I have a lurking suspicion that I put this letter on the List a very long
time ago but I am not sure.  Now that interest has been revived I offer it
for what it is worth.  It was sent to the editor of the Hampshire
Beekeeper, a small magazine which was then the official organ of the Hants
Beekeeping Association. This was the parent body of twenty three local
associations spread throughout the county.  Hampshire is in central
southern England. The date was August, 1951.  The writer was an experienced
beekeeper employed as the county Beekeeping Instructor in a county near
mine and much in demand as a lecturer.
"Dear Sir,  There have been a number of articles from time to time in the
beekeeping press about this intriguing question, which is still regarded by
many as pure conjecture. It was observed 24 years ago, as  also was the
removal of very young larvae.
A queen, especially a newly mated one, often deposits more than one egg in
a cell. Only one egg is left to hatch. What did the bees do with the
others?  Tests were made to prove that bees do transport eggs and larvae,
the procedure adopted being as follows:------
A strong colony was de-queened. Queen cells were naturally started and
destroyed until all brood was capped and there was no possibility of
further queen cells. Twelve straws were selected and the ends trimmed
obliquely to resemble a quill pen.  A comb containing worker and drone eggs
and young larvae was taken from another colony.  Three one day old larvae
were picked out on the tip of quill, one to each straw.  The rest of the
quills were dipped in royal jelly  and two to four worker and drone eggs
attached. The straws were carefully bundled and suspended in the centre of
the queenless colony and left for nine days.  Result, a patch of drone
brood, a patch of worker brood and three queen cells,nothing left on the
straws.  The quantity of brood matched the number of eggs.
This test has been repeated since with similar results , confirming the
experiment of 24 years ago.                     Yours faithfully,
     W. M. E. W."

It sounds straighforward enough.  What we need now is ten inquiring
beekeepers with time on their hands to carry out a  similar experiment
during the coming season and report back. I have left it a bit late in life
but I might have a go myself.  That should settle it once and for all.