MillerThousand AnswersBeekeepingQuestions.pdf - BioBees

THOUSAND ANSWERS 179worker), and in case of increase by division of a colony, as toqueen given to the queenless part?A. Introduction would be quite a bit more likely to be successfulin the second than the first case. It is generally foundthat it is more difficult to introduce a queen to a colony that hasbeen queenless for some time than to one from which the queenhas been recently removed. The reason may be because of theage of the bees, for it is the older bees that make trouble whena new ruler is introduced. It is better that they should not bequeenless for any length of time.Q. How should bees act when favorable to accepting a queenintroduced to a colony that has been queenless perhaps eversince the swarm was hived last May? (October.)A. It is easier to tell by looking at them whether they feellike accepting her than it is to tell how one tells. If the bees arehostile to her, they may be grasping the wires of the cage as iftrying hard to get at the queen, while if they feel kindly towardher they will sit quietly and loosely on the cage. That's not tellingyou very much, is it? Well, I may as well tell you that if thecase were right before me, I couldn't always tell for certain. Theymight appear to be looking as sweet as you please at the queen,with murder in their hearts all the while.Q. I have had trouble in introducing laying queens on accountof the bees starting cells. I have always lost about half of thequeens I tried to introduce. Would it be perfectly safe to shakeabout a pound of bees taken from three or four different coloniesinto an empty hive containing about three combs with no brood,and confine these bees three or four days; in the meantime introducea queen in the regular way, brood to be given later? Wouldthese bees be likely to swarm out after they were released?A. The plan has been used, the bees being put in the cellar orother dark place. They ought not to swarm out afterward.Let me give you one of the kinks I have used in introducing avaluable queen. It is the old bees, and not the youngsters, thatmake trouble when a step-mother is given them. So the thing todo is to get the field-bees out of the hive before the queen isgiven. That is a thing vefy easily done. Just set the hive in anew place, and leave on the old stand a hive with one of thebrood-combs. When the gatherers return from the field they willgo to the old stand, and in 24 hours the old hive will have in it nobees more than 16 days old. As a matter of convenience, I liftthe old hive from its stand, setting it close by; put the new hivewith one frame of brood on the old stand, put on this the cover,