Breeding
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A Test For The Presence Of A Queen
If you have a hive that you suspect has lost a queen at this season, her presence can be ascertained nine times in ten by this method. Sweep off the board clean, and look the next day or two after for these eggs. Take care that ants, or mice, have n... A Young Queen Takes The Place Of Her Mother In The Old Stock
In ordinary circumstances, when a swarm has left a stock, the oldest of the young queens is ready to emerge from her cell in about eight or nine days; if no second swarm is sent out, she will take her mother's place, and begin to lay eggs in about t... Different With Larger Ones
But with very large families, their proceedings are different: as any part of the cluster of bees is warm enough for breeding, there is less necessity for economizing heat, and having all the eggs confined to one small spot, some unoccupied cells wi... Directions For Making Glass Hive
My method of making them is as follows: The top is like those for other hives, fifteen inches square, adapted to boxes and cover. This hive we want to be as profitable as any, giving us surplus honey, and swarms like others. Four posts are then got ... Discrepancy In Time In Rearing Brood As Given By Huber
We are told by most writers, the period of time necessary to perfect from the egg, the three different kinds of bees. Huber leads the way, and the rest, _supposing him to be right_, repeat in substance his account as follows: That the whole time nec... Drones Destroyed When Honey Is Scarce
When an occurrence like the above happens, the drones next fall victims to the failure of honey. A brief existence only is theirs; such as are perfect, are destroyed without mercy; those in the chrysalis state are often dragged out, and sacrificed t... Good Stock Seldom Without Brood
I once removed the bees from a hive on the tenth of January, and found brood amounting to about five hundred, sealed over, and others in every stage of growth down to the egg. This hive had been in the house, and kept warm; it will doubtless be s... Guess Work
The time before it is ready to leave the hive for honey, I might guess would be two or three days. Others have said "it would leave _the day it left the cell_;" but I guess they guess at this point. They tell us, too, that after the bees seal over t... How Pollen Is Stored In The Breeding Season
But in the height of the breeding season, a circle of cells nearly all bee-bread, an inch or two wide, will border the sheets of comb containing brood. As bee-bread is probably the principal food of the young bee, it is thus very convenient. When... How Small Stocks Commence
The first eggs are deposited in the centre of the cluster of bees, in a small family; it may not be in the centre of the hive in _all_ cases; but the middle of the cluster is the warmest place, wherever located. Here the queen will first commence; a... Imperfectly Understood
The time that bees commence raising their young brood is but imperfectly understood by most people. Many persons that have kept them for years, have bestowed so little attention on this point, that they are unable to tell at what time they commence,... Liability Of Being Destroyed
In any stage from the egg to maturity these royal insects are liable to be destroyed;--if honey fails from any cause sufficient to make the existence of a swarm any way hazardous, the preparations are abandoned, and these young queens destroyed; (I ... Necessity For Further Observation
Cannot some experiments, practicable to all, be instituted that will throw more light on this subject? The old hypothesis of limiting drone-egg laying to two or three periods, is evidently at fault. ... Old Queen Leaves With The First Swarm
The old queen leaves with the first swarm; as soon as cells are ready in the new hive she will deposit her eggs in them, at first for workers; the number perfected will correspond with the supply of honey and size of the swarm. When the supply fails... Operation Of Laying And The Eggs Described
When a cell is in a condition to receive the egg, on withdrawing her head she immediately curves her abdomen, and inserts it a few seconds. After leaving it, an egg may be seen attached by one end to the bottom; about the sixteenth of an inch in len... Other Theories
Theories differing materially from the foregoing, are advanced by nearly all writers. One says, "In spring the queen lays about 2,000 eggs of males, resumes it again in August, but during the rest of the intervals she exclusively lays worker eggs. T... Rough Treatment Of The Young Bee
Now, if you expect to see anything of this, you must watch a little closer than I have. I have seen hundreds when biting their way out. Instead of care or notice, they often receive rather rough treatment: the workers, intent on other matters, will ... Subject Not Understood
I am not anxious to establish a new theory, but to get at facts. If we pretend to understand natural history, it is important that we have it correct; and if we do not understand it, say so, and leave it open for further investigation. It is my opin... Terms Applied To Young Bees
The young bee, when it first leaves the egg, is termed grub, maggot, worm, or larva; from this state it changes to the shape of the perfect bee, which is said to be three days after finishing the cocoon; from the time of this change, till it is read... The Number Of Eggs Deposited By The Queen Guessed At
The number of eggs that a queen will deposit is often another point of guess-work. When the estimate does not exceed 200 per diem, I have no reason to dispute it; the number will probably fall short in some cases, and exceed it in others. Some write... Time From The Egg To The Perfect Bee
In about six days it is sealed over with a convex waxen lid. It is now hidden from our sight for about twelve days, when it bites off the cover, and comes forth a perfect bee. The period from the egg to the perfect bee varies from twenty to twenty-f... When Drones Are Reared
Whenever the hive is well supplied with honey, and plenty of bees, a portion of eggs are deposited in the drone-cells, which three or four days more are necessary to mature than the worker. ... When Queens Are Reared
Also, when the combs become crowded with bees, and honey plenty, the preparations for young queens commence: as the first step towards swarming, from one to twenty royal cells are begun; when about half completed, the queen (if all continues favorab...