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.
CHAPTER XII.
REARING AND INTRODUCING QUEENS.
IN commencing to rear queens, you will first want some small rearing boxes, or miniature hives, about four and one-half inches wide, by eight inches long, and five inches deep, inside measurement. Use inch board for the hives. Make for each hive three movable comb frames,[8] suspended the same as in the brood section of the Controllable Hive. Make the under side of the top bar, flat, instead of triangular, as in the large comb frames. Take a piece of old comb, and cut to fill each one of these small frames. Take from a pint to a quart of bees from a populous stock (in the height of the breeding season this will do no harm) without the queen-. Confine these bees in a light box, in the top of which there is an inch hole, closed, to confine them to the box, for if not confined they would return to the old stock, as the queen is not with them. Having secured your bees in the box, go to a stock, and lift out a comb containing eggs, just deposited. They may be known by their appearance. They are but a tiny speck at the bottom of the cell, about one-sixteenth of an inch in length, slightly curved, and perfectly white in color. They remain in this form from two to three days, at the end of which time they change to the form of a grub or maggot. After this change it is a risk to depend on them for queen raising, so be sure to secure for your purpose eggs. Cut from the brood comb a piece about two inches long and one-half inch wide, using a very sharp, thin knife, so not to mutilate the comb. Cut out a piece from the center comb of the miniature hive, and fit in its place the piece containing the eggs. The middle of a warm day is the best time to do this work. It is best to have one of the comb frames of the miniature hive filled with honey, to furnish food for the bees for a few days.
[8] This frame is shown in the engraving representing the different kinds of cells, in [Chapter I].