(GENEEAL CO: 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURii 



PONDENCE 



STIMULATIVE FEEDING IN SPRING ; WAX FROM A QUART OF SYRUP 



BY R. F. HOLTERMANN 



Thei-e has been so niueb said about stimu- 

 lative feeding that it appears almost pre- 

 sumptuous to attempt to add to that which 

 we now have upon the subject. 



Dr. C. C. Miller, in Stray Straws, page 

 925, Dec. 1, says, " The average beginner is 

 deeply imiDressed with the idea that, what- 

 ever his bees are doing in the way of brood- 

 rearing, may be doubled, or at least in- 

 creased, by stimulative feeding." It took me 

 quite a number of years in keeping bees to 

 realize that stimulative feeding did not al- 

 ways, by any means, tend to the advanta- 

 geous rearing of brood of a colony ; in fact, 

 the beginner would do better to see that the 

 bees have plenty of stores, and then let 

 them do the rest. Dr. Miller goes on to say, 

 " I don't think I have seen the time in 50 

 years when any amount of stimulative feed- 

 ing would yield a cell more of brood in my 

 a23iary. How could it if the bees already 

 have all the brood they can cover? Of 

 course there are places, as mentioned by P. 

 C. Chadwick, p. 885, where at times there 

 are such breaks in pasturage as to stop the 

 queens' laying, and then stimulative feeding 

 pays big.. But in general the notion that 

 the queen should be whij^ped up in spring 

 to lay more is all wrong, does no good, and 

 may do harm." 



The editor, in a footnote, agrees with the 

 above, pointing out the value of feeding 

 under certain conditions for queen-rearing. 

 With the above I can heartily agree, al- 

 though, even if Dr. Miller has a continuov;s 

 flow during the spring, surely he must be 

 very exceptionally favored if he has not 

 adverse weather at times when stimulation 

 would be an advantage. It is a safe rule 

 for the beginner not to attempt stimulative 

 feeding. With many, judicious stimulative 

 feeding would be an advantage. 



Let me jioint out an exception. Say the 

 safe rule not to stimulate is when, during 

 spring, there is a continuation of blossoms 

 and the bees work on them daily. The bees 

 bring fresh stores into the hive and the 

 queen is fed liberally, resulting in a liberal 

 production of eggs and brood-rearing. I 

 do not require to look at the combs for the 

 eggs. I know that, under the above condi- 

 tions, with a normal queen they are being 

 dejiosited. T have examined colonies, and 

 t'outul that they record their spring activi- 

 ties by tlie age and amount of brood in the 



combs. In fact, it is known to some of us 

 that a colony, if vigorous, is likely to swarm 

 about three weeks after many eg'gs have 

 been dej^osited by the queen — in other 

 words, when these young bees are due to 

 emerge from the cells. Take fruit bloom 

 such as apple, cherry, plum, etc. With us, 

 if the weather is tine, much brood will be 

 found in the combs as a result of fine 

 weather, enabling the bees to work on this. 

 But quite often the weather is not fine, and 

 the bees are not stimulated to heavy brood- 

 ing, and 3'et the numerical strengih of the 

 colony is not one whit less. In such a case 

 I believe stimulative feeding is an advan- 

 tage. Make the colony in some way handle 

 stores, and the queen will get her share; and 

 she will do her share in producing the brood. 

 I know of no more convenient and better 

 way than to bruise stores in the combs. 

 Start a cell of honey leaking, and the bees 

 will remove the honey and put it about the 

 brood until used for bees or brood. If the 

 stores are not in the hive I would not hesi- 

 tate to use a feeder with a thin syi'up. Thin 

 synip fed in spring saves the bees the 

 trouble and danger of gathering water. 



Colonies packed during the spring can 

 rear more brood than those not packed. 

 They are less susceptible to changes of tem- 

 perature. I know this is true in northern 

 localities, because I have had packed and 

 unpacked colonies side by side in the same 

 apiary. 



After a cold night or during decidedly 

 cold days the bees in the unpacked colony 

 are quite inactive on the outside of the 

 cluster, while at the same- time those packed 

 were passing at will over the combs in the 

 hive, and therefore better able to supply the 

 requirements of the bi'ood. 



When the beginner thinks he is getting 

 to be a very clever beekeeper, and knowing 

 a lot (I think that disease breaks out about 

 tlie second or third year) he had better be 

 careful lest he do a lot of harm by stimu- 

 lative feeding; but it seems to me there are 

 times when bees can be stimulated to advan- 

 tage, and, wlien possible, this has the effect 

 of increasing the strength of the colony. 



Let me say, before I forget it, feedere 

 should not be put on colonies during day- 

 light wlien the weather is too cold for the 

 bees to fly. Outside stimulative feeding is 

 the most convenient but not the best. First, 



