MillerThousand AnswersBeekeepingQuestions.pdf - BioBees

J 05 DR. MILLERSyou will see, leaves an entrance for the bees in the upper hive,just as there would be if, instead of being put up, it were set ona stand down on the ground. There is no possible communicationbetween the two hives, and if a bee goes from one to theother it can only do so by going out at one entrance and goingin at the other.Q. Would it not answer to put up the queen as soon as queencells with larvje in them are seen, instead of waiting and watchingfor swarms ?A. Yes, it works well, although I have not had as much experiencewith that plan as with waiting for the bees to swarm.Q. When you put down the queen again, is there no dangerof her being balled?bees ?A. I do not recall that she was ever balled, to my knowledge.Queens.—Q. How can you tell a queen from the rest of theA. Look for a bee longer than the rest, and with wings thatlook too short for the length of its abdomen. You'll not be likelyto miss it the first time you see it.Q. What is meant by fertile queen, and virgin queen?A. A queen that has met a drone, a normal laying queen, is afertile queen. A virgin queen is one which has not yet beenmated.Q. In the advertisements of queen-breeders, the followingterms are used, which I do not clearly understand: Tested, Untested,Select Tested, Select Untested Queens, and Breeders.A. A tested queen is one whose progeny shows she has matedwith a drone of her own race. In the case of an Italian queenyou will see that that will mean that the worker progeny of theyoung queen shows three yellow bands.An untested queen is usually one sold as soon as she beginsto lay, and so nothing is yet known as to the appearance of herprogeny. An untested queen, of course, can be sold at a less pricethan a tested one, and that for two reasons. In the first place,it saves the expense of keeping the queen some three weeks, ifshe is sold untested. In the second place, if queens are kept untiltested, those which do not come up to the test must be rejectedor sold at a lower price as mismated, while all will be sold at thesame price if sold while untested.A select queen, either tested or untested, is one. that is selectedbecause she is unusually good in appearance. However it may be