.Inly, I IMC. 



American Hee Journal I 



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your uncappiiiy it either. Vou will Drobal)ly 

 liiid llial you can use it anywhere for the 

 bees that you cou'd use any other honey. 



2 It will be all rinhl to Kive it either 

 capped or uncaiiped 



1 1 never knew robbers to leave honey 

 because it was sealed except under one 

 condition. Sometimes it hapiiens that a 

 comb of sealed honey is given more room, so 

 that the bees build fresh cells over the cap- 

 pitiKS and HU them with honey. In that case 

 they will never uncap the old honey, but 

 will starve with it in the cells, and robbers 

 will not uncap it either. 



Queenless Colony— Rearing Queens 



One of my colonies went into winter quar- 

 ters heavy with honey and bees, but now I 

 find about half a teacup of bees, ample 

 stores, no queen, and the whole thini; as 

 good as dead. The honey in the combs has 

 a watery surface, looking very much like a 

 mess. What is the trouble i* 



2. One of my colonies has brood in a fair 

 Quantity, no eggs, and I could not find any 

 queen, but found a few queen cells I de- 

 stroyed all but one. which was good sized 

 and not yet capped Is it too early for this 

 colony to rear a good queen ? 



3. What about combs that are quite white 

 with mold; should I use them ? 



Pennsylvania. 



Answers.— I, Looks a good deal as if the 

 colony had lost its queen so early last fall 

 or summer that nearly all the bees have 

 died off from old age. 



2 Doubtful about the value of that queen, 

 although she may be fair if it happened that 

 the bees were busy gathering during the 

 five days the young queen was fed. 



3. That white mold doesn't seem to matter. 



Wintering in Oregon 



What is the best cover for wintering in 

 this locality which has a rainfall \'arying 

 from 6o to 100 inches with little or no frost 

 or snow ? Oregon. 



Answer. — I don't know of anything better 

 than the one I use, described in "Fifty 

 Years Among the Bees." A cover of -Jjinch 

 stuff with the grain running one way, an- 

 other the same with the grain running the 

 other way. a :^3-inch space between them 

 made by strips ->s by Is, and a tin, or still 

 better, zinccover over all. 



Buililing Up Colonies— Hanilllng Nuclei 



1. Would it be advisable to put new swarms 

 in hives with old combs ? ( 1 he bees from 

 this hive died during winter from lack of 

 stores; one-third of the cells still have bets 

 in them j 



2. How do you handle a nucleus ? 



3. In dividing for increase, is it better to 

 take queen from original colony and let the 

 original colony rear a new one ? 



4. 1 have a hive of mixed bees to which I 

 gave an Italian queen last fall (colony was 

 strong, but the bees were old; the colony 

 was queenless some time before I noticed 

 it). It is rather weak this spring. How 

 should 1 handle it ? 



5. Would it pay to build up an apiary by 

 buying 2-frame nuclei with queen ? 



6 Are the no beeway sections as well liked 

 in the markets as the beeway sections ? 



7. Is it a good plan to help bees increase to 

 feed syrup in the spring before blossoms 

 come out? Pennsylvania. 



Answers. — I. With decaying dead bees in 

 the combs, there is danger that a swarm put 

 into such a hive would desert. If a frame 

 of brood were given, the bees might not 

 desert. The better way will be to have the 

 combs cleaned out before they are given to 

 a swarm. Put them in a hive-body under or 

 over a strong colony, and in a few days they 

 will be cleaned out. 



2. 'Your question is so vague that I don't 

 know just what you mean. Perhaps you 

 want to know what shall be done to help a 

 nucleus to build up. If strong enough, with 



time enough it will build up with no help 

 from you exceiit that you shall give it combs 

 filled with foiindalion either as fast as 

 needi d or all at once. If you want to help 

 it to build U[) faster, a eood way is to swap 

 from time to time one of its combs conlain- 

 ing a good share of young brood aijd eggs for 

 one from a strong colony containing sealed 

 brood well advanced; If your question 

 means something else, please come again. 



3. It is best that the queen remain on the 

 old stand where the whole field-force will 

 be. But in that case the queenless part will 

 be in a discouraged condition, with no field- 

 bees and no honey coming in, so the queen 

 it rears is not likely to be of the best So 

 we compromise: Leave the queen with the 

 part put on the new stand; the queenless 

 part, being on the old stand, will have plenty 

 of honey coming in, and will be in good 

 shape to have queen cells of the best sort. 

 A week later, when the feeding of the royal 

 larvai will be over, make the two hives swap 

 places, and all will be lovely. 



4. Give it a frame of brood with adhering 

 bees from a colony having at least five 

 combs well filled with brood, and continue 

 the same thing every ten days or two weeks 

 as long as necessary. 



5. Yes. it's a good way. 



6 By " no-beeway sections" you probably 

 mean plain sections. They may be liked as 

 well in some markets, but I think generally 

 not 



7. I never do it myself, and I doubt its be- 

 ing a good thing for you. Of course, you 

 must feed if there's the least danger of 

 starving, and then honey is much better 

 than syrup. 



Inducing Queen to Work in Super— Pure Stock 



1. I have five colonies that are strong in 

 brood and bees, and I would like to keep 

 them from swarming I put the supers on 

 the last of March with what bait sections I 

 had, and ihey removed the honey from the 

 sections to the frames below. How can I 

 induce them to go to work in the supers for 

 1 want to get as much comb honey as pos- 

 sible? Would you advise puttingan empty 

 hive-body below to give the queen plenty of 

 room ? 



2. I would like to introduce pure Italians 



the last of the season, and am thinking of 

 experimenting some in queen-rearinK. I 

 would like to know if I could keep pnre 

 bees by starting with two or more colonies 

 and keeping the drones trapped in the colo- 

 nies I do not wish to breed from ? 



Missouri. 



Answers.— I. Like enough your colonies 

 have done about the best they could. Hut- 

 ting on supers until there is a sulficienl flow 

 will not hurry up storing, although the honey 

 that the bees carried down out of the sec- 

 tions probably did some good in helping to 

 build up. As soon as the harvest begins the 

 likelihood is that you will see good work in 

 the sections. Putting an empty hive body 

 below is a good thing to be done early if the 

 queen has not room enough without it, but 

 by the ti ne this gets into print the season 

 will be so far along that giving more brood 

 room below would do harm instead of good, 

 so far as work in supers is concerned. 



2. If there are no other bees anywhere 

 near you. you can keep your stock pure in 

 the way you propose. The probability, how- 

 ever, is that you are not thus isolated, and 

 at least part of your young queens will be 

 mismated. the danger being the greater in 

 proportion to the number and nearness of 

 bees surrounding you 



Hiving Swarms— Queens 



I. What would be the result if after hiving 

 a swarm I would later remove the bottom of 

 the hive and set it on the old colony ? Would 

 they unite ? 



2 Can hives be set too close together ? If 

 not how far apart should they be placed ? 



3. What advantages have the ten-frame 

 hives over the eight ? 



4 When hiving a swarm, should I let it 

 set there a few days before I move it to 

 the apiary ? 



5. How old does a queen get ? 



6 vVhat is the cause when a colony has 

 little black bees? They cannot fly. Is it the 

 queen's fault ^ 



7. What causes the queen to die in winter ? 



8. Are be-s that work on red clover more 

 profitable than those that do not ? 



0. Can you smoke the bees too much, or is 

 it good for them ? Ohio. 



Answers.— I, They would unite, but if it 

 was done in less than ten days after swarm- 

 ing they might swarm again, unless an 

 excluder were used. It would work better 



A RATHKK LO.MG swarm C\UGHT BY K. F. PORTER. OF OAKLAND. CALIF. 



