404 



December, 1916. 



American ;Bee Journal 



change from a larva to a mature moth 

 takes place in about two weeks. 



In warm climates the insects prob- 

 ably breed with little interruption, 

 while in the north there are several 

 months when their work is checked. 

 They are sensitive to cold and combs 

 exposed to severe freezing will be free 

 from waxmoths in the spring. Such 

 individuals as find a crevice near the 

 cluster of bees survive the winter, and 

 renew the cycle the following season. 



These insects have a very wide range 

 and may be found nearly everywhere 

 in Europe or America where bees are 

 kept, excepting in the high altitudes of 

 the West. When the writer visited 

 Denver a few years ago he was in- 

 formed by beekeepers there that the 

 moths did not seem to survive in that 

 climate. Although several times intro- 

 duced, they soon disappeared. It is 

 fortunate for the beekeepers of Colo- 

 rado and other similar altitudes that 

 they have one less source of irritation. 



The writer is inclined to regard the 

 waxmoth as a blessing in disguise, for 

 it certainly tends to discourage care- 

 less beekeeping. A set of good brood- 

 combs is worth at least two dollars, 

 and it stands the beekeeper in hand to 

 look after weak or queenless colonies 

 to prevent the moths from destroying 

 them. If left undisturbed, the moths 

 destroy the combs entirely so that 

 nothing remains but a mass of webs 

 and the casts of the larva. Even the 

 frames will be so badly eaten by the 

 larvK in spinning their cocoons that 

 they are of little value. 



CARE OF COMBS, ETC. 



It is seldom safe to leave extracting 

 combs exposed for any length of time. 

 As soon as possible after the honey is 

 extracted the combs should be re- 

 turned to the bees, unless freezing 

 weather is at hand. If for any reason 

 it is not desirable to return the combs 

 to the bees at once, they should be ex- 

 posed to fumes of bisulphide of carbon 

 in an air-tight room. Care should be 

 used that no lighted lamp or other 

 flame comes near, as the gas is very 

 explosive. Some beekeepers have a 

 tight room lined with building paper 

 for storing combs. They are kept in 



the supers and piled up six or eight 

 high, and a sponge or cloth saturated 

 with the bisulphide of carbon placed 

 on top of each pile. The door is then 

 shut and the combs allowed to remain 

 until needed for use. The drug effec- 

 tively destroys any moths that may be 

 present, and the tight building prevents 

 adult moths from again laying eggs in 

 the combs. 



Another and very cheap method of 

 destroying the moths in a room con- 

 sists in burning brimstone. This mate- 

 rial is sold by druggists in properly 

 prepared packages supplied with a wick 

 in a small metal dish, and the only re- 

 quirement is to place it in some safe 

 position over a plate or crock contain- 

 ing water and burn enough of it to kill 

 the flies in the room. The room of 

 course must be made as air-tight as 

 possible, or the fumes of the burning 

 brimstone would evaporate without 

 killing the moths and their larvae. As 

 (he eggs will not be destroyed by these 

 methods of asphyxiation, it is well to 

 repeat the dose after a few days. There 

 is no danger of explosion with brim- 

 stone, the only requirement being to 

 avoid setting anything afire, and that is 



why we recommend placing the burn- 

 ing brimstone over a dish of water. 



Most beekeepers make a practice of 

 leaving all extra combs on the hives 

 until October. Even though there are 

 two or three sets of empty combs 

 above a strong colony of bees, there is 

 little danger that they will permit the 

 moths to injure them. When they are 

 removed to prepare the bees for winter, 

 the cold will prevent later injury, and 

 if they are kept in a moth-tight room 

 until needed the following season they 

 will be safe. 



Selling Honey— What Points 

 to Emphasize 



BY E. M. COLE. 



FOR 22 years my constant study and 

 recreation has been the busy bee. 

 It was during these years that I 

 learned just how to spread brood to 

 the greatest possible extent, with th: 

 least possible danger to the,brood, and 

 the smallest possible amount of manip- 

 ulation, but until the last three years I 

 had never paid much attention to the 



iPWIIlw 



FIG. 3.-THE LARV^ ARE REPULSIVE WHITE CATERPILLARS 



FIG. 2 -TUNNELS OF THE WAXMOTH IN AN EXTRACTING COMB 



commercial side of the business. 



Now beekeeping begins to appeal to 

 me as a splendid vocation as well as 

 a recreation. I have increased my api- 

 ary until with fair wintering and an 

 average honey flow, the disposal of a 

 crop will be a live question. I have 

 thought and planned considerably on 

 marketing, and with the ideas gained 

 from the sale of my small crops the 

 past two years, I think I can offer 

 some help on the subject, especially on 

 local sales. 



An effort is being made through the 

 domestic science classes in our schools, 

 to encourage the use of honey in bak- 

 ing, and this may lead to the use of a 

 large amount of honey in the aggre- 

 gate, but only a comparatively small 

 amount locally. Another opportunity 

 along this line, which might increase 

 the aggregate sales, is its use in pan- 

 cakes. The sale of prepared pancake 

 flour has reached enormous propor- 

 tions, and on each package is a recipe 

 for making, which usually advises the 

 use of a spoonful of sugar or molasses 



