Junk, 1918 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



1137 



in a new cell i>rotected by a cell-protector 

 and almost ready to hatch. He tried to 

 time this operation for the middle of the 

 flow. 



This drew out a very profitable discussion 

 upon the value of queens. George B. Howe 

 of Black Eiver, N. Y., said that one fruitful 

 cause of swarmiufj was poor queens. If the 

 queen is two or three years old, the colony 

 is almost always bound to swarm. A good 

 queen is valuable; and a good queen can be 

 raised only during a moderate honey flow. 



Charles E. Stewart, one of the efficient in- 

 spectors of New York State, made the state- 

 ment that the best time to requeen is in the 

 fall of the year. A good queen should be 

 reared late enough to introduce by Sept. 15 

 or later. She will then lay very little that 

 season, and be in prime condition to lay 

 abundantly the following spring, thus help- 

 ing to build up the colony. 



Brantford, Ont., Canada. 



[The plan of requeening bv A. T>. Hardy 

 here spoken of is very similar to the one 

 advocated about 17 years ago by N. D. 

 West of Middleburgh, N. Y. His plan was 

 not so much for stopping swarming, if we 

 remember correctly, as it was to get good 

 queens from choice cells. The principal ob- 

 jection to taking swarming cells is the 

 danger of getting queens with the swarming 

 impulse. However, it is generally admitted 

 that the swarming-impulse cells furnish bet- 

 ter queens than those from cells under the 

 supersedure or queenless impulse. The 

 scheme of preventing swarms is a good one 

 and may be used to advantage by a good 

 many beekeepers where swarming in the 

 early part of the season is a source of a 

 good deal of annoyance. — Editor.] 

 * * * 



Some Notes on Controlled Mating of Queen- 

 Bees. 



BY ARTHUE C. MILLER. 



Queens and drones fly normally in a nine- 

 foot cube lined with white cloth. In a room 

 or cage covered with one thickness of white 

 cotton cloth they evidently can see thru, 

 for they attempt to go thru the walls. But 

 with two layers of cloth one inch apart, that 

 trouble disappears, altho they do attemi)t to 

 go higher than nine feet. 



The presence of workers in the cage is a 

 direct interference with the queens and 

 drones. George B. Howe of Black Eiver, N. 

 Y., reported that in two different years and 

 on two occasions he observed drones swoop 

 down upon and seize heavily laden home- 

 ward-bound workers. To the human ear the 

 hum of a heavily laden worker is the same 

 tone as that of a virgin queen. 



Drones probably follow and find the virgin 

 queens by the sound of the hitter's wings. 

 Virgins with slightly clipped wings to pre- 

 vent long flights have never been known 

 to mate. 



Young queens fly high, pretty much out 

 of the sound of the apiary. In place of a 

 permanently built cage, Fred B. Simpson of 



Cuba, N. Y., tried a tube of cheese-cloth 

 hoisted to the toj) of a tall i)ole, but the 

 tube was of too small diameter and was of 

 only one layer of cloth. A cotton-cloth cage 

 is superior to netting, either of cotton or 

 wire; it is also stronger and cheaper, but 

 the walls, as above stated, must be double 

 and separated by a small space. 



Both queens and drones must be well fed 

 and in a warm hive, so they fly readily at the 

 customary hours. Even in the white-cloth 

 room, with four identical small hives, one 

 against each side, the young queens find 

 no trouble in returning each to her own hive. 



SUGGESTIONS AS TO A MATING VAfiK. 



To lessen the expense and avoid trouble 

 from storms, a rectangular double tube of 

 white cotton cloth, hoisted to such height 

 as may be necessary, probably not over 50 

 feet, would be superior to a cage with rigid 

 and permanent framework. (A place be- 

 tween tall buildings would do, if they were 

 not so near together as to restrict the light.) 

 The top frame, to which the cloth walls and 

 ' ' roof ' ' are attached, would have to be fair- 

 ly firm. Other rectangular frames, inserted 

 at intervals to keep walls apart and ' ' tube ' ' 

 in shape, could be made of bamboo jioles. 

 Such a "room" could be hoisted for a few 

 hours on suitable days and lowered at other 

 times. The bottom of such a tube would 

 need to be anchored securely to the ground. 

 Some method should be used to keep workers 

 from entering the tube, and the tube should 

 be out of sound of the apiary. 



Drones and queens must have access t-o 

 nurse bees, probably thru wire cloth, and 

 should also have free access to pollen and 

 honey in the combs. The writer did some 

 experimenting along this line too, but could 

 not complete it. 



It seemed to him preferable to have the 

 queen in a compartment on a comb with 

 emerging bees, said compartment being in 

 the middle of a strong colony. He was also 

 of the opinion that it was best to move 

 such a colony from its stand the midday be- 

 fore the queen was to be allowed to fly, so 

 that all the field bees and most of the young- 

 sters old enough for a play-spell would be 

 out of the way and not be humming outside 

 of the mating cage. 



Probably as good results (perhaps better) 

 might be secured by shutting in the bees 

 of the colony and letting only the queen fly 

 from her compartment and the drones from 

 theirs in another hive. Until we know more 

 about the subject, it seems best to fly 

 queens from a different hive than the drones. 



The writer is of the opinion that rela- 

 tively few drones, say 12 to 20, will be bet- 

 ter for cage work than more. Select vigor- 

 ous mature ones by catching some as they re- 

 turn from flying. 



Providence, E. I. 



[These interesting "notes" were sent by 

 Mr. Miller to Gleanings, not for publication, 

 but at our request he has permitted their 

 jMiblication as "notes "and "notes only." — 

 p]ditor.] 



