NOVEMBKK, 1918 



GLEANINGS IN BEE (j U J. T U li E 



certain to become clogged with dead bees. 

 The bees of the diseased hive then, in their 

 efforts to escape from their imprisonment, 

 raise the temperature of the hive to sucli an 

 extent that oftentimes the combs melt and 

 honey runs down the sides of the hive. This 

 is soon found by robbers and thus the dis- 

 ease spreads. Even if the escape does not 

 become clogged, the employment of this 

 method makes it impossible for the bee- 

 keeper to examine the lower colony at any 

 time while the diseased colony is above, and 

 the diseased colony would have to stay in 

 place for at least three weeks in order to al- 

 low all of the brood to hatch. The reason 

 that the upper story could not be removed 

 to examine the lower is that at the least 

 jar the bees from the diseased hive above 

 would load up with diseased honey, pass 

 down thru the bee-escape, and store this 

 honey in the cells of the new hive, thus 

 spreading the disease below. On page 293 

 of the May issue of Gleanings in Bee Cul- 

 ture you will find given a much better plan 

 for treating American foul brood. We know 

 of this plan being tried in an apiary of 23 

 colonies affected with American foul brood 

 and not one cell of the disease ever showed 

 afterwards. If skunks or stock are allowed 

 access to the apiary, some provision should 

 be made by which it will be impossible for 

 the diseased hives to be jarred in the slight- 

 est. If this precaution is observed, we be- 

 lieve you will have decided success with this 

 plan. 



Question. — Can yon give nip any facts concerning 

 the annual honey production in the United States? 



Maine. H. M. Daniels. 



Answer. — Government reports place the 

 United States annual honey production at 

 250,000,000 pounds, stating that this is 

 ' 3 per cent of the amount of sugar consumed 

 in normal times, and is probably less than 3 

 per cent of the nectar available. 



Question. — Will you please tell me what to do 

 with European foul brood colonies at this time of 

 the year? I have just found two colonies having 

 this disease. Selah M. Shuey. 



Ohio. 



Answer. — If the colonies are badly dis- 

 eased it would hardly pay to attempt saving 

 them. Moreover, if you have a number of 

 colonies that have not yet contracted the 

 disease, ihe safest plan would be to sulphur 

 the foul-brood colonies and render the 

 combs before giving the disease a chance to 

 spread to other hives. Otherwise we would 

 advise delaying treatment until next spring, 

 uniting the weak colonies and contracting 

 the brood-chamber of the strong ones to 

 seven or eight combs. 



Question.- — When I opened my hive one day, I 

 was interrupted at my work, and therefore laid 

 aside the brood combs. Two or three hours later 

 I returned and found some of the larva; protruding 

 from the cells, and some of them came entirely out 

 of the cells. What caused the trouble, and will all 

 the brood be damag>d? Lulu Henderson. 



Ohio. 



Answer. — When handling a colony of 

 bees, the hive should never be left open or 



the combs exposed for several hours. In 

 fact, the hive should be closed again as soon 

 as the work can possibly be finished. To 

 leave it open in that way not only invites 

 robbers but also kills the young larvaj and 

 oftentimes the brood. The larvae that you 

 saw protruding from the cells were starved 

 larvae. They need to be fed quite often 

 when in this stage, and, having exposed 

 them in the way you did, the nurse bees 

 were not able to feed them as they should 

 have. In all probability the capped brood 

 was also destroyed, as it would be quite cer- 

 tain to be chilled by that time. 



Question. — I have five hives, each having two 

 comb-honey supers for 4Vi x lYs sections. Now I 

 have decided to produce extracted honey instead of 

 comb honey and can exchange my comb-honey su- 

 pers for full-depth extracting supers with good 

 combs. A neighbor suggests that I exchange my 

 comb-honey supers for half-depth supers. If I do 

 this, I shall be compelled to use full .sheets of foun- 

 dation, as I cannot secure combs for half-depth su- 

 pers. Please give me your judgment. 



Michigan. C. E. Laremen. 



Answer. — If you prefer the shallow 

 frames, why not transfer the combs from 

 the full-depth frames into the shallow ones? 

 If cut horizontally along the middle line, 

 the deep comb will just about fill two shal- 

 low frames. There will be about a half -inch 

 space along the top bars, but, if the comb is 

 tied in securely, the bees will soon attach 

 these combs to the top bars. Of course, this 

 space will be filled in with drone comb, but 

 this will do no harm, since the shallow 

 combs will be used only for storage of hon- 

 ey- 

 Question. — I am bothered considerably with 

 spiders about the hives. Is there any special way 

 to keep them out ? R. T. Spencer. 



Ohio. 



Answer. — The spiders will probably do 

 but little harm. It is possible that some 

 bees might become entangled in the spider 

 webs and it would therefore be well to de- 

 stroy the webs and perhajis kill the spiders 

 that are stationed near the entrances of 

 hives. Spiders, however, are often consider- 

 ed the beekeepers' friends, and are even 

 placed inside of some honey-houses in order 

 that they may keep the combs from becom- 

 ing mothy. 



ANSWKR BV .MKL PRITCHAKD. 



Question. — I have been using two-frame nuclei for 

 queen-rearing, and after removing laying queen have 

 tried putting in ripe cells (in protectors) ; and have 

 had poor success in having them accept the virgins. 

 altho.I have put them in at different periods after re- 

 moval ; but they seem to want to rear their own cells 

 from larvTO they have. If you can give me a success- 

 ful plan, I will appreciate it. Alfred Smith. 



Ontario. 



Answer. — Two-frame )iuclei, "especially 

 where they are strong," are difiicult to in- 

 troduce cells to. We have the best success 

 by giving them cells (in protectors) that are 

 not due to hatch for four or five days. These 

 are put in the same day that the laying 

 queen is taken out. 



