588 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



October, 1918 



57 degrees F., iu the center of the cluster. 

 Unless this cluster is large enough the bees 

 will be compelled to raise the temperature 

 by activity. This activity in midwinter is 

 liable to start breeding too early in the win- 

 ter, with the result that the colony will die 

 with dysentery in December or January. 

 That the cluster be made up of young- 

 bees is very important; and in order to get 

 these young bees the bees should have a 

 good queen, and, in addition, be given stimu- 

 lative feeding in August or September, pro- 

 viding no honey is coming in from the 

 fields. Many localities have a sufficient fall 

 flora so that breeding continues into cool 

 weather. If the locality does not already 

 have a fall flow on which the bees can rely, 

 the whole apiary can often be removed to ad- 

 vantage to a locality 10 or even 20 miles 

 away where there is such. During this year 

 of scarcity of sugar, such a procedure may 

 not only be necessary but patriotic as well. 



It is impossible to get good colonies for 

 winter without a good queen, so that when- 

 ever mention is made of a good colony for 

 winter it implies a good queen and proba- 

 bly a young one. If I could have my way, I 

 would have every queen in the apiary not 

 more than a year old. A queen two years 

 old may not be inclined to lay in August 

 and September. A queen that will not lay 

 during these months under the stimulus of a 

 natural honey flow or feeding should be re- 

 placed at once. 



2. One reason why there was such a 

 heavy mortality last season was because bee- 

 keepers were not able to obtain enough 

 sugar last fall to supply the deficiency of 

 food from natural sources. It is well known 

 that colonies wintering outdoors require 



more stores than those wintering indoors. 

 It would be well to figure on about twice as 

 much. Dr. E. F. Phillips of the Bureau of 

 Entomology recommends over 40 pounds 

 for a two-story colony. A single-story colo- 

 ny should have anywhere from 25 to 30 

 pounds, and more will do no harm. Indeed, 

 it may be a splendid investment. When I 

 say "good stores" I mean sugar syrup or 

 good table honey, such as clover, basswood, 

 alfalfa, or any light honey that sells well in 

 the open market for table purposes. Sugar 

 syrup, if fed early enough, is an almost per- 

 fect food during cold, non-flying periods of 

 the winter; but when bees are beginning to 

 fly, then natural stores are unquestionably 

 better. Honey, besides containing more or 

 less pollen, has other food elements that ap- 

 parently give the colony in the spring a big- 

 ger boost than sugar syrup only. Sugar syrup 

 for indoor wintering, during the dormant 

 period, on account of no possible chance 

 for cleansing flights that outdoor bees get, 

 is probably superior to any honey that the 

 bees may have. It is less conducive to 

 dysentery. I am frank to say that I prefer 

 sugar syrup for cellar wintering; but I 

 would never go to the expense and trouble 

 of taking out good honey stores and replac- 

 ing them with sugar, especially when sugar 

 is so scarce. Moreover, I prefer natural 

 stores after the bees are put out in the 

 spring. 



3. I have placed shelter or windbreaks 

 third in importance, not so much because 

 packing is less important, but because the 

 value of shelter from prevailing winds is 

 generally underestimated. I ran across some 

 beekeepers who leave their apiaries out in 

 the open, exposed to wind from all direc- 



Fig. 2. — An outyard. belonging to the president of the National Beekeepers' Association, David Running of 

 Fjlion, Mich. The windbreaks of young timber on three sides protect these bees; and, as will be seen, it is 

 prosperous. The editor photographed the skyscraper that appeared on the September cover of Gleanings 

 in this yard. This is all 8-frame. It will be observed that there are other skyscrapers, proving that, with 

 good bee managpmcjit and good location, these skyscrapers are not of rave occurrence. (See p. 485.) 



