160 



May, 1916. 



American Hee Journal 



secure regularity. The frames contain 

 four moons and are 10x40 centimeters 

 inside (4x16 inches). The first difficulty 

 encountered was getting the bees to 

 work in such small and numerous 

 rings. This difficulty is eliminated by 

 getting the bees to work out the foun- 

 dation in large frames first, then cut- 

 ing it of proper size with a circular 

 cutter, making round pieces which ex- 

 actly fit the inside of the ring. We 

 then use a hot wire to make the comb 

 stick to the glass ring in a few spots. 

 In this way the good looks of the 

 comb, seen through the glass, are not 

 injured. 



I have a few other inventions of 

 which I will send descriptions, a 

 smoker, a feeder and a patented box 

 for transporting bees. Accept my 

 thanks for sending me the Bee Journal 

 which I receive regularly. 



Tavole, Italy. 



[An adequate idea of the mountain- 

 ous aspect of the country described in 

 the above letter may be obtained from 

 the fact that, from Genoa to Arquata, 

 on the way to Novi, there are 24 tun- 

 nels in a distance of 25 miles. From 

 Genoa to Pisa, about 100 miles east- 

 ward, there are some 80 tunnels. The 

 same thing applies all through western 

 Liguria. This explains why there is a 

 variation in the bees at such short 

 range. The ruggedness and barren- 

 ness of the mountain tops, offer a bar- 

 rier to the bees. — Editor.] 



Introduction of Queens 



H. SPUHLER. 



THE artificial and rational rearing of 

 queens is indispensable to the suc- 

 cess of the modern beekeeper, who 

 with the new methods obtains as good 

 and as prolific queens as are produced 

 by natural swarming. Unluckily there 

 are many instances of the loss of val- 

 uable queens in introducing, in spite of 

 the many safe methods recommended, 

 which happen to fail in the most im- 

 portant cases, usually because an insig- 

 nificant circumstance has eluded the 

 notice of the beekeeper. 



In every case the temper of the bees 

 plays a very important role ; if they are 

 in good humor everything goes well, 

 whether we examine the hive from end 

 to end or remove only one comb. 



Italian Luna di Miele— Honey-Moon 



whether we take away honey or intro- 

 duce a new queen. But their disposi- 

 tion changes, highly influenced by out- 

 side conditions, the season or the 

 weather on one side, their normal or 

 abnormal state on another side. 



In the spring the bees are in better 

 temper than in fall. When there is 

 honey in the fields they are more trac- 

 table than in time of scarcity. In a 

 normal condition, having a laying pro- 

 lific queen, healthy brood and rich 

 stores, they are more peaceable than in 

 times of scarcity, of robbing, or while 

 queenless or having a virgin queen. 



Even when the queen has been ac- 

 cepted, the beekeeper cannot always be 

 sure that the operation has been suc- 

 cessful ; the queen must not only be 

 accepted, she must be ^ovcd by the bees. 

 Love is the tie which unites her to the 

 workers of the colony. I have ob- 

 served cases where a young queen was 

 accepted, but changed four weeks later. 

 I suggest that such cases are much less 

 scarce than the average apiarist thinks 

 and that there are, every season, many 

 queens changed in some apiaries, owing 

 to an insufficient production of brood, 

 caused by their being only tolerated by 

 the bees instead of being loved by 

 . them. 



The different methods of introduc- 

 tion of queens may be classified in two 

 groups: The first group comprises 

 the proc-sses in which the new queen 

 is introduced directly, unknown to the 

 workers, the second those in which the 

 worker bees are deeply conscious of 

 their orphanage. 



In the first group the processes are 

 as follows: 1. As soon as the old 

 queen is found, she is removed and re- 

 placed by the new queen. 2. A few 

 combs are removed, and as soon as 

 the old queen has been found and re- 

 moved some bees from those combs 

 are shaken down on the alighting- 

 board and the new queen thrown down 

 among them. 3. The attention of the 

 bees is diverted from the new queen by 

 sprinkling them with water, syrup or 

 flour, or by smoking them vigorously. 

 The first and second processes can suc- 

 ceed only when conditions are very 

 favorable, when the bees are pleasantly 

 disposed, when there is a good honey 

 flow, when all the colonies have simi- 

 larly the odor of the principal blos- 

 soms and the robbers are non-existent. 

 In the third case, each worker is busy 

 with her own troubles and does not 

 attend to anything else. 



Regarding the second group of pro- 

 cesses, the requirement is that the bees 

 be fully conscious of their orphanage, 

 but that they be not yet supplied with 

 queen-cells. These processes furnish 

 the best results at any time or season. 

 Usually the queens are introduced at 

 the end of 24 hours, by using an intro- 

 ducing cage (such as is used in the 

 United States and which I have made 

 known in our country some 20 years 

 ago). This cage is composed of a me- 

 tallic screen closed with a stopper at 

 one end of a cylindrical wooden tube 

 containing food. The old queen is 

 caught and placed in this cage hung 

 between two brood-combs. The next 

 day she is killed. The metallic portion 

 of the cage is wrapped in paper soaked 

 with .honey and the cage is put back 

 into the hive. At the end of two min- 

 utes, the cage will be filled with bees. It 



is then withdrawn, closed and exposed 

 to full light, after removing the paper. 

 The queen is introduced into the 

 wooden tube, separated from the bees 

 by a thin sheet of paper or foundation. 

 At the end of 15 minutes this is per- 

 forated with a light wire and the bees 

 soon reach the strange queen. As they 

 are agitated and frightened and queen- 

 less otherwise, they readily accept her. 

 The final stage of introduction consists 

 in closing the end of the wooden cyl- 

 inder with honey or candy. This is 

 eaten by the bees of the colony and 

 the queen is liberated. But it is never 

 advisable to examine a colony in which 

 a queen has been introduced, before a 

 week elapses. 



What are the causes that guarantee 

 success? The cage has acquired the 

 odor of the old queen which mingles 

 with that of the new one. The caged 

 bees bring to her the odor of the col- 

 ony itself, so that there is little danger 

 of suspicion towards her. But disturb- 

 ances must be avoided and the queen 

 must be released by the workers them- 

 selves. 



Another good method of introduc- 

 tion consists in the use of a nucleus or 

 fertilizing-box. But ours are built 

 somewhat differently from yours. They 

 are larger and contain a supply of pow- 

 dered sugar mixed with honey or of 

 granulated honey sufficient to last the 

 bees two weeks. About 200 grams of 

 bees (6 ounces) are placed in it with a 

 10-day queen-cell, and they are not al- 

 lowed to fly before three days have 

 elapsed. The air is furnished by 

 screened openings in the floor of the 

 nucleus, which may be closed with a 

 sliding stopper. Another opening in 

 the floor is to be used in uniting these 

 bees to the queenless colony. This is 

 temporarily stopped with a cork. When 

 they are to be introduced to a full col- 

 ony, after the queen is fertile, the en- 

 trance is closed and the floor opening 

 stopped with only a thin perforated 

 card. The bees must have an ample 

 supply of provisions so as to be in nor- 

 mal condition. The nucleus is placed 

 immediately over the brood-frames of 

 the queenless colony, above the cluster. 

 The latter readily ascertain that the 

 nucleus above is a normal colony with 

 queen, and after gnawing the card they 

 are soon united in peace. 



In a very short time the queen goes 

 down to take possession of the larger 

 space and devote herself to the greater 

 task. If the advanced season prevents 

 her from doing this, she may be readily 

 compelled to move by taking away the 

 nucleus and placing its combs cross- 



Honev-Moon "—Comb Honey 



