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<strong>Better</strong> <strong>Queens</strong> <strong>by</strong> <strong>Jay</strong> <strong>Smith</strong><br />
Before going any further, let us look into this matter of "urge." Before bees<br />
can do the best at cell building they must have both ability and urge to do so.<br />
A weak, poorly-fed colony deprived of its queen would have the urge to build<br />
cells but would be lacking in ability. On the other hand, a strong colony<br />
headed <strong>by</strong> a young queen all in a three story hive packed with brood would<br />
have the ability to build good cells but would be lacking in urge to do so. To<br />
remove all their brood and queen would give them both ability and urge to<br />
build the very best of cells. We start cells in the starter hive because it gives us<br />
the very best results. The bees shaken into the starter hive have been nursing<br />
larvae, so <strong>by</strong> taking away these nurses and putting a large number of them<br />
into the starter hive they have ability and urge in the highest degree. After the<br />
cells are started, they may be given to a colony having less urge and all will be<br />
finished well provide the finishing colony be strong and well fed. When these<br />
nurses have been taken away from larvae they have been nursing they act as if<br />
in distress. Possibly the excess milk in the glands in their heads gives them a<br />
headache. The best headache remedy is to give them larvae to nurse. When<br />
the cells containing larvae are given to the bees confined in the starter hive,<br />
they at once begin fanning in order to spread the glad news and at once<br />
unload the milk accumulated in their glands.<br />
Bees Having Access to Their Queen Lacking in Urge<br />
As long as bees have access to their queen they will not do the best at cell<br />
building. When a frame of larvae is placed above an excluder with a queen<br />
below, the bees seldom start cells. With the laying queen below, the bees have<br />
about all the larvae they can care for, so they have little urge to build cells. It<br />
is plain then that finishing cells above the excluder with a queen below is not<br />
the best method when quality of queens is desired.<br />
Another proof I have observed thousands of times is found in the hive<br />
containing the breeding queen. As before explained, the frame of eggs is<br />
http://www.bushfarms.com/beesbetterqueenswpics.htm (80 of 119)20-12-2006 21:42:55
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