CHAPTER XI.
CHANGING OLD QUEENS FOR YOUNG ONES.
ON my plan of bee management, if a stock does not change its queen for three years in succession, the fourth season the old queen should be taken away, if she shows the least sign of failing, and a young, laying queen substituted in her place It often happens, if the queen in a stock dies or becomes seriously injured, that the bees will, of their own accord, rear another to take her place. But if her failure has been gradual, the bees may not have the means to do so, when she at last fails entirely, for the reason that she may cease laying, for several days or weeks previous to her death, in which case it would be impossible for the bees, without assistance, to rear another queen to take her place. They must have an egg not over five days old, from which to rear a queen. The great necessity of close observation, in order to keep each stock always supplied with a healthy, prolific queen, cannot be impressed too strongly on the mind of every bee keeper. Be sure not to neglect this very important point in successful and profitable bee keeping.
But very few seem to know the average duration of life of the honey bee. The average term of life of the worker is only a few months—not more than from two to four—a great many do not live out half that time. So it will be seen that it is only by keeping healthy and prolific queens in each stock, that we can have populous stocks, such as will pay a good profit.
In my experiments I have in several instances taken from a vigorous and very populous stock their queen, and at the same time deprived them of the means of rearing another. This was done in the honey season. In such cases the bees kept on with their labor, though with visible reluctance and an appearance of discouragement, the number of bees decreasing very rapidly, and in from two to three months nearly all had disappeared, not more than two or three hundred remaining, where there had been from thirty thousand to fifty thousand all in a prosperous condition.
Other instances have come under my observation, clearly showing that the life of the worker honey bee is only of few months duration. One case in fact will show: I removed the native queen from a very strong stock of native or black bees, in the honey season, and introduced an Italian queen, in order to change the stock from native to Italian. The reader will readily understand that every egg deposited by the Italian queen, after her introduction, will produce the Italian variety, the workers of which are entirely distinct in color from the natives. In a few days after the introduction of the Italian queen I found the natives were disappearing, and soon after the Italians began to appear. The change was very rapid. In about two months not a native or black bee could be found about the hive—all were Italians. The natives had gradually decreased, until all had disappeared, showing conclusively that they had died in the same ratio that they would have passed away from a stock naturally. During the winter season, as the bee is in a dormant state for the greater part of the time, they are given a longer lease of life.
When it is discovered that a stock has a barren queen or has lost its queen, or from any cause she has ceased to be prolific (and in consequence the bees are dwindling away,) take means immediately to substitute a prolific and healthy queen in her place, and at the same time re-enforce the stock, by taking one or more frames filled with hatching brood from a populous stock, and exchanging for those destitute of brood. In this manner the bees will be increased so as to insure safety for a few days, after which the stock, having been furnished with a prolific, healthy queen, will regain their former prosperity and vigor.
The queen being the mother of the entire swarm, and consequently all increase being dependent on her, every intelligent bee keeper will readily understand that in order to succeed, he must be sure that each stock has a prolific queen.