_Cynthiana, Ky._, Sept. 6, 1870.
[For the American Bee Journal.]
Great Number of Queen Cells and Queens Secured from One Hive.
MR. EDITOR:--In volume 2, number 9, of the American Bee Journal, Mr. A.
Grimm gives a case, under the above caption, of forty-three queen cells
on one frame of comb. I have had two similar cases this season. The
first one had twenty-eight cells on one frame; the other had forty-seven
cells on one, and five on an adjoining frame--making fifty-two cells at
one time, in one hive.
Early in the spring I experienced the greatest difficulty in getting my
bees to start queen cells in full stocks. Having an extra choice queen,
which I intended to raise from exclusively for the present; and not
being willing to risk the loss of her in moving her from one stock to
another, I adopted a different course. (By the way, I always start queen
cells in full stocks--never in small nuclei.) I removed the hybrid
queens from three strong stocks in succession, and in five days after
their removal, I cut all the cells then started, and gave each stand a
frame of brood and eggs from the choice stock. On opening those stands a
few days after, to see what number of queen cells they had started, I
was doomed to disappointment. The first one had only three cells, and
two of these were built too close together to be separated. The other
two stands did very little better. Getting tired of this slow process, I
removed the queen from another strong hybrid stock; then exchanged the
whole of the brood combs with the choice stock, brushing off the bees
into their own hive. In this way I got some sixteen cells.
On the 6th of June two very large swarms got together. I divided and
equalised them, and thinking each had a queen, I left them and went to
other work. One of the queen’s wings being cropped, I had put her on the
cluster before the other swarm issued--the two stands sat about a rod
apart. About an hour after this one of the stands became restless, the
bees flying out and in, but neither going back to the old stand, nor to
the one I had just separated them from; nor settling, either, except on
the tops of the weeds and grass, two rods below the two stands, and
under the limb they had swarmed on. It then occurred to me that the
cropped queen might have dropped in the grass, and I started to look for
her. But what a sight presented itself to my eyes--a great, big, long
snake! No, not a snake, but a bee procession, a rod long and from three
to five inches wide, travelling on foot, through the grass and weeds, to
the nearest stand, headed by her majesty--who just entered the hive
before I could seize and secure her. This was the stand from which I had
just separated them an hour before. I then had my work to do over again,
which I did in a few minutes, but got both queens in one hive, though I
did not then know it. I had watched closely, and saw only one queen
enter. By this time other swarms claimed my attention, so that I hastily
took a frame of brood from another stand, and gave it to the one I was
not certain had a queen--intending to give them one as soon as I
ascertained it needed one. They went to work, as though all was right;
and I paid no more attention to them till the second day after, when I
opened the hive to examine. I found they were building straight and nice
worker comb. I did not then raise the frame of brood, as the nice worker
comb satisfied me that they had a queen; that is, according to the
authority of book authors and others, that bees will never build worker
comb without the presence of a queen. But here is an exception; and I
have in my practice come across many exceptions to general rules, where
bees are concerned. On the 19th this stand swarmed, and taking advantage
of my dislike to work on Sundays, went to parts unknown, though I saw
them go. I was then engaged in hiving four others, and they refused to
await their turn to be waited on. Next morning early, I raised the brood
comb already mentioned, and secured seventeen fine queens, counting
twenty-eight perfect cells in all! The hive was about filled with comb,
but only about one-third was drone comb--the rest being worker comb.
Nothing ever puzzled me more than this case. I cannot account for it
without going counter to the established rules, that bees without a
queen will build drone comb exclusively. But, as I said above, this
swarm was extra large, and having a frame of brood given them at the
start, may have taken a notion to divide again, and so built worker comb
while raising the queen cells. Or, will some one say the old queen was
present. Well, if she was, why did the bees build about one-third drone
comb? Will some one give us a similar case--such as a newly hived large
swarm starting queen cells at once, while they have a queen. I am almost
positively certain that they had no queen; yet there is much about the
case that bothers or puzzles me. _A good job_ for Gallup!
On the 27th of July, I removed a queen from a strong nucleus, to send
her off. The nucleus hive was 12 × 12 × 18 inches, with three frames and
partition board. It had been started with two frames, but an empty frame
was afterward inserted in the middle, to give the bees more room to
work. This frame they had filled out to within two inches of the bottom.
I had disturbed the nucleus a few days before, to stimulate the queen to
lay before removing her. In six days after her removal, on opening the
nucleus, I found and counted forty-seven perfect cells, but saw none on
either of the other frames; yet, while removing the cells on the 10th
day, I found five more on one of the adjoining frames--making fifty-two
(52) in all!
In conclusion, let me add that this has been a poor season here. I will
get only about 500 pounds of honey, to Novice’s 5,000. Hope he has
filled his cistern by this time. But here I must close, as I have
already wearied the patience of your readers.