GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



July 15 



SWARMING, AND SECTION HONEY. 



" Hello, Doolittle ! Awful hot to-day. My 

 hives are covered with bees hanging out, and 

 I fear they are going to have a swarming-time 

 just when bass wood is at its best, as it will be 

 in ten days now. What method do you use 

 in order to keep the bees from swarming just 

 when it is important to keep the hives crowd- 

 ed with bees in order to secure a good yield 

 of section honey ? " 



"You are not the first one to ask such a 

 question, Bro. Brown, for this is something 

 bee-keepers have been asking during the past 

 quarter of a century. If the apiarist has done 

 what he could to get his hives full of brood 

 at the proper time, he will have lots of bees 

 in time for the honey harvest — hives over- 

 flowing with bees, as you say yours are now; 

 and in order to be successful with them, all 

 swarming should be done before the height of 

 the season arrives." 



" But I supposed you did not allow your 

 bees to swarm, for, I am told, no large amount 

 of section honey can be obtained if we let our 

 bees swarm." 



" In this you err, for the swarm and parent 

 colony, if rightly managed, will do fully as 

 much with the average bee-keeper, when just 

 one swarm is allowed to issue, as could be 

 gotten were they not allowed to swarm ; and, 

 besides, if we tried to keep them together by 

 cutting out queen -cells, giving extra section 

 room, etc., we would, as a rule, only delay 

 swarming, so it would come during the last 

 half of the honey harvest, when it would be 

 the most detrimental to our interests." 



" But is there no such thing as non-swarm- 

 ing hives, used when working for section 

 honey ? ' ' 



" Whenever I hear men talking about non- 

 swarming hives in connection with raising 

 section honey I feel quite a little like doubt- 

 ing their practical experience as apiarists." 



"Well, what is jvowr method, if you do not 

 use non-swarming hives, and let your bees 

 swarm at will ? " 



" All my early swarms are hived singly in a 

 hive having but five frames in them, contain- 

 ing a starter of comb foundation about half 

 an inch deep, and the sections are put on at 

 time of hiving, as five frames give hardly 

 room enough for a large prime swarm." 



" What do you mean by those coming 

 early ? " 



"Such as come out from ten to fifteen days 

 before the main honey harvest, which, in this 

 locality, is generally from basswood." 



"And do all of your colonies obey and 

 swarm during those five or six days? " 



"No; I do not have all swarms come out 

 just as I might wish, but I have a different 

 plan of management for those that come later, 

 say from five to eight days before the harvest. 

 These later ones are united, so that two are 



put in a hive filled with combs, the section 

 boxes being set from one of the old colonies 

 on the hive containing the united swarms. 

 Then this old colony is set on a new stand, 

 and the hive containing the two swarms put 

 in its place, thus giving all the field bees from 

 this colony, in addition to the two swarms, 

 which makes a colony which will do wonder- 

 ful work during the honey harvest, a colony 

 from which I take 100, 150, and even 200 one 

 pound sections of the choicest of honey, ac- 

 cording as the season proves." 



" But what about the queens? Do you let 

 both go in with the doubled swarms? " 



"No. The queens having their wings 

 clipped gives me the power of disposing of 

 them as I think best, and so I let the queen 

 go back with the colony which was moved to 

 a new stand, and allow the otie from the col- 

 ony not moved to go with the united swarms. 

 The moved colony losing not only the swarm, 

 but also all of its field bees, feels so poor that 

 the queen-cells are torn down, and all idea of 

 swarming is given up ; but this colony soon 

 picks up from the multitudinous emerging 

 brood, so that often it will do quite good 

 work in the sections." 



" But will not there be after-swarms from 

 the other parent colony ? " 



"The hive furnishing the queen for the 

 doubled swarms is not disturbed in eight days, 

 at which time the first young queen will have 

 emerged from her cell, when the hive should 

 be opened and all queen -cells destroyed, 

 which will entirely prevent any attempt at 

 second or after-swarming." 



" But if all have not swarmed up to within 

 a day or two of the opening of the harvest, 

 what do you do with them — keep on uniting 

 two swarms together? " 



"No. All that have not swarmed at the 

 commencement of the honey harvest are 

 made to swarm in this manner: A hive is 

 filled with frames of empty combs, or those 

 partially or wholly full of honey, and placed 

 upon the stand of one of the colonies which 

 has not swarmed, and all the sections are 

 taken ofiF and placed thereon ; then all the 

 bees are shaken and brushed off their combs 

 of brood and honey in front of this prepared 

 hive. Thus we have the queen, bees, partly 

 filled sections, etc., which make a colony 

 ready for business at once. Previous to this 

 a few nuclei should have been started, so that 

 we may have the needed laying queens to use. 

 Now take all the combs from which the bees 

 were brushed except one, and arrange them 

 in the hive, carrying it to the stand of another 

 colony which has not swarmed. Next take 

 the comb of brood which was left out, and go 

 to a nucleus, taking out the frame having the 

 laying queen on it, and put the comb of brood 

 in its place. Take the frame (bees, queen, 

 and all) and set it in the place left vacant for 

 it when arranging the combs of brood. Put 

 on the sections, and when all is complete 

 move the colony, not having swarmed, to a 

 new stand and set the prepared hive in its 

 place. Thus we have a laying queen and 

 enough of her own bees to protect her, combs 

 full of brood, and all of the field or old bees 



