The young queens will usually mate when from five to seven days old, flying from the hive for this purpose. If any undesirable drones are in the apiary they may be restrained from flying by means of excluder zinc over the hive entrances, permitting only workers to pass in and out. In a day or two after mating the queen generally commences to deposit eggs, and is then ready for use in the apiary or to be sent away as an "untested queen." To enable her to rank as a "tested queen" it will be necessary to keep her three weeks or a little longer in order to see her worker progeny and ascertain by their markings that the queen has mated with a drone of her own race. As both tested and untested queens are usually raised from the same mothers--the best in the given apiary--either may be obtained for honey production; but for use as breeders only tested queens which have been approved in every way should be purchased, unless, indeed, the purchaser prefers to buy several untested queens, which can usually be obtained for the price of one approved and selected breeder, and do his own testing, trusting that among them one or more may prove valuable as a breeding queen. "Warranted queens" are untested queens sent out with a guaranty that they have mated purely. If few or no drones of another race are in the vicinity of a breeder, he is tolerably safe in doing this. The proper plan is for the breeder to keep a record of the brood of all such queens and replace such as show that they have mismated. Exact records of the ages of all queens should be kept, and notes on the qualities of their progeny are desirable, while in some instances particulars as to pedigrees are valuable. [Illustration: Fig. 64.--The Benton cage for transporting a queen and attendants by mail. (Original.)] [Illustration: Fig. 65.--Caging a queen for mailing. (Original--from photograph.)] MAILING QUEENS.