BEE-spoke-data/bees-v0 huggingface dataset:
* Some aplarists place nuclei in the cellar for a day or two, to ac-custom the bees to their new home. \(\dagger\) If these bees are taken from colonies that have been previously made queenless, they will more readily remain in their new homes, but young bees that have not yet taken flight seldom leave the hive to which they are given, if it has already brood and bees.
There is one trait in the character of bees which is worthy of profound respect. Sueh is their indomitable energy and perseverance, that under circumstances apparently hopeless, they labor to the utmost to retrieve their losses, and sustain the sinking State. So long as they have a queen, or any prospect of raising one, they struggle vigorously against impending ruin, and never give up until their condition is absolutely desperate. We once knew a colony of bees not large enough to cover a piece of comb four inches square, to attempt to raise a queen. For two whole weeks, they adhered to their forlorn hope; until at last, when they had dwindled to less than one-half their original number, their new queen emerged, but with wings so imperfect that she could not fly. Crippled as she was, they treated her with almost as much respect as though she were fertile. In the course of a week more, scarce a dozen workers remained in the live, and a few days later, the queen was gone, and only a few dissonidate wretches were left on the comb.
Mr. Alley, will raised queens by the thousand, has published his method of queen-rearing. This queens are all raised in very small nuclei which he calls _minimize hices_. From a light-colored worker-comb filled with hatching eyes, he cuts strips with a sharp knife, as in fig. 107.
Fig. 107.
EGG IN every other cell.
(From Alley.)
"After the comb has been eut up, lay the pieces flat upon a hundred or table, and cut the cells on one side down to within one-fourth of an inch of the foundation or septum, as soon in * fig. 108 which represents the comb ready to place in position for cell building. While cuagaged in this work, keep a lighted lamp near at hand, with which to heat the knife, or the cells will be badly jammed.
The strips of comb being ready, we simply destroy eseh alternate larva or egg, (fig. 107). In order to do this, take the strips carefully in the left hand, and insert the end of a common lueifer match into each alternate cell, pressing it gently on the bottom of the cell, and then twirling it rapidly between the 'thumb and fingers. This gives plenty of room for large cells to be built without interfering with those adjoining, and permits of their being separated without injury to neighboring cells."--"Bee-keepers' Handy Book," 1885.
This strip, Mr. Alley fastens under a trimmed comb cut slightly convex, by dipping the cells, which have been left full length, into a mixture of two parts rosin and one of beeswax, taking eare not to over-heat this mixture, as the heat might destroy the eggs (fig. 109).' The comb thus prepared is given to a prepared colony, which has been queenless and without brood for ten hours, Mr. Alley having noticed that the eggs may be destroyed if given to a colony just made queenless.
**539**. As it happens very often, that more queen-cells are raised than are needed immediate!y, and as the bees usually destroy all after the first one has hatehed, Apiarists have devised _q queen-nurgeries_ to preserve the supernumerary cells until needed. It is not safe to leave the queen-cells under the control of the bees after ten days, as a queen may hatch at any time.
The Alley queen-nursery is composed of a number of small
Figure 108: (From Alley.)
edges, covered with wire cloth on each side and inserted in a frame. Each eage has two holes at the top, one for a sponge saturated with honey, the other to receive the queen-cell. The frame is inserted in a strong colony, not necessarily quenclass,
since these young quencs are caged, and have feed at hand when they hateh.
The latest style of queen nursery is shown on plate 20.
The Doolittle Method.
**530**. Since the foregoing\({}_{\leq}\) was written, the breeding of queens for sale has taken a new impetus. Mr. G. M. Doolittle, of New York, devised a method by which it does not become necessary for man to wait for the action of bees in rearing
CELL-CUPS, QUEF After the Doolittle met
queens. He worked persistently until he succeeded in producing queen-cells artificially, and this method, described by him in his little work, "Scientific queen-rearing," has been much improved upon of late years and is now called "The Doolittle System." It consists in manufacturing queen cell eups artificially out of beeswax and supplying them with young larvae or eggs transferred into them from worker cells. A large number of these queen-cells are furnished to a queen-less colony, and after the work of perfeeting the queen-cells has been done by the queenless bees, they are given into the upper story of a strong colony whose bees will properly take care of these queen-cells on the only condition that this upper story is separated from the main breeding apartment in which the queen is laying, by means of a queen exluder (**732**). It is astonishing but it is nevertheless a fact that bees on the other side of a queen excluding partition in a live containing a good queen, will take care of queen-cells given them and will allow them to hatch. The Messrs. (_i_iraud of Landreau, France, in their little work "Traite Pratique de l'elevage des reines" even advise the using of a colony with queen, for the entire work, separating the combs in which queen cells are reared from the main apartment by a perforated zinc. They succeeded in rearing as many as five hundred queen-cells during one season from one of their best colonies and the entire work was done in the hive occupied by that colony. This colony was kept supplied with a plentiful amount of feed during a seareity of honey to keep up its breeding and its strength.
In the manner above mentioned, an unlimited number of queens, if properly cared for, may be raised from the best and most fertile queens. But when the queen-cells are about ready to hatch, the queens must be protected, for the first hatched would at once destroy the others. For this purpose, they use something similar to the queen-nursery of Alley. The nursery used by W. H. Pridgen of North Carolina, described and recommended by W. Z. Hutehinson, in his work "Advanced Bee-culture" and of which we give an engraving, Plate 20, is probably the most practical for the purpose, especially as it is kept on the same frame as the cell cups and sealed queen-cells.
"For making the artificial cells, there is needed a dipping-stick (fig. 11(b) which is a round stick 5-16 of an inch in diameter, with a peculiar taper at one end. The tapering part should be about 5-16 of an inch long, reduced rapidly for the first % of an inch and then gradually reduced to the end. It would slip into a worker cell % of an inch bcfore filling the mouth of the cell. These dipping sticks can be made with a lathe, from any kind of hard wood. To dip the cells, beeswax must be kept just above the melting point by placing the dish containing it over a lightcd lamp. Keep a, little water in the dish, as this will be a guide to the temperature. No bubbling should be allowed. The stick after being thoroughly soaked in water is dipped rather less than a half inch into the beeswax, four dips usually completing the cell and attaching it to the wooden bar upon which it is supported while in the hive. Dip three times, then loosen up the cup on the stick, then dip again, and immediately press the base of the cell upon the stick at the point where it is desired to have the cell rcmain." ("Advanced Ba Culture.")
To transfer the larva, from worker cells into these artificial queen-cells, Jr. Pridgen gives the following directions:
"To make a success of this the cell must be old enough so that the outside of the cocoon is black and glossy. By shaving down the cells with a keen edge knife, slightly heated, until the walls of the cell are only about % of an inch deep, it is an easy matter to remove the cocoon with the accompanying larva. In fact, by bending the piece of comb back and forth, the cocoons can often be forced to drop out of their own accord. By making a little funnel shaped cavity in the dipping stick, at the opposite end from that used in dipping the cells, the larva and cocoon can be lifted by pressing this cavity down over them, much as a gun cap is pressed down over the tube. After placing the end of the stick in one of the cups, a slight pressure and a little twist leaves the ceoecon snugly enseconed in the bottom of the cell-cup."
In order to succeed, in breeding queens for sale, it requires good judgment, daily attention to the needs of the queens, and indefatigable perseverance. The queens when hatched should be at once removed from the queen-nursery, so they may not wear themselves out by repeated attempts at escaping. It may be borne in mind, however, that young queens may be caged quite a while without injury, since in the natural conditions the worker bees often imprison the young queens in their cells until a favorable moment for swarming.
**531**. In order to economize in the rearing of queens, queen breeders have lately devised what is called "baby-nuclei" similar to the diminutive lives of Alley, but still smaller, in which only about two hundred young bees full of honey are introduced. The virgin queen is introduced to one of these and is sure to be welcome, especially if those bees have been taken from a queenless colony. There she remains until mated, which is usually within a very short time. The only advantage that we can see in this method is its cheapness, and the perhaps greater ease with which the queen can be introduced, but for several reasons and especially for the greater comfort and suecess of the queen, we would prefer to use the larger nuclei (**521**), where the conditions are more nearly similar to those of full colonies.
Whatever we do in the breeding of queens, let us bear in mind that we must keep our bees as nearly as possible in the conditions in which queens are reared naturally. This is indispensable for the raising of good stock. Apiarists of note have objected to the Doolittle method, because of its forcing nature, but as good stock is raised, by this method, as in the natural way, and a greater number of good queens may be raised than in any other way. This is very much similar to the methods in which we increase our choice varieties of fruit trees. Grafting is not one of nature's ways, yet we succeed in raising some of our best fruit by grafting. But in grafting as in queen rearing, much eare is needed in order to bring forth the most satisfactory results.
The Apiarist who desires to make queen rearing a specialty should carefully read everything of importance concerning the subject. We recommend the special work of Doolittle, "Seientifie Queen Rearing," and the magnificently executed book of Hutchinson "Advanced Bee Culture," of which extracts have been given. Bulletin No. 55 of the Bureau of Entomology at Washington is a paper on the "Rearing of Queen Bees," by E. F. Phillips and contains also some valuable information concerning the different methods.
**532**. Before we pass to the subject of introducing queens, we cannot refrain from noticing the rapid progress of the business of queen rearing in the last fifty years. The introduction of brighter races has greatly increased the spreading of apiarian science, and many facts which, years ago, were known only to the few, now belong to the public domain.
In breeding the new races, let the novice remember that the qualities be should seek to improve are, first, proliferiness and honey production; second, peaceableness; third, beauty.
Since their introduction into this country, the Italians have been bred too much for color, at the expense of their other qualities. We have seen queens, that had been so inbred for color, that their mating with a black drone hardly showed the hybridization of their progeny.
This in-and-in breeding, for color, has even produced white-eyed drones, stone blind, a degeneracy which would tend to the extinction of the race.
Introducing Impregnated Queens.
**533**. _Crut animation is needed in giving to bees a stranger queen_. Huber thus described the way in which a new queen is usually received by a colony:
"If another queen is introduced into the hive within twelve hours after the removal of the reigning oue, they surround, seize, and keep her a very long time captive, in an impenetrable cluster, and she commonly dies either from hunger or want of air. If eighteen hours elapse before the substitution of a stranger-queen, she is treated, at first, in the same way, but the bees leave her sooner, nor is the surrounding cluster so close; they gradually disperse, and the queen is at last liberated; she moves languidly, and sometimes expires in a few minutes. Some, however, escape in good health, and afterwards reign in the hive."
The manner in which strange queens are treated by the bees, when they are queenless, depends mainly on the state of the honey harvest.
**534**. But in order to meet with uniform suecess, the following conditions must be fulfilled :
Fig. 111.
MILEERQUENCAGE.
(From "The A B C of Bee-Culture.")
The bees must be absolutely queenless. Sometimes a colony contains two (**117**) queens, and the Apiarist after removing one may imagine that he can introduce a stranger, safely. Many queens are thus killed.
**535**. As bees recognize one another mainly by the sent, the new queen should be placed so as to get the odor of the hive, before being released among them. This can be effected readily by sprinkling the bees and the new queen with sweetened water seated with peppermint, and liberating her at once. But as this method generally causes some robbing (**664**) in times of scarcity, it is not always to be relied upon.
**536**. Our method consists in placing the queen in a small flat cage, made of wire cloth, between two combs, in the most populous part of the hive, near the brood and the honey, and keeping her there from 24 to 48 hours. These queen-cages were first used in Germany for introducing queens.
**537**. In catching a queen, she should be gently taken with the finger's. from among the bees, and if none are crushed, there is no risk of being stung. The queen herself will not sting, even if roughly handled.
If she is allowed to fly, she may be lost, by attempting to enter a strange hive.
To introduce her into the cage, she should be allowed to _climb u\({}_{I}\)_ into it. _It is a fact well known to queen breadits that a bee or a queen cannot be easily induced to enter a cage or a box turned downward_. The meshes of the wire eleth should not be closer than 12 to the inch, that the bees may feed the queen readily through them. This is important, for we have lost two queens suecessively in a cage with closer meshes.
The bees will cultivate an acquaintance with the imprisoned mother, by thrusting their antennae through the openings, and will be as quiet as though the queen had her liberty. Such a cage will be very convenient for any temporary confinement of a queen.
**53S**. It is necessary, when the queen is released, that the bees lie in good spirits, neither frightened, nor angered, and there should be no robbers about, as they might take her for an intruder, and _ball_ her. (**136**).
This technical word is used to describe the peculiar way in which bees surround a queen whom they want to kill. The cluster that encloses her, is in the form of a ball, sometimes as large as one's fist, and so compact that it cannot readily be scattered. The tiny he rescued by throwing the ball into a basin of water. But the writer never had the patience to delay, for fear of damage to the balled queen, and always suceeded in freeing her with his fingers. We have known bees to ball their own mother in such circumstances, for queens are of a timid disposition and easily frightened. Whenwe release a strange queen, we put a small slice of comb honey, or honey eappings, in place of the stopper of the cage, and close the hive. It takes from 15 to 20 minutes for the bees to eat through, and by that time all is quiet, so the queen walks leisurely out of her eage, and is safe.
**539**. If the colony, in which a queen is to be introduced, is destitute, the bees should be abundantly fed on the preceding night (**605**). After she has been released, it is well to leave the colony alone for two or three days.
As a fertile queen can lay several thousand eggs a day, it is not strange that she should quickly become exhausted, if taken from the bees. "\(Ex\)\(nih\)\(nih\)\(i\)\(f\)"\(-\)from nothing, nothing comes\(-\)and the arduous duties of maternity compel her to be an enormous eater. After an absence from the bees of only fifteen minutes, she will solieit honey, when returned; and if kept away for an hour or upwards, she must either be fed by the Apiarist, or have bees to supply her wants.
Mr. Simmins has taken advantage of this appetite, and of the propensity of bees to feed the queens, in introducing them directly, after keeping them without bees and food, for about 30 minutes. At dusk he lifts a corner of the cloth (**352**) of the hive in which he wants to introduce the queen, drives the bees away with a little smoke, and permits the queen to run between the eombs. Then he waits \(\sharp\) hours before visiting the hive. Several bee-keepers report having succeeded with this method. On account of this propensity of bees to feed queens, any number of fertile ones may be kept in a hive already containing a fertile queen, if they are placed in cages between the eombs, near the honey and the brood.
In very good honey seasons, queens may be introduced to colonies without previous eaging. They evidently aeeept a queen under such circumstances from the same reason that eauses them to aeeept strange bees (**485**). But we strongly recommend never to attempt to introduce a valuable queen in this way.
Worker bees should never be caged with the queen when she is introduced, as the other bees, noticing them to be strangers, will allow them to starve, though they will feed the queen.
**5.10**. Some Apiarists use chloroform, ether, puff-balls, or other ingredients, to stupefy the bees of moutinous colonies who persist in refusing to accept a strange queen and who show it by angrily surrounding the cage in which she is confined.
The Rev. John Thorley, in his "_Female Monarchy,_" published at London, in 1744, appears to have first introduced the practice of stupefying bees by the narctic fumes of the "buff ball" (_Fanges pulvericultas_), dried till it will hold fire like tinder. The bees soon drop motionless from their comb, and recover arain after a short exposure to the air. This method was once much praeticed in France, (L'Apieulteur, page 17, Paris, 1833) but is very dangerous, as too large a dose of anaesthetics will cause death instead of sleep.
Introduction of Virgin Queens.
**5.11**. The difference in looks between a virgin queen and an impregnated one is striking, and an expert will distinguish them at a glance. The virgin queen is slender, her abdomen is small, her motions (quick, she runs about and almost flies over the combs, when trying to hide from the light. In faet, she has nothing of the narrowly dignity of a mother.
' Bees, in possession of a fertile queen, are quite reluctant to accept an unimpregnated one in her stead; indeed, it requires much experience to be able to give a virgin queen to a colony, and yet be sure of securing for her a good reception.
Mr. Lanzstroth was the first to ascertain, years ago, that the best time to introduce her, is just after her birth, as soon as she can crawl readily. If introduced too soon, the bees may drag her out, as they would any imperfect worker. Most queen-breders liberate them on the comb, or at the entrance of a queenless nucleus. Mr. H. D. Cutting recommends daubing the young queen with honey, as she comes out of her cell,and liberating her among the bees, without touching her with the fingers.
Nearly all breeders acknowledge that the introduction of virgin queens to full colonies is an uncertain business, and that they can be introduced safely only to small nuclei that have been queenless some time. In this, we fully agree.
Doetor C. C. Miller recommends the introducing of a young queen in a eage while the fertile queen is still in the hive, removing the old queen a little later and leaving the virgin queen eaged for two or three days, allowing the bees to liberate her by eating through honey or candy to reach her (**59S**). But the only way which may be held absolutely safe is to introduce the virgin queen to a colony or nucleus containing only young bees which have been deprived of queen for eight or ten hours. The smaller the number of bees, the greater the safety of the queen; that is why breeders introduce the virgin queens to small nuclei (**531**).
We would advise novices to abstain from introducing virgin queens, until they become expert in the business of queen rearing; the introduction of unhatehed queen-cells being much more easily performed, and more uniformly suecessful.
**542**. In introducing queens or queen-cells to full colonies during the swarming season, it happens very often that the bees also raise queen-cells of their own brood, and swarm with the queen given them (**465**). In view of this, the Apiarist should watch, for a few days, the colony to which a new queen has been introduced.
**543**. In hunting for a queen, it is neecessary to remember that _she is on the brood combs_ unless frightened away. If the bees are not greatly disturbed, an Italian queen may be found within five minutes after opening the hive.
A queen of common bees, or of hybrids, is more difficult to find, as her bees often rush about the hive as soon as it is opened. If she cannot be found on the eombs, and the hive is populous, it is best to shake all the frames on a sheet, in front of an empty box, and secure them in a closed hive, out of the reach of robbers, until the search is over, when everything may be returned to its proper place.
**5.14**. After a queen is taken from a cage, the bees will run in and out of it for a long time, thus proving that they recognize her peculiar scent. It is this odor which causes them to run inquiringly over our hands, after we have caught a queen, and over any slot where she allighted when her, swarm eame forth.
This scent of the queen was probably known in Aristotle's time, who says: "When the bees swarm, if the king (queen) is lost, we are told that they all search for him, and follow him with their sagacious smell, until they find him." Wildman says: "The scent of her body is so attractive to them, that the slightest touch of her, along any place, or substance, will attract the bees to it, and induce them to pursue any path she takes."
The intelligent bee-keeper has now realized, not only how queens may be raised or replaced, by the use of the movable-frame live, but how any operation, which in other lives is performed with difficulty, if at all, is in this rendered easy and certain. No hive, however, can make the ignorant or negligent very successful, even if they live in a region where the climate is so propitious, and the honey resources so abundant, that the bees will prosper in spite of mismanagement or neglect.
## Chapter 12 Races of Bees.
**5 15**. The honey-hee is not indigenous to America. Thomas Jefferson, in his "Notes on Virginia," says:
"'The honey-bee is not a native of our country. Maregrave indeed, mentions a species of honey-bee in Brazil. But this has no sting, and is therefore different from the one we have, which resembles perfectly that of Europe. The Indians concur with us in the tradition that it was brought from Europe; but when and by whom, we know not. The bees have generally extended themselves into the country, a little in advance of the white settlers. The Indians therefore call them the white man's fly."
"When John Elict translated the Scriptures into the language of the Aborignes of North America, no words were found expressive of the terms wax and honey." (A. B. J. July, 1866.)