August, 1916. 



281 



American Tiee Journal 



^^'^^i 



queen-cell protectors all right, or should the 

 Miller caee or some other be used ? 



6. Should she be caged alone or should 

 some bees be caged with her. and if so how 

 many ? , , , , 



7. How long can she be safely kept in the 

 cage ? 



8 In rearing queens is it necessary to have 

 a nucleus ready to receive each queen as 

 she hatches unless she is to be immediately 

 introduced to a queenless colony ? If not. 

 how is she handled ? 



If queen-cell protectors are used with 

 wire-cages attached as illustrated on page 

 450 of "A B C and X Y Z of Bee Culture." 

 and described on top of next page, how 

 soon after hatching should queens be re- 

 moved? Indiana. 



Answers.— I. Yes. and it may be still bet- 

 ter to shake off i;// the bees, provided the 

 weaker colonies are strong enough to take 

 care of the brood if no bees are added. 



R B. CiRAVES WITH A Swarm, of Spring- 

 field. Ky. 



2. Yes; but you may help the bees if you 

 dry the combs thoroughly and then, holding 

 each comb horizontally, knock the top-bar 

 hard against some solid substance. It may 

 ar out many of the dead bees. 



3. Yes; and it may be still better to put 

 such combs under a strong colony. 



4. Either way; but generally it will be bet- 

 ter to cage her in her own colony. 



5. Either will do. but it is better to have a 

 cage large enough so a queen can move 

 about in it freely. 



6. Alone. 



7. A week or two; perhaps longer. 



8 A virgin just emerged from her cell may 

 be given to a queenless colony or nucleus. It 

 may be more convenient not to wait for the 

 emerging of the virgin, but to give a ripe 

 cell. Often, however, it is a great conven- 

 ience to be able to keep a number of virgins 

 a few days until places are ready for them, 

 and for this purpose a queen nursery may be 

 used The one I like best is the Miller nur- 

 sery described in my book. "Fifty Years 

 Among the Bees." 



0. They may be left several days, if neces- 

 sary, but the sooner they are relieved from 

 their imprisonment the better. 



few cells died just before it was ready to 

 seal. A few cells had been sealed, and I 

 still find a littleof it yet. None of it dies in 

 the co'l as ttiey do in Kuropean foulhrood. 

 and it has no ropiness. but is watery. 



2. Please state whether or not European 

 foulbrood visited you in ioi4 or not. 



Missouri. 



Answers.— I. Like enough it's pickled 

 brood, but instead of taking my guess about 

 it send to Dr. E. K. Phillips, United States 

 Department of Agriculture, Washington. D. 

 C, and he will send you a box in which to 

 send a sample, and then he will tell you 

 what is the trouble, and what to do. without 

 charge. 



2. Yes, I published that I had some cases 

 in igi4. 



Feeding Extracted Honey in Winter 



1. In feeding in winter extracted honey to 

 bees, how much water should I put in the 

 honey? My honey is very thick. 



2. If I put the feeder over the frames, and 

 put a shallow super over the feeder will it 

 not be too cold for the bees as I winter them 

 outdoors in single hives? The thermometer 

 goes sometimes as low as 35 degrees above. 

 I have been wintering them outdoors suc- 

 cessfully so far. but never fed them over 

 the frames. 



One colony out on the ranch gaveme2co 

 pounds of honey, half comb and half ex- 

 tracted, California 



Answers.— I. So far as my knowledge of 

 the matter goes. I wouldn't add any water, 

 no matter how thick the honey. 



2. It would have to be a good deal warmer 

 than 35 degrees above for the bees to go up 

 and feed. But probably you don't often go 

 very long without a temperature of so de- 

 grees or more. 



Beestings 



I have been handling bees for the past 

 two years and have been stung several times, 

 but it never seems to affect me very much; 

 in fact. I have been stung five or six times at 



they never seem to bother me in the least' 

 I would like to know what to do in case I am 

 stung in this way again. Nebraska. 



Answer— I might explain that one s physi- 

 cal condition makes a difference in the 

 effect of stings, or being stung in a particu- 

 lar spot, but the fact is I don't know a thine 

 about it Once in a great while such a thing 

 occurs, and I know of no accounting for it. 

 It may never happen to you again, and yet I 

 should be more afraid of it than if it had not 

 already happened 



Packing in a sheet wrungout of cold water 

 has been recommended as treatment, yet 

 possibly one might recover as soon with- 

 out it. 



Requeening 



I have one colony headed by a remarkable 

 good queen and several whose queens are 

 not as good. I am a business man with little 

 time that I can give to the bees except after 

 4:30 p.m. Will you kindly advise me as to 

 the best way to get all my colonies headed 

 by a daughter of a good queen. Ohio. 



Answer— I will give you one way that 

 may suit your case. Let us say your best 

 queen is on stand No. i. Take from No. i 

 about half its brood with queen and adher- 

 ing bees, and put them in an empty hive on 

 a new stand, say No. 8. Although not abso- 

 lutely necessary, it may be well to alternate 

 the brood left in No. i with empty combs, or 

 at least with frames containing no brood— it 

 will be likely to give you more queen-cells, 

 likely one or more on each frame. If any 

 frame happens to contain no cell, staple 

 upon it one that you cut from one of the 

 other frames. Now you can make a nucleus 

 for each frame in No. I. Put it in an empty 

 hive on a new stand, and put with it a frame, 

 or better two frames of brood with adhering 

 bees taken from some other colony or colo- 

 nies. Plug the entrance tightly with green 



R. B. GRAVES IN HIS APIARY AT SPRINGFIELD, KY. 



Diseased Brood 



1. I have found some dead brood, and I 

 would like to get your idea of what might 

 cause it. I have read the American Bee 

 Journal for several years and lots of other 

 books on foulbrood. and this looks more like 

 Dickled brood than anything else. About a 

 month ago I found some dead brood; very 



one time and nevergave it a second thought. 

 On the i4th of last month I underlook to look 

 at my bees and one bee stung me in the face 

 just under my eye. In less than five minutes 

 I was deathly sick, and my entire body 

 broke out in a terrible rash, or seemingly 

 welts. Please tell me why one sting would 

 make me so sick and leave my head as large 

 as a bushel basket at this time where before 



grass or leaves, so that when the bees dig 

 their way out they will stay. Then when the 

 queen in the nucleus is laying, you can use 

 her wherever you like, or you can give nu- 

 cleus and all to a colony that has been 

 queenless two or three days. 

 Number 8 can be strengthened with sealed 



