COMB HONEY. 41 
(the queen) changed with at least some degree of permanency. Cclo- 
nies that have been compelled to construct a new set of brood combs 
from narrow strips of foundation have the most radical change of condi- 
tions as to brood rearing. Either of these changes alone is usually 
sufficient to insure no further preparations to swarm. 
Manipulation of the Supers. 
Proper manipulation of the comb-honey supers is not only a strong 
factor in the prevention of swarming but is also a stimulus to storing. 
The amount of room the colonies should have in the surplus apart- 
ment varies so much that the ordinary standard super is simply a unit 
in a large and flexible surplus apartment. If enough surplus room 
is given at the beginning of the season for the storage of the entire 
crop of honey, the space so given is too great for best results at the 
beginning of the honey flow, and little of it is needed at all if the 
season is poor. If, on the other hand, a single super js given and no 
other added until the first is completed, the room in the surplus apart- 
ment decreases from the time the super is given until the combs are 
completely drawn out, when there is little space left between the 
combs, the bees being practically crowded out. Thus while the popu- 
lation of the colony is increasing their room is being diminished—a 
condition highly conducive to swarming and less energetic work. 
After the super is filled, it is some time before the honey is ripened 
and sealed, ready to be removed. During this interval, if no other 
supers are given, there is no place for storage of the incoming nectar, 
and the comb builders must remain idle or waste their wax in build- 
ing burr and brace combs. To avoid loss in this way, empty supers 
are added as they are needed, and the comb builders move from one 
super to another as their work in each is completed. The surplus 
apartment, whether consisting of a single super or several supers, 
should at all times contain some space for the comb builders. 
If the honey flow is heavy and promises to continue, it is desirable 
to furnish not only sufficient room but to induce the bees to begin 
work in as many sections as possible, giving large comb surface for 
the storage and evaporation of the thin nectar, thus in a measure 
approximating extracted honey conditions. 
There is a danger, however, that if the bees are induced to extend 
their work through too many supers, the sections when completed 
will be less well filled and therefore lighter in weight. Also, if the 
honey flow should not continue as expected a rapid expansion of the 
surplus apartment results in a large number of unfinished sections, 
The rapidity of the expansion of work in the supers may to some 
extent be regulated by the position of each newly added super. If 
a rapid expansion is desirable, the empty super is placed below the 
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