_Richmond, Jeff. Co., Ohio._
[For the American Bee Journal.]
Introducing Queens.
As an introducer of queens I have not been always successful. In several
cases, after two or three days caging, the queen has been accepted all
right, and within twenty-four hours rejected. I watched one of these
cases, in which the queen, when liberated from the cage, was caressed by
the bees, until by and by one of a different mind (and of a different
body, too; for I have noticed the first to attack a queen are the
small-bodied fellows) assailed her, and very shortly was joined by
others, until a mass imprisoned her.
With Mrs. Tupper’s favorite method I have sometimes succeeded, and
sometimes failed; but then the fault may have been all my own. I have
half drowned bees, queen and all, with diluted honey strongly scented
with peppermint, and had the pleasure of seeing the drunken fools fondle
her as if they had always known her; and then some one of the number,
not fully saturated, would attack her.
Latterly, I have taken a different plan, and one which, according to all
the authorities ought uniformly to fail; but which, so far, has
uniformly succeeded here. It is simply this:
Wait until the bees have started queen cells. Then, without any
preparation whatever, put any queen, fertile or unfertile, directly on
the comb, among the bees. That is all.
It may be that I shall fail the very next time; but, until I do fail, I
shall continue to practice this plan. I give it to the Journal, in hopes
that some one else, having a queen or queens of no value, will give it a
trial. I have not tried it long enough to consider it a settled thing;
but shall report to the Journal the first case of failure. Let me relate
a case of success:
August 1st, I put into an empty hive, No. 15, one frame containing some
honey and a very few cells of _sealed_ brood. I put into this hive a
young queen that had just commenced laying, and set the hive in place of
one containing a strong colony. Of course the empty hive received all
the flying force of the strong colony. On the next day they had
destroyed the queen. I then took a queen two or three years old, covered
her with honey completely, and dropped her on the frames. She was
received all right. Next day, August 3d, I killed this queen and
introduced a _young_ one in exactly the same manner. She was promptly
imprisoned, and I released and caged her. August 5th, this queen having
been caged two days, is still refused. August 6th, she is caressed by
some of the bees, but others imprison her. I then gave her to a full
colony, No. 1, which was queenless and had queen cells started, some of
which were sealed. Placing her directly on the comb, without caging, she
was kindly received and soon commenced laying. I then took from No. 1,
the frame with queen cells, and gave it to No. 13. Three days later,
August 9th, I gave to No. 15, an unfertile queen three days old, placing
her directly on the comb. On the same day I gave another full colony,
having queen cells only a day or two old, an unfertile queen three days
old. Being out of the State I did not see them again till August 22d,
when I found both queens laying.