18S0 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



27 



fact that there was no larvae in the hive 

 seems to indicate that they were dissatisfied, 

 and would not take care of the eggs. 



WHEN DOES THE QUEEN CEASE LAYING? 



Now, Novice, I want to ask a question: How 

 early will the queen cease laying if the bees crowd 

 her with honey? 1 had a strong- swarm that kept 

 their drones very late. On the 12th of October I ex- 

 amined and found no brood but all the frames filled 

 with honey. What shall 1 do? 



I have seven stocks in Simplicity hives. I intend 

 to winter them all safely; one out of doors, the oth- 

 ers in the cellar. If 1 am all right in the spring 1 

 will tell you. I have doubled up some in Simplicity 

 and some in American hives. The last queen I got 

 from you was a failure, I watched carefully, but the 

 crazy things killed her. The other two did well. 



CARPET FOR COVERING THE FRAMES. 



I use, for covering the frames in Simplicity hives, 

 nearly worn out tapestry carpet, the wrong side next 

 the bees, and don't want anything better. It turns 

 up anyway you wish, and affords escape for the 

 moisture in cold weather, and is warmer than either 

 oil-cloth or slats. The season here on the moun- 

 tains has been the poorest I ever knew for honey; 

 yet my bees have nearly all honey to spare, and I 

 greatly prefer just enough honey to too much, for 

 bees in the cellar. I have always found bees to breed 

 faster in the spring by feeding; or, if they have cap- 

 ped honey, to uncap small patches every few days. 

 In preparing American hives for winter, I take out 

 a frame and leave the space open, or till it with an 

 empty comb, with a narrow top. A. M. Wills. 



Clearfield, Clearfield Co., Pa., Nov. 18, 1879. 



The queen will stop laying when the flow 

 of honey ceases, usually; and even if fed, 

 they usually stop at the approach of cold 

 weather. If, however, the tood contains the 

 pollen element, and is fed in such a way as 

 not to allow the escape of the animal heat 

 of the cluster, a strong colony may be kept 

 breeding almost, if not quite, throughout the 

 entire winter. JNIy own experiments, and 

 those of Mr. Langstroth, given through the 

 Gleanings last winter and spring, have 

 pretty thoroughly demonstrated this. 



THREE REMARKABLE QUEENS. 



I have three remarkable queens that I propose to 

 give you a short account of. 



HOW OLD MAY A QUEEN BE, AND STILL BECOME FER- 

 TILIZED. 



The first one led off a swarm on the 12th of July. 

 I noticed she did not become fertilized in the usual 

 time, and 1 gave the bees a sheet of brood, from 

 which they started several queen cells, and capped 

 them over. For several days, the queen did not ap- 

 pear to notice them; but about lhe first of August, 

 1 opened the hive and found all the cells torn down. 

 I looked up the queen, but she was not yet jertilized. 

 Again, about the 6th or Tth of August, I noticed her, 

 and she had grown considerably; on the 10th of 

 August, she was fully grown and fertilized; and ou 

 the 12th, she was laying. She was, at least, a month 

 and 6 days old when she began to lay. 1 have the 

 writings of the immortal Langstroth, Quinby, Cook, 

 and Hoot, and in none of these do I tind a parallel to 

 this queen. Please give us your ideas. 



Thanks for the item you furnish, friend S. 

 If you will look on page 164 of ;t late issue of 

 the A 13 C, you will find that 1 mention hav- 

 ing queens that began to lay after they were 

 25 days old. If your queen led out a swarm 

 the day after she was hatched, it would be 

 nothing very unusual, and she might even 

 do it the same day. I have mentioned, if 

 you recollect, seeing a queen take wing the 

 very minute she was cut out of a cell. In 

 that case, your queen was not more than 5 

 or days older than the one I have mention- 

 ed in the ABC. 



A HYBRID QUEEN THAT GROWS PURE AS SHE GROWS 

 OLDER. 



The second queen to which I call your attention 

 was hatched in an artificial colony, on er about the 

 20th of May, became fertilized about the 1th or 7th 

 day, and began to lay in 2 or 3 days afterward. I 

 noticed that she was a very short and thick bodied 

 queen, and somewhat dark. She was quite prolific, 

 and when her brood began to hatch, 1 saw that she 

 was a hybrid. In July, one-third of her brood was 

 black. 1 noticed a great improvement in the second 

 and third batches of her brood, for nearly three- 

 fourths of them were nice three banded bees. She 

 continued to lay till about the first of October, and, 

 if the last batch of brood she raised had the first 

 black bee in it, 1 failed to find it. She may produce 

 some black bees in the spring, when she begins to 

 breed again, but my opinion is she will not; fori 

 believe she was first a hybrid, but has become a pure 

 Italian queen. If you can do so, rise and explain all 

 about her, or step down and out, and let the next try. 



I should explain this case, and other sim- 

 ilar cases, friend S., by suggesting that the 

 queen first met a black drone, and afterward 

 an Italian. That queens do very often go 

 out twice for fertilization has been demon- 

 strated by many testimonials. I will cheer- 

 fully step down and out, for any one who 

 has any other explanation. 



STILL FARTHER ABOUT QUEENS THAT ALWAYS KEEP A 

 LAYING DAUGHTER WITH THEM. 



The third queen led off a swarm early in April. It 

 was a very large swarm, and 1 gave them several 

 sheets of comb already drawn out, so the old queen 

 began to lay at once. About the 4th day, I opened 

 the hive, and, to my surprise, 1 found several queen 

 cells started, some of them nearly or quite half fin- 

 ished. I was quite sorry, for I supposed the old 

 queen was dead. I looked through the hive several 

 times, and could not find her, but before the young 

 queen had time to hatch, I found the old queen on 

 one of the outer 'Sheets of comb depositing eggs. 

 You may guess I was both glad and surprised. The 

 young queen, in due time, hatched out, and made 

 general havoc with the remaining cells. 1 waited 

 until she became fertile, and sold her to Dr. J. S. 

 Wilson. The bees began immediately to construct 

 other royal cells, and 1 have sold three queens from 

 that hive, and they have raised the fourth one, and 

 she and the old one seem to be on the best of terms. 

 The old queen appears to be as vigorous and aciive 

 as she was a year ago. I have been managing bees 

 for upwaids of 30 years and have never found three 

 cases parallel with these. A. S. Smith. 



Atlanta, (Ja., Nov. 13, 1879. 



Your last, friend S., is a very valuable 

 contribution to the number of cases men- 

 tioned lately, showing that we may have 

 queens that will always keep a fertile daugh- 

 ter in the hive with themselves, and tiiat 

 we may therefore raise queens for sale with- 

 out having a queenless colony at all. If the 

 queen is a full blood Italian, she is worth, I 

 should say, at least £10., to raise queens 

 from. These reports seem to indicate that 

 such queens are not so very scarce after all. 

 if we could find one whose workers, at the 

 same time, had the desirable quality of gath- 

 ering stores in the fall, like tne one we are 

 going to raise queens from next season, she 

 might be worth — well, considerable, if not 

 more. Who will be the first to tind such a, 

 one ? 



AN OCTOBER SWARM. 



Mr. Boot, I had a swarm of bees Oct. 18; in two 

 weeks I found sealed brood, Lai vie, and eggs. 



WINTERING BEES IN A CELHR. 



I have wintered my bees for five seasons without 

 losing more than two in a season. Last winter 1 had 

 121 swarms in the cellar, from the -0th of Nov. until 

 the 2tth of April, and only one was lost. They came 

 out dry and free from mold and strong with bees, 

 but during the spring, I lost 12 stocks. Some were 



