274 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



Mav, 1918 



than ever before; for, in many instances 

 this is the month which will determine 

 whether we shall obtain a 50 or a 100 per 

 ceiit crop. 



At the beginning of the honey now our 

 hives sliovihl be overflowing with bees. The 

 amount actually present will depend entirely 

 upon our manipulations begun some six or 

 eight weeks previously. 



Give More Stores Than Needed. 



Thruout the entire month, and until the 

 honey flow, the colonies should be kept sup- 

 plied with plenty of stores. At all times 

 there should be at least from three to six 

 pounds of honey in the hive — more if pos- 

 sible; for during spring breeding great quan- 

 tities of stores are needed, full colonies 

 some times needing three or more pounds 

 each week. It is the stores in excess of their 

 actual needs that stimulate the bees to in- 

 creased brood-rearing. Therefore close 

 watch should be kept in order that the stores 

 may not run low and thus curtail brood- 

 rearing. 



If some colonies are short of honey, it is 

 generally possible to find others in the 

 apiary which can easily spare a few combs, 

 and stores may thus be equalized. Otherwise 

 it will be necessary to feed syrup or candy, 

 which may be placed immediately over the 

 brood-chamber and covered snugl3^ 



Feeding Just Before Honey Flow. 



If it should happen that the bees must be 

 fed syrup or candy a week or so before the 

 honey flow and after the supers are put on, 

 it is preferable to feed candy; for as soon 

 as the flowers begin yielding nectar, the 

 bees will desert the candy. In case of 

 syrup many would continue taking the syrup 

 and neglect the nectar in the fields. On>- 

 need have no fear that the bees will store 

 the candy in the supers; for, as fast as 

 taken, it will be used in brood-rearing. To 

 feed candy when the supers are on, just pre- 

 ceding the honey flow, the feed may be 

 placed on the bottom-board at the back of 

 the hive; or, if desired, it may be put in- 

 side of a two-inch rim inserted between the 

 two stories. Since bees are more liable to 

 rob during the spring, the hives should not 

 be open for any length of time. The en- 

 trances should be left contracted, and the 

 feeding done toward night unless candy is 

 given above the brood-chamber, when no 

 special precautions need be taken. 



Clipping and Re-queening. 



Unless the laying queens have already 

 been clipped, the work should be done dur- 

 ing apple-blossom, while tihe weather is 

 warm and some honey coming in. (See page 

 305.) Good queens usually begin laying to- 

 ward the center of a comb and gradually 

 work outward, leaving the eggs placed regu- 

 larly, one in each cell, and almost no cells 

 skipped. If an undersized queen with short 

 abdomen is found, and the eggs are irregu- 

 larly placed, such a queen is defective and 

 should be replaced by a queen-cell from an- 

 other colony or by a queen purchased from 



a breeder. In case a queen is sent for, the 

 defective queen should not be removed until 

 the arrival of the new one. Eather than 

 await the arrival of another queen, some 

 would prefer to kill the undesirable queen 

 and in a couple of days unite with an under 

 sized colony. This may be done toward 

 night by placing the queenless colony with 

 some brood over the queen-excluder and the 

 queen-right colony to be united, or they 

 may be united by the newspaper plan, or by 

 contracting each colony to five combs and 

 then placing in one hive by alternating the 

 combs with adhering bees. When uniting 

 colonies that are far apart, they should be 

 gradually moved a few feet each day until 

 they stand side by side, facing in the same 

 direction. 



Expanding and Removing Packing. 



Those brood-nests that were contracted 

 last fall should be expanded as soon as the 

 colonies become strong enough to cover more 

 frames. As these combs are added, they 

 should be placed at the sides in order not 

 to divide the brood-nest. When expanding, it 

 will be necessary to remove some of the side 

 packing which fills the space made by re- 

 n.oval of the combs last fall — all such pack- 

 ing niav be removed if double-walled hives 

 are used. It does not pay to be in too big a 

 hurry about removing the top packing. In 

 the northern states, probably the middle of 

 May will be soon enough, and some seasons 

 it may be well to leave it on until the first 

 of June. Weak colonies that are in danger 

 of being robbed or of having their brood 

 chilled should have contracted entrances; 

 but strong colonies may be given a full en- 

 trance a few weeks before the honey flow. 



Equalizing Brood — When and How. 



The inexperienced should be cautious not 

 to equalize the brood too early in the season 

 nor to give a colony more brood than it can 

 care for. Every good comb of brood that 

 becomes chilled means the loss of about 

 a pound of bees that would have been at 

 their best during the honey flow. However, 

 as soon as the colonies have from five to 

 eight frames of brood, it will be safe to take 

 a comb or two of sealed (and preferably 

 hatching) brood from the strongest and 

 give two broods to each of the medium colo- 

 nies, and one brood to those a little weaker. 

 No colony should be given more brood than 

 it can certainly keep warm. After the 

 brood has hatched, the process may be re- 

 peated if necessary. This "equalizing of 

 brood" should not be confused with 

 ' ' spreading of brood, ' ' by which plan empty 

 combs are inserted in the middle of the 

 brood-nest. In regard to the latter plan we 

 have already given a word of warning. 



In order to equalize the brood without 

 danger of chilling it, it should be borne in 

 mind tliat the cluster has somewhat the 

 form of an irregular bali, often egg-shaped; 

 and since the cluster is arranged so as to 

 cover the entire brood, the brood itself has 

 n.ore or less the same form. Therefore 



