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GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



November, 1918 



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GLEANED 



QUESTIONS. 

 — (1) What 

 do you think 

 of the plan of 

 having two queetns 

 in one hive, in or- 

 der to have a large 

 force for a future 

 honey flovc ? I 

 tried this with two 

 new swarms. The 



two colonies were separated by a queen-e.xcluder, 

 and each colony was supplied with its own 

 queen. The lower colony contained full combs 

 and some stores. One of the colonies raised 14 

 and the other 15 frames of brood, and then I took 

 one quGien away from each colony and raised all the 

 sealed brood above, while the queen and the unseal- 

 ed brood were placed below. These swarms were 

 monsters. (2) Some beekeepers contend that sugar 

 syrup fed exclusively to bees when there is no honey 

 in the hive will often cause the queen to be killed. 

 Last winter I kneiw of quite a number who fed 

 sugar from July until Apr. 1, and there was ob- 

 solutely no honey coming in, yet none of the queens 

 were lost. I want to know what youv experience 

 has been along this line. W. T. Rabb. 



Texas. 



Answer. — This plan has been tried on a 

 few colonies in one of our apiaries, and we 

 may say if one does not object to the extra 

 lifting, the plan is a good one, for these large 

 colonies certainly do roll in the honey. (2) 

 In answer to your other question we may 

 say that we have" often fed sugar and yet 

 have never found that it resulted in the 

 loss of queens. 



Questions.- — (1) A beekeeper here, who has had 

 50 years' experience with bees, never robs his bees 

 (he calls it robs) until thei last quarter of the moon 

 in March. He says if he doesn't take the honey 

 from them then, they will destroy it to make room 

 for new honey. I say they will not. What do 

 you think about it? (2) Is it advisable to change 

 the brood combs every two or three, years to keep the 

 workers the normal size ? In other words, do the 

 brood combs wear away and have to be replaced ? 



Oklahoma. J. W. Young. 



Answers. — (1) You are entirely right. 

 Bees do not remove the honey from the hive 

 in order to make place for new honey. Any 

 extra honey that they may have, which 

 they do not use up in brood-rearing, is saved 

 over for winter stores, unless removed by 

 the beekeeper. (2) Brood combs do not wear 

 out, but may be used for a life time. In- 

 stead of wearing out, the cells continually 

 become thicker, as new cocoon walls are 

 continually added, so that it is occasionally 

 necessary for the bees to remove some of 

 these inner walls in order to make room for 

 the young larva?. It is possible that a frame 

 may wear out in time or become broken, but 

 the comb itself is kept in repair by the bees, 

 any broken comb being quickly repaired 

 during a honey flow. Sometimes drone comb 

 needs to be cut out and replaced with work- 

 er combs, but aside from this the .same 

 combs may be used indefinitely. 



Questions. — (1) When a laying queen is taken 

 from a hive, how long may she be kept in an in- 

 troducing cage until one i.s ready to introduce her 

 to another colony? (2) If a colony becomes ((ueen- 

 less about the 15th day of September after tho hon- 



BY ASKING 



lona Fowls 



1 



^^^^^^^^ 



ey flow, and the 

 weather becomes 

 quite cold all of a 

 sudden, could they 

 rear' themselves a 

 new queen provid- 

 ing there were eggs 

 in the cells? (3) 

 When one wishes 

 to increase by tak- 

 ing say four frames 

 of sealed brood, the queen may be given to such with- 

 out introducing, but will the queen stay, when there 

 are no bees on the frames with her ? And would 

 it be a good plan to screen the entrance until some 

 of the brood hatches, so she cannot get away ? 

 Wisconsin. M. E. Larson. 



Answer. — (1) In the ordinary mailing 

 cage, if the queen is given an escort of bees, 

 she may be kept in this way for a week or 

 so. In export cages, queens sometimes live 

 over a month; and, if put in cages without 

 attendants, and placed over the top of the 

 frames of a super, the queens may remain 

 in the cages alive for two or three months. 

 (2) If a colony becomes queenless the mid- 

 dle of September and the weather is very 

 cold, the colony may be able to raise a new 

 queen if provided with eggs or young larvae. 

 However, there would be a question as to 

 whether such a queen would be mated or 

 not, for in October there may be very few , 

 or no drones in the apiary. (3) The entrance 

 should be screened until some of the brood 

 have had time to hatch, so that the queen 

 will be certain to remain. This plan can be 

 practiced only in warm weather, and unless 

 the weather is very warm the hive should 

 be placed in a warm room or over a strong 

 colony with a wire screen between, in order 

 that this brood may have the heat of the 

 lower colony. Since no bees are given with 

 the queen, the hive must be kept very warm, 

 somewhere near 90 degrees Falir., if possi- 

 ble. 



Questions. — (1) Under the Somerford plan of 

 making nuclei how can the bees get eggs to raise 

 queen-cells when the queen is removed or caged. 

 Any eggs the bees would lay would produce drones, 

 wouldn't they? (2) Some beekeepers of Marion, 

 la., have a swarm-control plan for sale. They want 

 ten dollars for it. This might be the same as that 

 given in Gleanings (.Tune, 1918). Please let me 

 know what you think of it. W. F. Schimmel. 



Missouri. 



Answers. — (1) At the time the queen is 

 removed the colony still has in the hive eggs 

 laid b.y the queen and therefore suitable for 

 raising a new queen. (2) Those who know 

 the most about honey production are not of- 

 fering for sale any swarm-control plan. 

 What they know they are willing and glad 

 to give for the asking. Better hang onto 

 the $10.00. 



Question. — For treating American foul brood, is 

 this plan O. K., to raise the hive of diseased bees 

 placing under it a bee-escape board, a new hive with 

 full sheets of foundation, and then a bottom-board 

 below that ? R. G. McAllister. 



Oregon. 



Answer. — We do not like the plan of con- 

 fining the bees above a bee-escape when 

 treating for foul brood. The escape is about 



