THE APIARY.

Otago Witness, Issue 1880, 2 December 1887, Page 9

THE APIARY.

(JUEEN- REARING AND INTRODUCING QUEENS. When a colony loses its queen the bees at once set about raising another. The importance of always having a vigorous laying queen at the head of a colony is now so fully recognised by all beekeepers, especially by those who make beekeeping their business, that the majority of them have a stock of youug fertilised queens ready to be introduced as soon r.s the swarm has left, and also for the purpose of superseding a, queen if she ceases to keep her hive full of brood and in a prosperous condition. The methods adopted by various beekeepers and ; recommended by authors vary somewhat, and my readers can also vary them to t.uit their own circumstances, but I would recommend them not to have their nuclei too weak in numbers, i As queens that are raised in strong colonies, ' and under the natural swarming impulse are ■ preferable, the most generally suitable plan is to take the hive that gives off the earliest swarm and divide it into three, placing a frame •with one or more queen cells in each. If there : are not queen cells on the three frames, cut one out with a piece of comb attached, and fix it in the one required. Leave one of tbese nuclei ' on the old stand, and take the others as far off ] as possible ; close the- entrance for two days 1 with perforated zinc, to allow ventilation, letting ' thrm have their first llight just at sundown. It 5 will then be seen whither they fly, and mark ' their new location, or whether they fly back to ] their old hive. If they fly back, close the hive - again till the next night, after which there will 1 be no further trouble. The nuclei that is left 1 on the old stand will have all the bees < that are in the field, and which will fly back to it, so that it can be left with 1 fewer bees in it when dividing than either of the ' others. This will give three young queens i raised in the very best manner. Of course, if it 1 is desired, five or six or even more divisions may 1 be made, but it is not to be recommended that 1

they should be made too weak. The boxes for the nuclei should bs made for the purpose, and only be large enough to tabs four frames. An ordinary hive dan be used for the purpose if it is contracted by division boards. As afl this Jti« volves a little time and attention, the question naturally arises, is the game worth the candle ? I think it is, and a little consideration of what takes place inside the hive will prove this. Under ordinary circumstances it is nine or 10 days after the first swarra issues before the queen's hatch out, and it is generally from seven to 14 days afterwards before tfiey win* commence depositing eggs. As a vigorous queen deposits from 2000 to 3000 eggs per day, it follows that a hive that is allowed to take its natural course will have from 30,000 to 40,000 less bees in it than it would have had if a laying queen had been introduced three days after the swarra came off. In other words, a very nice little colony of bees has been lost to their owner.

Having now our queens fertilised and laying in nuclei hives, on the day'after tbe next sv/arin issues lift from out the nuclei the frame with the queen on it, and cago her. The best cage is made like the strainer now frequently used on the spout of a teapot; in fact one of these answers admirably. Confine the queen under one of these, pressed into the comb where there is honey. Take from out of tho hive just swarmed a frame on which there are queen cells, to be placed in the nuclei in view of the one taken out, on which the queen is caged. Carefully examine every other comb in the hive, cutting out every queen cell that is formed, shaking the bees off every frame as it is lifted. Place the comb with the caged queen in the centre of the brood and close the hive. Next day examine those combs that have larvre not more than three days old, and those also containing eggs, to see if any fresh cells are being formed. If there are, the queen must still be kept confined ; if not, and the bees are seen to be feeding the queen, she should be liberated from the cage in the evening as quietly as possible. To anyone with some experience the attitude of the bees to the imprisoned queen will at once tell whether they will accept her or nofc. If they do not want her just then, they will sattle down on the cage in a hard knot or excitedly try to get in to her ; while if they intend to accept her, some will bo seen to b« feeding hw, while others will be on or near the cage gently fauning. Bees seldom sting a queen who is strange to them, but sfiizn ht;r ami cluster on her in a hard close knot until s-he is suft'ooarett. Th.-re is always a little nncp.rt'iint.y about introducing queens. A beginner may micmjocl tiino after time, and then fail, or vice versa, under apparently the same conditions. As the operator gets a little practice and become* expert, he naturally looks to it that the necessary rouditions arc, all right, and then he. .seldom fails. To succeed there must bo no qufjon in the. hive and no queen cells started The. boos must be increasing their store of honey, and it must bo dons without unduly exciting them, or if they ara excited, it must be completu, and every beu made to fill itself with honey, and cluster as they do when swarming. Novick.