October, 1913. 



American T^ee Journal 



the wax-worm, which destroys combs when 

 they are not properly protected by the bees. 

 These prowlers are not worth minding in 

 strong colonies, or those of good It alian 

 stock, but when a queenless colony is on 

 hand, especially a weak black one. these 

 moth larva? are on hand to finish up. like a 

 lot of crows about a carrion.' 



3. The ants probably do no great harm ex- 

 cept to annoy the bees. 



4. I don't know from your description. Be- 

 ing at the top of the frame, one would ex- 

 pect the cells to be filled with honey, only 

 the sealing of honey should be flat. But it 

 would be easy for you to tell what was in a 

 cell by digging into it. 



Double-Wall Hives— Caging Queens 



1. lam expecting to purchase about lo or 

 II colonies after Dec. i. also otiier equip- 

 ment, and would like your opinion as to the 

 Protection hive, manufactured by the A. G. 

 Woodman Co.. of Graftd Rapids. Nlich. 



2. Do you think that one inch of packing is 

 enough, especially for this place? We are 

 close to Rochester; 



3. I hear about hives with 4 and 6 inches, 

 in the Bee Journal, but do not see any of 

 that kind advertised. Where may I pur- 

 chase such hives? What dealers manufac- 

 ture them ? 



4. What is the proper procedure neces- 

 sary in the caging of a queen over another 

 hive, as in the case of takinK one out for lo 

 days or so. in the several different methods 

 of management '■' What kind of cage is used, 

 and how and what is the queen fed ? Is the 

 common Benton mailing cage all right when 

 provided with good candy ? 



5. How long is it safe to keep the queen 

 so caged ? 



6. Must she haveattendanlsas in shipping? 



New York. 

 Answers.— I. I have no personal acquaint- 

 ance with those particular hives, but most 

 of the hives made are much like the com- 

 mon dovetailed hive, and so answer well. 



2. It is generally considered that more 

 than an inch of packing is desirable, most 

 preferring at least 3 inches, but the protec- 

 tion is not strictly in proportion to the 

 amount of packing. That is, 3 inches of 

 packing do not give three times as much 

 protection as one inch; possibly not more 

 than 50 percent more protection. So a sin- 

 gle inch might answer quite as well except 

 in very exposed places. 



3. Almost any dealer or manufacturer will 

 furnish them on application. 



4. Any cage that will go easily between the 

 combs will answer, such as the Miller cage. 

 The Benton cage is too bulky. Sometimes, 

 however, instead of being put between the 



combs, the cage is merely thrust into the 

 entrance of the hive. No need of any food 

 in the cage; the bees will feed the queen. 



S. It is generally neither necessary nor de- 

 sirable to have her caged more than 10 days; 

 but I have known a queen to be caged 

 double that time without appearing to be 

 much hurt by it. 



b. No need of any attendants in the cage; 

 they are likely to die in the cage and thus be 

 a damage. 



Diminishing the Entrance of Hives — Feeding in 

 September 



1. Will the bees winter in the open where 

 the thermometer does not go below 50 de- 

 grees in California ? 



;. Should I diminish the entrance of the 

 hive in winter ? 



3. My two colonies are strong with lots of 

 brood, and appear to be working, as I notice 

 them bringing in pollen, but they have no 

 honey in their frames. There are lots of 

 flowers in the neighborhood. Must I begin 

 to feed them now (September) ? I have no 

 supers on the hives. California. 



Answers,— I. Yes. bees will winter out in 

 a very much colder climate than that, 



2. In your locality probably no contraction 

 is needed, 



3. Unless you expect a flow from some later 

 pasturage, it will be well to begin feeding in 

 September, giving them enough so that there 

 will be no question about :heir having 

 enough for winter. 



Dead Queen Larvae — Moving Bees — Evaporators 



1. This summer when I looked through the 

 hives to cut out the queen-cells to prevent 

 swarming, sometimes I found the larva in 

 the queen-cell dead, and of a dark gray 

 color. Besides this I could not find any- 

 thing affected by foul brood in the least. I 

 have never seen any foul brood, but I do not 

 think that it is because it has not the same 

 color as it is described in bee-books. Can 

 you tell me what it is ? 



2. I would like to move my 13 colonies 

 about 80 to 100 miles from here. I made ar- 

 rangements to move them in the spring 

 while they would be light and not so crowd- 

 ed, and so that there would still be snow up 

 in the hills to take them on the sleigh where 

 otherwise the road would be rough. The 

 time to go over the snow would take about 

 one day. If I would leave the entrance open, 

 also the top. and shut it up with screen, put 

 the hives on a spring wagon, and some straw 

 under the hives, would this plan work all 

 right? 



3. I have noticed in a bee-book that in the 

 East they take the honey off before it is 

 sealed, and then let it run over the evapora- 

 tor after extracting. Could you tell me 

 where I could get an evaporator? Utah. 



Answers.— I. A dead larva sometimes is 



found in a queen-cell when there is no dis 

 ease in the hive. It is possible that it may 

 come from more than one cause, but per- 

 haps in most cases it comes from being 

 chilled. Queen-cells are quite commonly 

 on the edges of combs, and so more exposed 

 than other cells, and when a cool night 

 comes the bees draw away from them, al 

 lowing them to be chilled, 



I. Your plan ought to work all right. There 

 remains the possibility of an unusually 

 warm day occurring during the part of the 

 journey when the bees were on the wagon, 

 making the bees very uneasy. In that case 

 you would quiet them by sprinkling water 

 upon them, 



3. I don't think any dealers or manufac- 

 turers keep anything of the kind for sale. 

 At one time a good deal was said about 

 them, but at present I think very few bee- 

 keepers in this country use evaporators. 



Miscellaneous Questions 



1. How do virgin queens look, and why are 

 they not as good as others ? 



2. Why are my bees so ugly? I can go to 

 my neighbor and be by his bees, and even 

 put them in the hive bare-faced and not re- 

 ceive a sting, but when I go by my bees they 

 always fly around me and sometimes sting. 



3. What is best to feed bees when short of 

 winter stores ? 



4. If 1 set up decoy hives will bees some- 

 times fly into them, and. if so, where is the 

 best place to set them ? Wisconsin. 



Answers.— I, A virgin queen looks very 

 much like a laying queen, only her abdomen 

 is smaller. Until she has mated with a 

 drone she is of no value, for she will not lay 

 or if she does lay without mating, her eggs 

 will produce only drones. 



2. Bees are like folks; there is a great deal 

 of difference in their dispositions; some are 

 cross and some irood-natured. Like enough 

 you have happened on a cross strain, and 

 should introduce a queen of better temper. 

 Possibly the way the bees are treated may 

 make a difference, since rough handling is 

 inclined to make them cross. Then, again, 

 bees that are where folks are passing by 

 frequently are not likely to be as cross as 

 those that aie seldom approached. 



3. Nothing is better than good honey, but 

 if you haven't that, then feed syrup made 

 of the best granulated sugar. 



4. If stray swarms are plenty, you will be 

 likely to get some in decoy liives. I doubt 

 if it makes much difference where they are 

 placed, only so the bees can easily get at 

 them. I think it is customary to put them 

 in the crotches of low-branching trees, such 

 as apple trees; I don't know just why. 



Mr- Lewis Schwertman, of Freeport, III., and a Part of His Apiary. 



Division-Boards— Buying Queens 



1, Of what use are division-boards, and 

 how often should they be used? 



2. When buying queens, would it be better 

 to buy them close by ? Arkansas, 



Answers.— I, A division-board, properly 

 so called, is a thin board more or less tight 

 fitting, that divides a hive into two separate 

 compartments, as when a hive is to be used 

 for two or more nuclei, or when a colony is 

 too small to occupy the whole of the hive. 

 In this sense there are a very few division- 

 boards, but when one is mentioned a dummy 

 is really the thing that is meant. A dummy 

 is loose fitting, not longer nor deeper than 

 the frame of the hive. (It may be less than 

 that.) Dummies are in use .in my hives all 

 the time, winter and summer. The frames do 

 not entirely fill a hive, and the dummy fills 

 up the vacant space at one side. It is much 

 easier to get out the dummy than to get out 

 the first frame where there is no dummy, 

 and after the dummy is out it is easy to get 



