to seven days old, flying from the hive for this purpose. If any undesirable drones are in the apiary they may be restrained from flying by means of excluder zinc over the hive entrances, permitting only workers to pass in and out. In a day or two after mating the queen generally commences to deposit eggs, and is then ready for use in the apiary or to be sent away as an "untested queen." To enable her to rank as a "tested queen" it will be necessary to keep her three weeks or a little longer in order to see her worker progeny and ascertain by their markings that the queen has mated with a drone of her own race. As both tested and untested queens are usually raised from the same mothers—the best in the given apiary—either may be obtained for honey production; but for use as breeders only tested queens which have been approved in every way should be purchased, unless, indeed, the purchaser prefers to buy several untested queens, which can usually be obtained for the price of one approved and selected breeder, and do his own testing, trusting that among them one or more may prove valuable as a breeding queen. "Warranted queens" are untested queens sent out with a guaranty that they have mated purely. If few or no drones of another race are in the vicinity of a breeder, he is tolerably safe in doing this. The proper plan is for the breeder to keep a record of the brood of all such queens and replace such as show that they have mismated.

Exact records of the ages of all queens should be kept, and notes on the qualities of their progeny are desirable, while in some instances particulars as to pedigrees are valuable.

Fig. 64.—The Benton cage for transporting a queen and attendants by mail. (Original.)

Queens are now transported nearly always by mail, and sent to all parts of the United States, and even to distant foreign countries, the cage used almost exclusively being the one shown infig. 64or some slightly modified form of the same. No attempt was ever made to patent this cage, and as the construction is obvious from the figure given here, anyone who desires can make and use it. The food usually employed in these cages by queen breeders is a soft candy recommended many years ago as bee food by the Rev. Mr. Scholz, of Germany. The Scholz candy is made by kneading fine sugar and honey together until a stiff dough has been formed. Some think it an improvement to heat the honey before adding the sugar. The Viallon shipping candy consists of four parts of brown sugar and twelve of white sugar, with two tablespoonfuls of honey and one of flour to each pound of the mixed sugars; these, with a little water added, form a batter, which is boiled until it commences to thicken, when it is poured into the food compartment of the mailing cage. Mr. I. R. Good recommended foruse in queen cages a mixture of granulated sugar and extracted honey; hence this candy has since been known as the Good candy. The bees fed on it leave loose granules of sugar in the cage, and these becoming moist often daub the whole interior in such a way as to cause the death of queen and workers. It is therefore not adapted to long journeys.

Fig. 65.—Caging a queen for mailing. (Original—from photograph.)

The food for the journey having been placed in the end opposite that containing the ventilating holes, a bit of comb foundation is pressed down over it to assist in retaining the moisture, the food compartment having also previously been coated with wax for the same purpose. The cover, with perhaps a bit of wire cloth between it and the bees to give greater security, together with the address and a 1-cent stamp, completes the arrangement for a queen and eight to twelve attendant workers to take a journey of 3,000 miles. A special postal regulation admits them to the mails at merchandise rates (I cent per ounce). For transportation to distant countries of the Pacific a larger cage and more care are necessary to success. A recent estimate by one of the apiarian journals places the number of queens sold and thus transported in the United States annually at 20,000.

Most of the mailing cages are arranged so that when received the removal of the wooden lid and also of a small cork at one end will permit the bees to eat their way out when assisted by those of the hive to which the queen is to be given. The cage is laid, with the wire cloth down, on the frames of a colony that has previously been made queenless. In twenty-four to forty-eight hours the queen will usually have been liberated, but it is safer not to disturb the combs for four or five days lest the bees, on the watch for intruders when their combs are exposed, regard the new queen as such, and, crowding about her in a dense ball, sting her instantly or smother her.

Colonies having only young bees accept queens readily, so that when a swarm has issued and the parent stock has been removed to a new stand the time for queen introduction is propitious. During a great honey flow queens are accepted without much question, if any at all. They may at such times nearly always be safely run in just at dark by lifting one corner of the cover or quilt of a queenless hive and driving the bees back with smoke. The new queen, having been kept without food and away from all other bees for a half hour previously, is then slipped in and the hive left undisturbed for several days. This and similar methods of direct introduction without cages, having been developed and advocated by Mr. Samuel Simmins, of England, are known as the Simmins methods of direct introduction of queens.

In the fall and at all times when honey is not coming in freely, caging the queen for a few hours or days is desirable. A cage which permits the queen to remain directly on the comb itself is infinitely superior toany other. Fig. 66 shows a pipe-cover cage as made by the author, the size of which may be greater if circumstances require—that is, when it seems advisable, with a queen of great value, to include under the cage a number of cells containing emerging brood. Ordinarily the size here shown will suffice. The queen is caged before a closed window on a comb of honey with five or six recently emerged bees taken from the hive to which she is to be introduced. The comb holding the caged queen is to be placed in the center of the queenless colony, where the bees will cluster on it, yet with the end of the cage pressed firmly against the adjoining comb, so that the cage will remain in place even though a heavy cluster should gather on it. On the following day, just before dark, the queen should be released, provided that upon opening the hive the workers are not packed densely about the cage trying to sting her through it. In the latter case she should be left twenty-four or even forty-eight hours longer, and in the autumn it is generally advisable to keep her caged several days or even a whole week. If left longer than one day all queen cells should be hunted out and destroyed a few hours before releasing the queen. Feeding while the queen is caged is a good plan if gathering is not going on briskly. Upon freeing the queen, diluted honey drizzled down between the combs will serve to put the bees in a good humor for the reception of the new mother bee. The entrance of the hive should be contracted for a short time so that but a few bees can pass in or out at a time.

Fig. 66.—Benton queen-introducing cage. (Original.)

The conditions necessary to success in introducing queens are complied with by the above plan, namely: The bees are queenless long enough to have become fully aware of the fact, yet usually not long enough to have started queen cells; the strange queen is caged a sufficient length of time to acquire the peculiar odor of the hive to which she is to be given; the bees are all at home when the queen is released, and thus all become thoroughly gorged with food and are well disposed toward the new queen. No robber-bees come about, and by morning all is in order.

As queens mate only once (p. 19), and workers and drones live but a few weeks or at most a few months (p. 20), if an Italian, a Carniolan, or other choice queen mated to a drone of her own race, be introduced to a given colony the bees of this colony will soon be replaced by others of the same race as the queen introduced. All of the colonies of an apiary may thus be changed; or, from a single breeding queen the apiary may be supplied with young queens pure in blood, and, since these (even though mated to drones of another race) will produce drones of their own blood the apiary will soon be stocked with males of the desired race.

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