18 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



January, 1918 



yet I do not try to justify their use — what 

 is the use when nobody would treat your 

 excuse decently, even if you made one? In 

 justice, tho, I would say that at least 500 

 of my hives are practically as good as new, 

 and the other 200 yield just as much surplus 

 per colony as their better-housed neighbors. 



Having said all this by way of introduc- 

 tion, I now come to the main point in the 

 article — in fact, the only point that is not at 

 all clear to me. With perfect hives, a uni- 

 form equipment, and an excellent manager, 

 why did Mr. Bartlett have trouble with 

 robbing during fall feeding when using the 

 Miller feeder? Dozens of beginners and 

 others have written me on the subject of 

 feeding for winter stores, and I do not be- 

 lieve that I ever cautioned a single one as 

 to any particular danger that might arise 

 from robbing. 



For fifteen years at least, we have each 

 fall had to do some fall feeding. Some 

 years thousands of pounds of sugar have 

 been fed. With a mixed equipment in way 

 of hives — good, bad, and indifferent in so 

 far as the state of repair is concerned, and 

 using Miller feeders with square boxes 

 about four inches high holding about twen- 

 ty pounds each — -never once did we have a 

 case of robbing if we except a single case 

 of "peaceable" robbing in the home apiary 

 two years ago. Our Miller feeders hold 

 about twenty-five pounds each; and since 

 we do not have enough feeders at each yard 

 to feed the whole apiary, we generally feed 

 two or more yards at the same time, alter- 

 nating visits every other day. While we 

 prefer to do the feeding in the evening, yet 

 if that time is not convenient we would 

 not hesitate to feed at any time in the day. 



NO ROBBING EVEN WHEN THERE'S 

 A LEAK. 

 A few years ago a friend of mine who 

 farmed and also kept quite a nice little 

 apiary, decided to take a trip to Europe. 

 As he would be away till November, he 

 asked me to feed his bees for winter. A 

 fall flow was lacking that season, and much 

 feeding was necessary. Altho busy, I prom- 

 ised to help him out; and before he left he 

 provided all the sugar needed, telling me not 

 'to spare it. During a hot spell in September 

 I fed all those bees with Miller feeders, do- 

 ing the work in the early afternoon, and 

 then going to one of my own yards to 

 feed before coming home. Never was there 

 the slightest trouble from robbing under 

 those conditions, and every colony came 

 out in rousing condition next spring; for, 

 needless to say, I made them heavy enough. 

 In feeding, more than once I have had 

 feeders leak at first and even run out a 

 little at the entrance. But even then no 

 robbing was ever done — at least I never 

 found a single colony injured in any way. 

 On rare occasions I have had bees get in at 

 the top of the feeder, but this also never 

 resulted in robbing. Truly I am at a loss 

 to explain the difference in this matter, and 



would welcome any help in that line. Friend 

 Iloltermann once told me that, with packed 

 hives, robbing was less in evidence, as bees 

 are more loath to go thru the passage to the 

 inside of the hive, since the guards have a 

 better chance to keep out intruders. Our ex- 

 perience has been mostly with packed hives 

 until the last few years, during which time 

 we have used the inverted friction-top pail 

 with punctured lid — a feeder that is even 

 better in our estimation than the Miller, 

 which was previously our favorite. As Mr. 

 Bartlett feeds very early in the season, while 

 we cannot feed till September, owing to the 

 fact that the supers are not off till then, I 

 at first thought that the difference in time 

 of feeding might explain his trouble. But 

 this is not sufficient cause; for some years 

 ago, when we thought that there was some- 

 thing to be made in the plan of feeding back 

 extracted honey to fill out sections, we di- 

 luted honey and used it freely in Miller 

 feeders, yet no robbing was ever noticed. 



With all the bees we have handled, with 

 various kinds of hives, many colonies being 

 bought and transferred into other hives, 

 only once have we lost a colony by robbing, 

 and that was at the Cashel apiary last Sep- 

 tember. One very warm day in September, 

 we happened to be in the apiary and found 

 in the honey-house half a dozen or so supers 

 taken off after clover flow, which were wet 

 from the extractor and showed signs of 

 moths. Three colonies were each given two 

 of these wet supers, and we left the yard a 

 few minutes later, all being quiet. Two 

 days after, calling at the yard again we 

 found that one hive that had been given 

 two of these supers was completely cleaned 

 out. In fact, the brood-combs were torn to 

 pieces and piles of the riddled combs were 

 all around the entrance of the hive. The 

 two other colonies had not been touched. 

 1 can not explain the matter more than to 

 say that this hive was in the extreme corner 

 of the apiary; and because of its being the 

 corner hive attention was given to it by 

 the bees. This was the reason ascribed by 

 E. R. Root when I showed him the hive 

 and told its history. Strange to say, altho 

 the combs were riddled, the queen with 

 about half the bees was still alive when 

 I found them. A comb with honey was 

 given; and, later, four more combs, and then 

 they were fed for the winter. In the spring 

 they were alive but weak. 



This article has not been written to criti- 

 cise Mr. Bartlett in any way, but simply to 

 get some ideas as to why we should have 

 such a difference in results. Are we i:;in;^ 

 to ascribe it to locality, strains of bees, or 

 what? Locality can not have a bearing on 

 the case; and as to bees, I believe we have 

 handled about all kinds — at least all ])ro- 

 duced on this continent. If there is general 

 danger from robbing when feeding, then 

 all who ask me for advice, I would certainly 

 counsel to be very careful in this matter. 



Markham, Ont., Can. 



