494 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



c 



TALKS TO 



By tlie 



J_ is not a par- 

 t i c u 1 a r 1 y 

 busy one for the 

 small beekeeper, 

 a n d therefore 

 about the only 

 subjects that 

 need claim our 

 attention are re- 

 queening and robbing. 



Vacation Time. 



The work of extracting will probably be 

 over by the first of August, and the first half 

 of this month would therefore be a good 

 time for a short vacation, which may be 

 taken with a clear conscience as far as the 

 bees are concerned, that is, providing in- 

 structions have been followed and all colo- 

 nies kept strong. 



Selling. 



The subject of selling the honey hardly 

 needs discussion since, under present condi- 

 tions, honey sells itself. We only caution 

 that a close watch be kej^t of the honey mar- 

 ket and that sales be made in accordance. 

 We are not urging excessive prices, but 

 those somewhere near commensurate with 

 the prices of dry goods and groceries for 

 which the returns will be spent. The man 

 who sells to a profiteer that doubles his 

 money is more foolish than patriotic. 

 First Step in Wintering. 



Some time during the latter part of Aug- 

 ust should be taken the first and most im- 

 portant step in preparation for wintering, 

 the raising of young bees to withstand the 

 excessive cold of winter. Unless the cjueens 

 are young, we would strongly advise re- 

 queening (see page 462). Young queens in- 

 troduced at this time will lay many more eggs 

 than the older queens, and in a few weeks ' 

 time there will be considerable brood. Since 

 the eggs will develop into field bees in five 

 weeks' time, there will be, by October, 

 many new field bees that will have a chance 

 for a number of good flights before the ad- 

 vent of winter. The value of these fall 

 flights can hardly be overestimated, for 

 without them the bees are not sufficiently 

 hardy. We have seen many such bees, ap- 

 parently normal, yet doubtless lacking in 

 vigor, Ije^iig pulled out at the entrances in 

 the late fall. This taught us the value of 

 raising our bees a little earlier, beginning 

 in August rather than September. 

 Robbing. 



After the main honey flow, and especially 

 if a heavy flow stops suddenly, the bees 

 may often be seen scouring the whole vicin- 

 ity in search of any possible exposed sweets. 

 If the doori of the honey-house has been left 

 ajar, or if honey has accidentally been 

 spilled on the ground, the bees are not long 

 in discovering the fact. 



Quiet Robbing. 



Or. if a colony is weak, and perhaps queen- 

 less, and therefore more defenseless, black 

 shiny robber bees, which are in many cases 

 devoid of ' ' feathers, ' ' may be seen enter- 



BEGINNERS 



Editor 



1 



.^^^^^^^^^ 



TU 



August, 1918 



ing the hive and 

 soon departing 

 with their loads 

 of honey. This 

 quiet robbing 

 usually develops 

 in a short time 

 into a regular 

 uproar, such that 

 the robbers at- 

 tempt to gain entrance to about every hive 

 in the apiary. 



Bees at Play. 

 Along thru the middle of a warm day or 

 early afternoon, many young bees may be 

 seen at play flying all about the entrance, 

 and making such a commotion that at first 

 glance one might think robbing had start- 

 ed, but a closer observation will show no old 

 robbers, no fighting, sneaking, nor challeng- 

 ing of entering bees. This unusual activity 

 is simply the young bees taking their first 

 flight, circling about in front of the en- 

 trance and carefully marking their location. 

 How Robbers Enter Hives. 

 When robbers are present they may be 

 seen hovering about an entrance watching 

 the sentinels that are stationed there to 

 prevent intruders from entering. Suddenly 

 a robber will dart and dash past the guards, 

 attempting to enter; but its guilty behavior 

 is so marked that some alert sentinel gen- 

 erally pounces upon it and challenges its en- 

 trance. While the sentinel holds tightly to 

 the robber, other beesi come to the rescue, 

 and the robber is soon driven clear out of 

 the hive, and perhaps stung to death. 



Exjjerienced robbers sometimes become 

 very skillful in entering other hives, and 

 seemingly assume an nonchalant air, enter- 

 ing as if they rightly belonged there. Such 

 behavior usually gets them past the guards 

 all right; but even after they are in the 

 hive, loading up with honey, there is still a 

 chance that they may be captured and stung 

 by the bees. 



Detecting Robbers. 

 Besides the high humming note of rob- 

 bing bees, and the unusual commotion in 

 front of the hive with occasional shiny bees 

 having their entrance challenged, and per- 

 haps two or three bees whirling about in 

 their struggles here and there on the en- 

 trance-board, one may also detect the pres- 

 ence of robbers by crushing one of the bees 

 found running up the front of the hive be- 

 fore taking its flight, and noting whether 

 or not it is loaded with honey; for unless 

 the bees were robbers or swarming bees, 

 they would have no load when leaving. 

 A Bad Case of Robbing, 

 If the robbing is allowed to continue 

 soon a loud, high humming is heard, and the 

 air becomes filled with thousands of bees 

 darting with great rapidity in straight lines 

 to and from the source of honey. Other 

 bees now hear the uproar, and speedily join 

 in the mad scramble for wealth until en- 

 trances, hive-covers, and about everything 

 m sight is covered with angry, fighting bees 



