May, 1910. 



American l^ee Journal 



)>^^^^ I 



how the shaking is done depends upon cir- 

 cumstances. If tlie cnieen is to be found, 

 she must be found before any shaliing is 

 done, and tlie frame she is on set out of the 

 liive. for if a single frame be first shalten. 

 then it's good by to finding the queen. After 

 tlie queen is out of the hive, the bees may 

 be shaken on the ground, on top of the 

 frames, or into the hive between the frames. 

 If the queen is not to be found, the bees are 

 shaken on the top-bars or into the hive be- 

 tween the frames. 



3. The queen may be caught and placed on 

 top of the frames, but that is not the verv 

 best way. for sometimes she will run over 

 the frames for some time before going down 

 between them, and it is possible that she 

 may run over the side of the hive, or that 

 the bees may start to cliase her. In all cases 

 where a queen is to be returned to her own 

 bees, the safe way is to take one of the 

 frames of brood on which she is to be, to- 

 gether with its adhering bees, hold or lay 

 the frame Hat. and let the queen drop directly 

 upon the middle of it. 



4. I've had trouble, too, with queens disap- 

 pearing, so I've changed my practice. In- 

 stead of putting foundation below, I now put 

 to one side in the lower story a frame with a 

 little brood in it, perhaps a frame of pollen, 

 and beside it 2 empty frames. When I sav 

 empty I mean empty. Not even a starter of 

 any kind in the frames. That frame of pol- 

 len or honey with perhaps some brood will 

 satisfy the queen better than frames of 

 foundation, and the entirely empty frames 

 will have very little comb built in them, 

 which will generally be broken out for wax. 

 I'm sure you'll like the change. 



Requeening- 



Using Combs of Honey 

 Swarms 



-Tramp 



1. Can you requeen with young queens by 

 killing or removing the queen that issues 

 with a prime or first swarm, and letting the 

 swarm return, then in 6 days it will issue 

 again with a young queen? Is that a good 

 plan to requeen.^ 



2. I took my bees out of the cellar the 

 night of the 24th, and they are now piling in 

 the pollen. I saved several combs of honey 

 for feed, but tlie hives are as heavy, appar- 

 ently, as when I put them in— they don't 

 need feed. What can I do with the combs? 

 If I keep them to give to young swarms, how- 

 can I keep them.' I put 3- colonies in last 

 fall, and took out 37 this spring, but one 

 flunked after taking out. but had plenty of 

 honey. 



3. Is it safe to take in tramp swarms, or is 

 there danger of getting foul brood? Iowa, 



Answers.— I. It's an old-fashioned way and 

 works well. If you want to increase by one 

 colony, hive the swarm that issues with the 

 virgin, set it on the old stand, and set the 

 old hive 10 feet or more distant on a new 

 stand. If you don't want any increase at all. 

 return to the old hive the swarm each time 

 it issues. But you may have to do that a 

 number of times. 



2. For some time they will be all right in a 

 cool cellar, for worms will be slow at be- 

 ginning work there. The safest place is to 

 put under full colonies. One strong colony 

 can take care of 3 or 4 stories. Put a story 

 under, and 2or 3 days later put another over 

 the under one, and later still put another 

 over the last, each time putting the new 

 story up next to the story containing the 

 colony. 



3. There is danger if there is foul brood 

 near you. 



Weak Colonies Using Empty Hives Where Bees 

 Died —Age When Queen Lays 



1. How will it do to change a weak colony 

 with a strong one during the honey-How in 

 the afternoonr Will there be any danger of 

 the home-coming bees killing the queens? 



2. I reduced 26 colonies to 18 last fall, be- 

 ing in 8-frame dovetail hives. Almost one- 

 third of the bees in each of the 18 colonies 

 were fro/.en to death from the cold, long 

 winter. 1 reduced those 18 to 11 this spring, 

 and lliey are now in pretty fair shape. I have 

 now I'j empty dovetail hives with drawn-out 

 combs; how can I keep them so the moths 

 won't get in them? Will it be all right to set 

 one empty drawn-out comb hive under each 

 of the II colonics? 



3. If I work it that way will the bees swarm 

 as usual, or can I shake them in the lower 

 hives during swarming season, and place the 

 new one on the old stand, and move the old 

 one away? 



4. I run for section honey. Which will be 

 the most profitable, have those 11 colonies 

 swarm to fill the !<; empty hives with drawn 



comb, or let each swarm once? It is as good 

 a rirospect for the white clover as there ever 

 was, 



5. How long will it take after a queen is 

 mated with a drone before she begins to lay 

 eggs? MissofKi. 



Answers.— I. 'Ves. there will be some 

 danger. 



2. No safer way than the one you suggest. 

 "You can put 2 stories under each, but it will 

 be better to have only one under for a few 

 days, and then put the second one bchi'feii 

 the full and the empty story? 



2. If you leave them that way the bees may 

 not swarm at all, but your plan of shaking 

 may work all right. In any case only one 

 story should be left at the time of putting on 

 sections. 



4. You will get a good deal more honey to 

 let them swarm only once. 



5. .-^bout 3 days. 



Italian vs. Banat— Untested Queen 



1. Which is the better bee. the Italian or 

 Banat. as tohoney-gatheringand hardiness? 



2. Is an untested queen pure stock? 



3. Would it be advisable to introduce an 

 untested queen into a strong colony? 



Pennsvi,vania. 



.Answers.— I. I have no practical acquaint- 

 ance with the latter, and they are not yet as 

 well known as Italians. 



2. .She is supposed to be of a pure mother, 

 but being yet untested it is uncertain 

 whether she has mated with a pure drone or 

 not. 



5. Certainly, if the likelihood is that the 

 new queen is in any way better than the one 

 whose place she is to take. 



Bees Doing Nicely — Heavy Losses 



We have nice spring weather. Fruit-trees 

 are in full bloom. Bees are doing nicely— 

 that is, what is left of them. We have had 

 heavv losses. W. H. Leacock. 



De Witt. Nebr., April 10, 



Swarming in April in Indiana 



Much natural swarming is being reported 

 in central Indiana in April. It is rather un- 

 usual for this early date. The cold spell 

 apparently has had no bad effect on strong 

 colonies, and the white clover is luxuriant. 

 Walter S. Pouder. 



Indianapolis, Ind., -April 26. 



Bees Doing No Good 



I have 400 colonies of bees in lo-frame hives, 

 and up to this time they have done no good. 

 It has been so wet that bees couldn't work; 

 but things are looking fine now. I have had 

 6 new swarms today. I hope we will have 

 better times later on. My bees did tine in 

 iQog. J. R. Furlong. 



Belcher. La., April 23. 



Wintered All Right — Blossoms Frozen 



Last year I had only 2 colonies of bees. I 

 did not get any honey, and had to feed one 

 of them last fall. They wintered all right, 

 and are doing well, although the blossoms 

 are all frozen off; but dandelions are plenty. 

 I hope to increase some this summer. 



Galva, III.. May 2. P. A. Carlson. 



Some Colorado Conditions 



I don't suppose you have heard from the 

 Western Slope this spring, so I will tell of 

 the conditions. We had the hardest winter 

 since bees have taken the place of the In- 

 dians— ii weeks without a flight. I feared 

 they would all die. but my loss was much 

 less than 1 expected. They swarmed late 

 last season, and the second crop of .-ilfalfa 

 yielded no honey, so the late swarms gath- 

 ered but little honev. I fed some, and 

 doubled the rest, but did not gain in count- 

 have the same number now as last spring. I 

 am feeding a few to keep them alive. Spring 

 is a month earlier here than last year. We 



have a few flowers, and bloom on early 

 peaches and apricots, and Cottonwood 

 bloom. I hope the trouble is nearly over, 

 and that we will have a better honey crop 

 than last year. E. C. Wright. 



Montrose. Colo.. April 6. 



Cold Weather— Poor Crop in 1909 



We have had a cold spell of weather since 

 April I5th. The bees are in good condition. 

 I wintered 20 colonies in the cellar. They 

 started to bring in pollen the same day. I 

 hope there will be a good crop of honey this 

 year. There was a very poor crop of honey 

 here last year, as it was too dry. 



Henry F. Pischer. Jr. 



Granton. Wis.. .April 23. 



Early Swarms in the North 



1 was surprised with a swarm of bees yes- 

 terday. Even makingallowance for the early 

 spring, it is quite an item for north central 

 Wisconsin. If any one in the northern half 

 of the State can tell the same story. I would 

 like to hear of it. A. Fraser. 



Chili. Wis.. April 28. 



[Mr. Charles Busche. of Elgin. Ills., re- 

 ports a swarm there after April 28th.— Ed.] 



Honey-Dew on Grass 



I noticed an item on the secretion or ex- 

 cretion of honey-dew. April 7, loro, there 

 was a heavy honey-dew over the grass in the 

 pastures. All the bees went wild over it. 

 Neither the oak nor the hickory trees were 

 in leaf— nothing but elms and soft maples. 



We had a dry spring up to April 15th. I 

 live in a prairie country. I would like to 

 have a scientist explain as to the honey-dew 

 referred to. A. W. Spracklen. 



Cowden. III., April 16. 



Foul Brood and Tramp Swarms 



I see the question is asked. " Is it danger- 

 ous to take a tramp swarm?" My answer 

 would be. it is dangerous if hived on drawn- 

 out combs; if hived on comb foundation, 

 and the foundation taken from them after 4 

 days, it is safe. 



My record shows that colony No. 13 

 swarmed May 30. 1009. and the swarm was 



gut into hive No. 48. July 14. I found foul 

 rood in No. 13. and Sept. 2 found foul brood 

 in No. 48. which was hived on drawn-out 

 combs. 1 gave them both the McEvoy treat- 

 ment, and examined them both April 30. 1910. 

 and found them in a healthv condition. 



J. G. Creighton. 

 Harrison. Ohio. May i. 



Prevention of Swarming 



I see so much in the different bee-papers 

 on prevention of swarming, and some of it 

 does not appeal to me as being good common 

 sense, so I will tell, as briefly as ijossible. a 

 method which orginated in my mind in the 

 early spring of igog. and which worked like 

 magic. 



Just previous to the time. when, in my 

 judgment, the bees would start queen-cells 

 preparatory for swarming, I went carefully, 

 and. as I often used to term it. tenderly 

 through each of my lii\-es, stacking each 

 super one by one to one side, and away from 

 the hive-stand, placing a new bottom-board, 

 and a new first super instead of giving said 

 first super a full set of clean, empty worker- 

 combs. If I found a queen I caged her for a 

 few moments; if not. I took my chances on 

 getting through without injuring her. 



Placing a weighted down newspaper in 

 front of the newly-arranged super, I begin 

 shaking off and brushing each comb on this 

 paper, and letting them crawl in at the front 

 entrance just as I would hive a swarm. 1 

 cndeavtn'ed as nearly as practical to place 

 all brood in the top super, even with a 3* 

 supcred hive. My reason for this was to get 

 it as far frtim Her Majesty as possible, think- 

 ing to give her a new start in business, be- 

 lieving that it stood to reason that they 

 would abandon all idea of swarming for 

 a while, at least. 



As I got the combs clean of bees I rebui 

 the hive, giving it as near its original appea L 

 ance as possible, and if a queen had been 

 caged 1 then let her run into the front en- 

 trance, shut up the hive, and gave them a 

 decent U-tting alone. In many of the hives, 

 consisting or 130 or more, capped queen-cells 

 were plentiful. By the time I had thus 



