In dividing colonies, where we give our queen to a colony composed wholly of young bees, it is safe and easy to introduce a queen in the manner explained in the section on artificial swarming. To introduce a queen to a colony composed of old bees more care is required. First, we should seek out the old queen and destroy her, then cage our Italian queen in a wire cage, which may be made by winding a strip of wire-cloth, three and one-half inches wide, and containing fifteen to twenty meshes to the inch, about the finger. Let it lap each way one-half inch, then cut it off. Ravel out the half inch on each side, and weave in the ends of the wires, forming a tube the size of the finger. We now have only to put the queen in the tube, and pinch the ends together, and the queen is caged. The cage containing the queen should be inserted between two adjacent combs containing honey, each of which will touch it. The queen can thus sip honey as she needs it. If we fear the queen may not be able to sip the honey through the meshes of the wire, we may dip a piece of clean sponge in honey and insert it in the upper end of the cage before we compress this end. This will furnish the queen with the needed food. In forty-eight hours we again open the hive, after a thorough smoking, also the cage, which is easily done by pressing the upper end, at right-angles to the direction of the pressure when we closed it. In doing this do not remove the cage. Now keep watch, and if, as the bees enter the cage or as the queen emerges, the bees attack her, secure her immediately and re-cage her for another forty-eight hours. I usually let some honey drip on the queen as soon as the cage is opened. Some think this renders the bees more amiable. I have introduced many queens in this manner, and have very rarely been unsuccessful. Mr. Dadant stops the cage with a plug of wood, and when he goes to liberate the queen replaces the wooden stop with one of comb, and leaves the bees to liberate the queen by eating out the comb. I have tried this, but with no better success than I have had with the above method, while with this plan the queen is surely lost if the bees do not receive her kindly. Mr. Betsinger uses a larger cage, open at one end, which is pressed against the comb till the mouth of the cage reaches the middle of it. If I understand him, the queen is thus held by cage and comb till the bees liberate her. I have never tried this plan. When bees are not storing, especially if robbers are abundant, it is more difficult to succeed, and at such time the utmost caution will occasionally fail of success if the bees are old. A young queen, just emerging from a cell, can almost always be safely given at once to the colony, after destroying the old queen.