REPORT OF THE ENTOMOLOGIST 235 



SESSIONAL PAPER No. 16 



THE APIARY. 



The following is a report on the apiary which is maintained by the Division for 

 experimental purposes. Mr. J. I. Beaulne was placed in charge of the apiary during 

 the summer of 1910. 



The bees were taken out of the winter quarters and placed on the summer stands 

 oe March 31, 1910. They appeared to be in good condition until an inspection on 

 June 8 revealed the presence of European Foul Brood. This disease was found to be 

 very prevalent throughout the district and across the river in the province of Quebec. 

 All of the thirty-eight colonies were given the ' shaking ' treatment for this disease. By 

 this means the bees were shaken off the old combs into clean hives containing new frames 

 with' starters, thereby removing all the infected material and compelling the bees to 

 start the building of new combs. The bees are also forced to turn whatever infected 

 honey they contain into wax. A second - ' shake ' on to full sheets of foundation 

 was given in a few days and the bees immediately drew out the foundation. A number 

 of weak colonies were united, giving twenty-one colonies, of which nineteen were in 

 good condition for the honey flow. 



In spite of this set-back, and the drying-up of the white clover caused by the 

 drought between June 8 and July 15, the colonies did remarkably well. About 1,516 

 lbs. of honey was gathered, yielding over 70 lbs. of honey per hive. The greatest yield 

 for a single colony was 144 lbs. and eight colonies gave an average of over 100 lbs. 

 All the supers were removed on August 27. Between August 28 and September 9, 

 twenty pure Italian queens were introduced in the hope of making the colonies more 

 resistant to disease. Eighteen queens were accepted and began to lay immediately 

 after leaving the introducing cages. By October 1 all the colonies contained large 

 numbers of young Italian bees. 



The colonies were brought into winter quarters on November 23 and 24, the 

 average weight being 49 J lbs. At the time of writing (March 31) they are still in 

 winter quarters and have come through the winter excellently so far. The tempera- 

 ture of the bee cellar from November 23 to March 31 varied from 41 -80° F. to 

 45-20 F. ; the temperature of the bee cellar should range about 40° to 45° F. not more 

 nor less. 



