JANUARY 1, 1915 



paper stuffed in. This proved an excellent 

 way of closing: tho entrances as long as the 

 paper kept dry; but during- the morning a 

 blizzard caused the snow to dampen the 

 pai)er, and in some few cases the bees found 

 their way out. 



The hives were arranged in the cellar on 

 long scantlings forming racks, three tiers to 

 I he row. The covers were removed as the 

 bees were carried into the cellar, leaving 

 only the thickness of the duck and burlap 

 over the bees. 



When all the colonies were in, the doors 



were closed and all means of light excluded. 

 By the light from a candle the entrance 

 papers were quickly removed and then the 

 bees were left to care for themselves till 

 Christmas. At that time the brood-chambers 

 were raised in front by a block of wood, 

 leaving an entrance about % inch deep. 



The temperature of the cellar seldom 

 varies moi'e than two degrees either way, 

 the desired temperature being 38°. The 

 18-inch cement walls and the sub-earth in- 

 take pipe keep a uniform temperature 

 until late in spring. 



DEVICE FOR CUTTING OUT NATURAL CELLS FOR QUEEN-REARING 



BY J. H. T0D1> 



vw 



The illustration shows you a queen-cell 

 cutter for queen-rearing which I have de- 

 signed. The metliod of getting cells is as 



follows : From 

 ^ETAL TUBE the brood-nest of 

 your selected 

 nicOfAQ queen take a 

 comb containing 

 newly hatched 

 larvae in the cen- 

 J ter, and with a 



^^' • thin sharp knife 



cut out a piece of this comb containing a 

 suHicient number of larvae newly hatched. 

 Keturn the comb, and the bees will quickly 

 repair the damage. Now take this piece of 

 comb indoors, as if proceeding to graft 

 in th.e usual waj', and, with an uncapping- 



knife, shave 

 down to the 

 midrib the cells 

 on the side of 

 the comb oppo- 

 site to those se- 

 lected. Have a 

 little molten 

 wax at hand, 

 and lay your 

 comb midrib 

 down on a 

 piece of flat 

 smooth board; then, grasping the tin flange 

 of tlie cell cup in your right hand and the 

 wood flange in your left, pull them apart. 

 Place the cutting edge of the tin tube exact- 

 ly over a cell containing a larva of the 

 correct age, and carefully press it down 

 vAthoiU twisting, keeping the cell in the 

 center of the tube till the midrib is cut 

 through; then lift up the tube containing 

 the cell; dip the end of the wooden plug in 

 tlie molten wax and quickly press it home 



/JV2. 



CUT 

 CELL 



down the sharpened end of the tin tube. 

 The molten wax will stick to the cell base 

 and fix it, and will also provide a thick base 

 for the cell. The pushing home of the plug 

 will make the mouth of the cell project the 

 correct distance beyond the tin flange, which 

 in its turn Avill form a base for the bees to 

 attach the ciueen-cell to. 



The cup is now placed in a holding bar 

 in a manner similar to a Swarthmore cup. 



Ird^ELL BAR 



QUEEN 

 Fig. 3 



CELL. 



the hole being of such a diameter that the 

 tin flange will just pass through it, and the 

 bar of such thickness that, when the cup is 

 in position, the tin flange is flush with tlie 

 under side of the bar. 



I think the advantages of this cup are 

 obvious. It is much more simply and rap- 

 idly prepared than by either the grafting 

 method or the Swarthmore method, the 

 queen laying directly in the cups; and, 

 above all, in comparison to the usual meth- 

 od of grafting, the larvae are never man 

 handled, and these delicate little insects go 

 to the cell-building bees without removal 

 from their cells, and in their natural state, 

 suspended in their chyle food just as sup- 

 plied to them by the workers. 



Christ Cliiirch, N. Z. 



