M;iv. llllS. 



American Hae Journal 



the convenience of the bee-keeper and 

 the demands of his honey market. 



To visit a colony of bees snug in 

 their living <iuarters (bottom story). 

 witli their comb built straight in the 

 loose-hanging frames, smoke them a 

 little, remove the cover, smoke a little 

 bit more, remove the division-board, 

 and lift out the frame of conib next to 

 it. Look it over carefully and set it 

 down gently beside the hive. Lift out 

 the next frame, look it over well, and 

 set it back in the hive — for there will 

 be ample room for it after the division- 

 board and one frame have been re- 

 moved — remove another frame and 

 look over it likewise, and so on until 

 all have been examined; push them up 

 together and set the other frame and 

 division-board back in the hive. Put 

 the cover on, then step back and tell us 

 what you have seen. Well, you have 

 seen about every bee in the colony. 

 Yes, and the queen (the majesty of the 

 colony), too ; all the honey they had 

 stored ; all the young bees they were 

 rearing in all stages of development. 

 In fact, you have seen every particle of 

 comb surface on which they work. 

 And it is a wonder how those little in- 

 sects live; so much like many of us, all 

 for the future. 



"Worms" do not prey on bees in 

 modern hives unless they are greatly 

 neglected, and have become queenless; 

 but log-gums, box-hives, dry-goods 

 boxes, kegs and barrels, or other crude 

 receptacles, do not permit manipula- 

 tions, queen-rearing, hive control, and 

 are common dwelling places of the 

 " worms." 



A Holed Visitor 



Mr. George S. Demuth, of the Bureau 

 of Entornology, Washington, D. C, 

 acting under Dr. Phillips, made a tour 

 through Di.xie last month (March) in 

 the interest of bee-keeping. He was 

 well equipped for the tour, and with 

 notebook in hand he gathered and 

 noted information as he went. 



The weather was ideal for apiary 

 work at the time; he took an active 

 part with the bee-keepers, and gave out 

 much practical information. Our Gov- 

 ernment is taking a great stand for the 

 betterment of bee-keeping, by the wide 

 distribution of literature on bee-culture, 

 and the sending of men to the field of 

 activity. Our industry has already re- 

 ceived a great help through this source, 

 and far greater results are sure to fol- 

 low during the next few years. 



Contributed 



Articles^ 



Do Bees Know Their Master ? 

 ^Using Smoke, Etc. 



BV (i. I.. GREl.NER. 



A few incidents from actual observa- 

 tions during recent years may answer 

 the above, and at the same time throw 

 some light on Mr. Hanna's question, 

 on page 87, " Can some scribe account 

 for this, unless bees make a difference .•"' 



Certainly, bees make a difference, but 

 the puzzling question is, What induces 

 bees to make the difference ? 



When visitors call at my place and 

 see me handle my bees without any 

 protection in such an indifferent way 

 (indiflferent in regard to fear of being 

 stung), they almost invariably express 

 their belief that bees know their mas- 

 ter, and willingly submit to his dic- 

 tates. As an explanation on this point 

 I always give my views something like 

 this : 



Bees have no regard for any certain 

 person. If you do as I do you will not 

 get stung any more than I do, and if I 

 should do as you do I would be liable 

 to get as many stings as you would re- 

 ceive. For instance, I am requested to 

 explain the inside of a bee-hive by act- 

 ual demonstration with one of my col- 

 onies. I may have the smoker within 

 reach for an occasion of this kind, or, 

 if it isn't already lit, I may depend, ac- 

 cording to the e.xpected length and 

 nature of the demonstration, upon my 

 little briar-pipe for means of defense. 

 The visitor, considering too close 

 quarters a little dangerous, stands off 

 o or 10 feet to watch my manipulations. 



and before the lecture is half finished 

 he is forced to beat a hasty retreat 

 while I remain at the hive unmolested. 



Do bees know their master ? It 

 seems so in this case, but I believe 

 there is another factor we should take 

 into consideration. In my opinion, it 

 was more the nearness to the open 

 hive, where the ascending hive-atmos- 

 phere had a fair chance to encircle my 

 body, than my individuality that kept 

 me from being attacked. Had our posi- 

 tions been exchanged from the start, 

 no doubt I would have been the select- 

 ed target in spite of my ownership. 



Here is a little illustration that seems 

 to prove my claim : When I am busy 

 among my bees, it frequently happens 

 that a few ugly ones keep buzzing 

 around my head with intentions of an 

 undesirable nature. By placing my 

 head where flying bees are thickest, in 

 some cases even by kneeling down 

 close beside the hive under operation, 

 to get my head as close to the brood- 

 nest as possible, in nine cases out of 

 ten, these pesterers will leave in a short 

 time and cause no more trouble there- 

 after. 



At another time a friend called on 

 me for some information about intro- 

 ducing queens. He had received a 

 number of valuable queens and felt 

 very anxious to have them safely in- 

 troduced. To learn all he could from 

 actual observation, he gladly accepted 

 my offer to go into the yard and have 

 me give him a few practical hints by 

 examining some nuclei where a few 

 days before I, too, had introduced some 

 choice Italian queens. Our investiga- 



tions proceeded in the usual way. I 

 had taken from one of the nuclei the 

 comb that contained the queen, and 

 after we had watched her for a few 

 minutes — perhaps a little too long— I 

 was about to replace the comb to its 

 proper place, when one of the flying 

 bees, withiiut apparent cause or provo- 

 cation, stung me on the back of my 

 hand, and, before I had time to lower 

 the comb into the hive, a dozen or more 

 had planted their sharp ends within a 

 small radius of the first sting. 



After restoring the hive to its normal 

 condition I leisurely scraped the stings 

 out of my hand, much to the astonish- 

 ment of my friend, who exclaimed : 

 "Mr. Greiner, that is the most nerve I 

 ever saw displayed by any human be- 

 ing." 



Did the bees know their master in 

 this case ? If they did they had no re- 

 gard for his feelings. But the matter 

 is easily explained. Attracted by the 

 scent of the first sting's poison, the 

 defenders of the hive, imagining their 

 home in danger, went to the assistance 

 of the first offender, and the subse- 

 quent stinging was the result. 



It is generally accepted as a fact that 

 bees have a marked aversion to all 

 dark colors. Always aiming at a per- 

 son's eyes, and leaving their stings in 

 black hats and dark clothes, seems to 

 prove this, and this may have a little 

 bearing on Mr. Hanna's case. Besides, 

 I believe that the change of the order 

 of things irritated his bees as much as 

 the individuality of his callers. If they 

 had been with the family from the 

 beginning, and during all the time they 

 were seated in the yard, these new 

 comers would not have been molested 

 any more than the rest — and they 

 might have been on account of their 

 color and some other peculiarities. 



Self -Spacing vs. Loose- Hanging 

 Frames. 



.\ few facts on this subject may be 

 acceptable to the beginner who con- 

 templates laying in a stock of bee- 

 ware. I would consider myself a poor 

 hand at the business, if I could not 

 manipulate self-spacing frames with- 

 out causing me serious trouble. I 

 have handled them quite a little for 

 other people, but I would not have them 

 in my own yard. When we consider 

 the case of manipulation of the loose- 

 hanging frame, the rapid work they 

 facilitate, the keeping of our bees 

 good-natured, for we all know that it is 

 the rolling of bees between the combs 

 that raises their temper, which is next 

 to impossible to prevent with the self- 

 spacer, unless we undergo the lengthy 

 operation of removing the follower 

 and shifting a hive full of frames to 

 take out one or two on the opposite 

 side; the less work in manufacturing 

 the frames, the comfort and pleasure 

 in handling them, etc., the self-spacing 

 frame is not to be compared to the 

 convenient, loose-hanging one. 



This is no hobby of mine, nor theory ; 

 I prove it to my visitors quite often by 

 actual demonstration. Last summer, 

 when taking a sort of survey through 

 the yard with a bee-keeping friend, 

 who, by the way, uses the Hoffman 

 frame, he said, after we had examined 

 a number of colonies: "Well. Mr. 

 Greiner, if I could handle my frames 



