1895 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



521 



these same ants. But as such a place or places 

 are rare exceptions, it would be safe to say 

 that I would always clip the wings of all 

 queens in the apiary as soon as laying. Some 

 seemed to think that queens with clipped wings 

 give far more trouble at swarming-time than 

 do those having their wings; but I can not 

 think that such have had much experience 

 with clipped queens; for with myself I would 

 rattier manage three swarms where the queens 

 are clipped than one whose queen can go with 

 the swarm. Especially is this the case where 

 there ►are trees in or about the apiary, whose 

 height exceeds 15 feet; for where there are tall 

 trees near the apiary the swarms alight so 

 high that it is often more than they are worth 

 to climb for them, while the clipping of the 

 queens' wings does away. with this climbing 

 part entirely, if no after-swarms are allowed to 

 issue. Without going over the whole ground 

 regarding the advantages arising from clip- 

 ping, it can be expressed thus: Clipping the 

 queen's wings prevent swarms decamping, as a 

 rule; saves the climbing of trees after swarms, 

 or the marring of those trees by the cutting of 

 limbs or the bruising of the same; makes it easy 

 to separate the bees where two or more swarms 

 come out in the air together; facilitates the 

 hiving and managing of swarms, and gives the 

 apiarist perfect control of the apiary during 

 the swarming season. As to their being more 

 liable to supersedure, an experience of 25 years 

 says there is nothing in the claim put forth by 

 some that such is the case; for during that 

 time I have had very many such queens remain 

 the profitable heads of colonies for three, four, 

 and even five years. My impression is that 

 superseding, as a rule, is caused by failure on 

 the part of the queen as an egg-layer, and not on 

 account of any clipping. I, unfortunately, in 

 clipping a queen purchased of A. I. Root, away 

 back in the latter seventies, clipped off a whole 

 leg and a foot off another, besides the wings; 

 but this seemed to make no difference, as she 

 did her duty well for over four years, and then 

 lost her life by carelessness on my part. 



CHANGING QUEENS AT TIME OF SWARMING. 



Question.— Wishing to Italianize my bees I 

 have thought that it might be done by chang- 

 ing queens ai time of swarming; therefore I 

 would ask if, in hiving either one or two 

 swarms upon the old stand, or in a new location, 

 would it be safe (by removing the queen or 

 queens) to let a strange queen go in with the 

 swarm ? 



Ansiver. — The changing of queens, upon the 

 hiving of any swarm of bees, in any place, is 

 liable to "raise a rumpus;" and especially is 

 this the case where the swarm is hived upon a 

 new stand; for in this case the least disturbance 

 or dissatisfaction will sfnd the swarm whirling 

 back home. The chances of failure are too 

 great for all practical purposes, with a single 

 warm hived in a new location. Where two or 



more swarms cluster together, if the new queen 

 is placed in a large cage made wholly of wire 

 cloth, so that the bees can get near the queen 

 in large numbers, and the cage hung with the 

 clustered swarm for half an hour or so till they 

 call her " mother," then this large swarm can 

 be hived where we please, and the queen 

 allowed to run in with the swarm; and, as a 

 rule, all will go well; but as very few wish to 

 hive two or more swarms together, and as their 

 coming so it is possible to do this is not very 

 frequent, did we so wish, this also is hardly 

 practical. The chances are better where the 

 swarm is hived in a new hive on the old stand, 

 or allowed to return, where you have the old 

 queen so you can control her on account of her 

 having a clipped wing ; but even then they 

 will sometimes become so dissatisfied that they 

 will hunt up the old hive, unless moved some 

 distance from its old stand, and all or nearly 

 all go back to it, or go into hives all about the 

 yard, where in many cases they will be killed. 

 If the above large cage is used, placing the 

 cage over the frames before the swarm returns 

 or is hived, and the queen allowed to remain in 

 this cage for a day or two, the chances of suc- 

 cess are much increased. On the whole I would 

 not advise the changing of queens during the 

 swarming season in any way or by any plan, 

 for I find it to be much more annoying to try 

 to change queens with colonies about to swarm, 

 or with those which have lately swarmed, than 

 with any others, or at any other time of the 

 year; and, besides, a failure more often results. 



COLOR IN BEES THE LEAST. 



Question.— Did you read what the editor of 

 Gleanings said on page 393 about the color of 

 bees ? If you did not. please do so now and 

 then turn to " Bees, Queens, etc.," in their il- 

 lustrated catalog and read how the Roots 

 charge more for queens of a yellow color than 

 they do for queens of darker hues, thus putting 

 a premium on the yellow ones. Are they not 

 putting color to the front in this way as much 

 as any one? How do you reconcile this with E. 

 R. R.'s statement that he would not give color 

 even a favorable position ? If the darker bees 

 are the best, why not charge more for them and 

 thus build up the best bee in the world, while 

 S. E. Miller's owl shouts, " Who-who-who-are 

 you?" 



Answer.— It is probable that the friends Root 

 understand what they are about, hence I shall 

 not try to reconcile the apparent discrepancy 

 which the questioner points out — only saying 

 that, perhaps, friend E. R. R. will enlighten us 

 on this matter. While on this matter of color I 

 wish to say that this very item gives the main 

 "handle" we have in the improvement of any 

 stock. Mr. Miller asks, " Are the prize-winning 

 Jersey cows the prettiest cattle?" To this I 

 answer by asking, "Do the judges awarding the 

 prizes select the prize-winning Durham-cattle 

 color to award the Jersey premiums on ? " All 



