1895 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



9 



mountain with as much vigor as in sweeping 

 away the loose dirt which a mole may have 

 thrown upon their doorsill. 



Several escapes and supers were prepared so 

 that it could be seen how the bees performed. 

 It was noticed that the first one or two hun- 

 dred bees proceeded almost directly to the joints, 

 and began pulling at the corners without much 

 search for the escape-exit. These bees seem to 

 bear about the same relation to the general 

 throng as the sentinels in a colony or the lead- 

 ers in a swarm. A single-exit Porter escape 

 had the rear part of the channel removed, and 

 then it was adjusted on the top of the escape- 

 board with its mouth projecting through the 

 side of the super, to allow light to shine through 

 the escape and be distributed over the surface 

 of the board. Loud crackling ceased entirely. 

 Still, very few bees came out through the es- 

 cape during the first hour. A Porter escape 

 was thus arranged for the outside air and light, 

 and then another by the side of it, in the usual 

 way, leading down into the brood-nest, and 

 four-fifths of the bees went out of the super by 

 the inside rather than by the outside route. 

 Why should they not choose the shortest way? 



Another modification of the Porter escape 

 was devised, containing a long flexible spring 

 for a bee to walk upon, and which should sag 

 and open the exit, allowing the bee to escape 

 without effort. In testing it by the side of the 

 usual exit, 9.5 to 98 out of 100 bees passed out of 

 the exit, which required no exertion. One hun- 

 dred bees were placed in a box with the exits 

 side by side. When the bees were quietly caged 

 they remained unalarmed for considerable time. 

 When the exits were closed until they became 

 uneasy, the difference in operation of the exits 

 was much nearer alike, owing to one bee first 

 spreading the springs and then several others 

 rushing and following closely after. Itrequires 

 a fresh quota of bees at each trial, because the 

 natural disposition of the bees is the subject of 

 test. 



An easy exit would assist slight inclinations, 

 and a single-bee exit is inadequate for practical 

 use, as an hour or so after the escape -board is 

 put on the hive, the festoons begin to break up; 

 and I have seen bees crowd through a single- 

 exit Porter escape, pressing the springs apart 

 the full width of the channel. The wider the 

 springs are opened, the more power is required. 

 This fact suggested the change to laterally 

 swinging gates, which might be maintained 

 open full width as easily as part way, after the 

 manner of the "garden gate," which swings by 

 its own weight upon a narrow hinge at the top 

 and a hinge of wider sweep for the bottom. 

 Then it was noticed that robbers, in trying to 

 creep into perpendicular crevices, approached 

 from the sides, showing that the natural mode 

 was to place their heads under and lift, instead 

 of pushing against the points of the shoulders, 

 as would be necessary in the operation of later- 



al gates and springs. Therefore the Ponder was 

 the correct form of gate. The force of the 

 Pouder Invention was destroyed by the advice 

 to "let the points of the pins rest upon the 

 jumping-oft' board," when they should have re- 

 mained up far enough to nearly admit a bee. 

 This gate, constructed of heavy tin and, prop- 

 erly adjusted, clears the supers right along; but 

 with the front edge of the heavy gate resting 

 upon the " jumping-off " board, it is of no use 

 whatever. I made it first of tin, using it so one 

 season; then platinum, and finally of wire,to ad- 

 mit a better flow of light. I believe the " par- 

 tially open" idea was first suggested and ap- 

 plied to escapes by the Porters. 



In my opinion, the first bees to leave the 

 combs and come down on the escape-board are 

 not dispositioned to leave the apartment until 

 the whole " crowd " goes. They search or a 

 route of escape, and, finding none which suits 

 them, they attempt to prepare one by pulling 

 away at the yielding points. If a satisfactory 

 exit is there, they recognize the escape-board as 

 a strange piece of furniture, and spend the wait- 

 ing-hour examining each other for detection of 

 a possible stranger. About the time the bees 

 were expected to be moving through the gate of 

 the Stampede escape, the space between the 

 gate and screened window was discovered to be 

 packed full of bees, there being several upon 

 the upper and brood-nescside of the gate, claw- 

 ing and pulling for dear life to gain admittance 

 from the hive into the super. Certainly it 

 would take a muscular bee to lift this gate 

 while several bees were trying, with weight and 

 strength, to hold it down, and the roof of the 

 channel at their backs. At first they were 

 thought to be bees from the brood-chamber 

 coming up, and it looked like an insurmounta- 

 ble obstacle. Then it was wondered why they 

 were so anxious, having no knowledge of what 

 would be found on getting through the gate. 

 Finally it was discovered that these were bees 

 of the super, which had inadvertently gone 

 under the gates and then decided that they must 

 return or be forever separated from their sisters. 

 When the general tumult or stampede began, 

 the tide turned the other direction. 



As evidence of the stampeding disposition of 

 bees, I will relate: A strong coluny was prepar- 

 ed for queen-rearing by removing the upper 

 story and setting the same on the old stand, 

 while the lower story containing the brood and 

 queen was carried to a distant stand. In the 

 morning it was intended to add more bees and 

 give eggs for cell-buildingto the queenless half. 

 'This division was made near dusk, and about 

 two hours later I heard a loud roaring in the 

 apiary. On going out I found the bees of this 

 queenless half pouring out and marching off 

 across the grass and entering a strange hive 

 about three feet away. Both hives were black 

 with fanning bees, and the trail of march was 

 at least fifteen inches wide. This was he 



