January, 1918 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CUI-TUKE 



HEADS OF GRAIN I iC?| 



"1. "'-^ 'i^ii'", ; 



-fliwind doth blow, Mm shall have snow. 



:^ndwhd't Mlhhe workers do then, poor things'' 

 They'll cluster on comb, J^nd stay close at home 



keeping war in bi/ bedtiny their v^ings 

 Poor things' 



ua^os: 



The Newspaper 

 Plan of Uniting 

 Colonies 



I note an editorial in 

 November Gleanings 

 regarding the news- 

 paper plan of uniting 

 colonies, and I hope I may be pardoned for 

 saying that T disagree in a number of partic- 

 ulars. I have practiced this mode of uniting 

 for the last six or seven years, doubling up 

 from fifty to 100 colonies each year. During 

 this time, in only a very few cases have 

 queens been killed by the bees, and in every 

 such case it was at a time when the weather 

 was cold and rainy and the bees were cross 

 hybrids. 



I agree that if the weather is hot and the 

 top colony is strong it is advisable to make 

 a small hole thru the paper to prevent smoth- 

 ering, so also if the coloniesi are weak and 

 the weather cold, as it will then take them 

 too long to gnaw thru. Under ordinary con- 

 ditions, however, I do not find it necessary 

 or even desirable to make such an oper.ing. 



It is not necessary to kill either queen if 

 there is no choice between them and if no ex- 

 cluder is used. The queens will fight it out 

 after the paper is eaten thru. If one queen 

 is of better stock, or otherwise preferable, do 

 it this way: Place a sheet of newspaper 

 and a queen-excluder over the better colony 

 with the paper under the excluder. Eemove 



DIFFERENT FIELDS 



the queen from No. 2 and set it on top of 

 No. 1. (Beginners will take notice that the 

 cover of No. 1 and the bottom-board of No. 

 2 are also removed.) If the weather is warm 

 and nectar coming in, queen-cells will be 

 very apt to be started in the upper hive, and 

 the bees may swarm if not attended to; so 

 it is advisable to remove cells within ten 

 days. But if the nights are cool, swarming 

 is not likely to take place, even if cells a;re 

 started. 



Don 't cage the queen. I see no reason 

 whatever for caging the queen unless, per- 

 haps, to protect her from the bees, and ex- 

 perience shows that not once in a hundred 

 times will they molest the queen if the work 

 is properly done. We know that bees usual- 

 ly become more belligerent when the weather 

 becomes cool in early fall, and more care 

 must be exercised especially if they are hy- 

 brids; but even then the percentage of loss 

 will not warrant caging. 



By doubling colonies in this manner in 

 A.ugust the workers of use in storing the fall 

 crop die off before winter. In this way the 

 expense of wintering a large number of 

 colonies is avoided, and in spring the apiary 

 can again be built up to normal. As the 

 young bees emerge, the cells are filled with 

 honey. A goodly number of these supers of 

 honey should be reserved for fall and spring 

 feeding. After supers are taken off, some 

 colonies may lack stores and the full combs 

 can then be inserted in place of empty ones. 

 A still easier way is to leave a partly filled 

 super of honey on top of each light-weight 

 colony; and if the weather is not too cold 

 for them to work, the bees will soon carry 

 down the honey that is not capped. 



If queens are reared from our best stock 

 during summer, and the nuclei built up to 

 full strength by August, we can eliminate 

 much of our undesirable stock by destroying 

 the old queens and placing the hives upon 

 the new colony as explained above. In this 

 way, also, the young colony is made st'-ong 

 for winter. Eugene S. Miller. 



Valparaiso, Ind., Nov. 1. 



Syrup not Supposed 1. In regard to tlr^ 

 to Knn Out by itself Boardman feeder, the 

 from Boardman cap, as you know, is 



Feeder perforated with but 



three small holes. 

 Now, I find the syrup and water does not 

 come out as it should. Is it meant thai the 

 bees should put their tongues up into the 

 holes, or should the syrup run out slowly? 

 If the former is true, then only three bees 

 can feed at once. If the latter is true, 

 why doesn't it work as it should? I have 

 enlarged the holes, but to no avail. The 

 bees cannot get at it. 



2. You sav that the division-board feeder 



