5(!6 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



June, 1918 



lar-sized sections of honey into the desired 

 size and then allowing the honey from the 

 cut cells to drain from the comb. (2) It is 

 impossible to keep flavors entirely separate 

 from each other. The best than can be 

 done is to use shallow supers' and carefully 

 watch the different flows, removing supers, 

 when necessary to avoid mixing flavors. We 

 do not recall the particular theory to which 

 you refer. (3) Of course, the increased 

 weight recorded is not an exact index of the 

 amount of new honey acquired. There is 

 some increase in the weight of brood and 

 pollen; but there is also some loss of weight 

 from the dying of old bees and also from the 

 honey used by the bees. It should be re- 

 membered that a great deal of honey is used 

 in brood-rearing — much more than the in- 

 creased weight of the brood. Therefore it 

 is quite impossible to keep a scientifically 

 accurate record of the exact amount of sur- 

 plus gathered each day. 



Question. — Please suggest method of fastening 

 foundation in shallow extracting-fraines. 



Tennessee. Haskell D. Ferguson. 



Answer. — In order to fasten foundation 

 into shallow extracting-frames, the frames 

 should be held with the top-bar downward 

 and the sheet of foundation inseited in the 

 groove, holding the frame tilted with the 

 bottom-bar furthest from the operator. A 

 tine stream of hot wax and rosin, or else par- 

 aflin, should be fed between the foundation 

 edge and the wood top-bar, cementing them 

 firmly together. For doing this a Van Deu- 

 sen wax-tube fastener should be used, or, if 

 this is not available, a spoon with bowl 

 bent into a narrow trough may be used. 



ANSWERS BY C. C. MILLER. 



Question. — Please tell me the difference, if any, 

 between the queen bees, advertised as leather-color- 

 ed Italians, and other Italians. L. S. Harner. 



Colorado. 



Answer. — There is a discernible difference 

 in the color found in the rings of Italian 

 woikiM's of diff'erent strains. In some the 

 color is quite a bright yellow, while in cer- 

 tain regions they are found with a yellow 

 much like the color of fair leather, and 

 these are the ones that are called "leather- 

 colored," and are preferred by a- good many 

 to those of brighter color. 



Questi )n. — When from two to fi">e swarms come 

 out and clus'.ei' together, 1 ij-'t in the combined 

 cluster fi'o.n two to five hive l)odies containing 

 frames of comb or foundation, and the bees sepa- 

 rate theni' elves intoi their original clusters, so that 

 before dark, the.y can be p'aced on different stands. 

 For several j ears I have always been very success- 

 ful with this method, but having never seen the plan 

 mentioned, I world likci to know what you think 

 of it. Edward L'Esperance. 



Answer. This is o]<l. I remember, years 

 ago, seeing instructions given to put, I 

 think it was into a big box, several twigs, or 

 branches, and then dump in the cluster of 

 united swarms so that each queen might set- 

 tle separately with her own bees. I don 't 

 remember seeing reports of failure with the 

 plan, but failures are not usually reported. 

 Having never tried anything of the kind I 

 ilou 't know what might be. I do know that 



two small colonies may be at the same time 

 in two sides of the same hive, but I don't 

 know how long they may remain so. So 

 there is nothing impossible about two or 

 more queens in a cluster separating into two 

 or more hives, each queen attracting its own 

 adherents. Yet altho the thing is possible, 

 if it has happened regularly with Mr. L 'Es- 

 perance I should count him exceedingly for- 

 tunate, atid if I should find three queens 

 alive after 24 hours in one case out of ten 

 it would be as much as I would expect with 

 my bees. But as already stated, I" don 't 

 know. 



Questions. — (1) Is the fact that the o'.d clipped 

 queen remains in the hive conclusive proof that 

 the bees have not swarmed. (2)T havei one hive 

 where the queen is a poor layer. She has twice this 

 spring laid in queen-cells. Thinking she was mere- 

 ly superseding herself, I let the cells remain. I 

 saw the new queea after hatching and killed the 

 rest of the cells. After remaining in the hive about 

 a week with the old queen, the young qiieen dis- 

 appeared. The old queen is now on her third batch 

 of cells about four days old. What is the trouble? 



Virginia. J. Smith. 



Answers. — (1) There are exceptions to 

 the rule that when the old queen is found 

 present the bees have not swarmed. If a 

 queen has her wings clipped, the colony 

 will swarm just the same as if her wings 

 were whole; as a rule, the swarm will re- 

 turn, and the queen will crawl back into 

 the hive. In that case, finding the queen 

 in the hive the next morning would be no 

 proof that the colony had not swarmed. The 

 same thing would be true if by any means 

 the queen should be unable to fly. But by 

 looking in the hive you would judge some- 

 thing of conditions by the presence of queen- 

 cells. If you find no queen-cells present, if 

 brood in all stages shows that there has been 

 no interval of cessation in egg-laying, then 

 it 's a safe guess that there has been no 

 swarming. There have been reports of cases 

 in which the colony swarmed and returned, 

 the queen being unable to fly, and then after 

 the first virgin emerged a swarm went with 

 this virgin, leaving the old queen in the 

 hive. So it is just possible that by your 

 question you mean to ask whether the pres- 

 ence of the old queen is conclusive proof 

 that a swarm has not issued with a young 

 queen. I wish I could be sure of the answer 

 to that question. I have just a little doubt 

 til at such a 'case ever occurred. At any rate 

 such cases are so rare as to be hardly worth 

 considering. (2) Likely you were right in 

 your supposition that superseding was in- 

 tended: indeed the proof to that effect is 

 quite c'ear, f()v if swarming had been intend- 

 ed the swarm would have gone with the obi 

 queen or else with the young one when only 

 a day or two old, whereas you say she re- 

 mained about a week. The likelihood is that 

 the virgin was lost on her wedding trip, and 

 that a virgin from the next batch will be 

 more successful. Yet sometimes, when su- 

 perseding is intended, if the harvest is 

 stimulating, the bees change their minds and 

 (leciae to swarm. 



