1902 



GLEANIA'GS IN BEE fULTUKE. 



465 



four or five combs into the ventilated hive; 

 put on the cover, and in four to six hours 

 these confined bees will accept and prop- 

 erly shape one to three batches of cups, the 

 number accepted depending' on the force of 

 bees. 



After they begin to reconcile themselves 

 to their queenless condition the less inclin- 

 ed they are to accept a large number, or 

 abundantly nurse those accepted, and hence 

 we need to give the prepared cups while 

 the excitement is at its height. 



Another consideration is, that more will 

 be accepted and sufficiently nursed for a 

 few hours than will receive attention later 

 on. Therefore the bees, to accept them, 

 should be prepared about nine or ten o'clock 

 in the morning ; the prepared cups, give 

 abovit one or two o'clock, and then transfer 

 to the cell-building colonies late in the aft- 

 ernoon of the same day. 



As above described, it will be noticed 

 that this hive-cover is especially prepared 

 for this purpose, the spaces between the 

 combs for the reception of the frames in 

 which are the prepared cups, being arranged 

 directly under the openings or slots covered 

 by the narrow strips or stoppers. One of 

 these is removed at a time, the bees gently 

 smoked down, and the frame containing the 

 prepared cups inserted, the operation to be 

 repeated until the desired number be given, 

 and thus prevent the escape of a great many 

 bees. Of course, this work should be done 

 as rapidly as possible consistent with de- 

 liberation and gentleness, and each open- 

 ing covered as soon as the cups are inserted. 



In this way one, two, or three batches of 

 cups may be given to the same bees, and, 

 late in the evening, be transferred, with ad- 

 hering bees, to the colonies prepared for 

 cell-building, and then remove the hive from 

 the wire-screen hive-bottom, or ventilator, 

 and place it over the hive whence the bees 

 came. 



Such a swarm as described may be drawn 

 from a number of colonies, provided care is 

 exercised in not getting a queen with them, 

 or thej' imiy be shaken from combs above 

 excluders with laying queens below, and 

 especially if said combs contain brood. 



When this is done, the bees, after the 

 work of accepting the cups is over, Can be 

 disposed of by placing them over any hive 

 desirable, with safety to the reigning queen. 



UPPER STORIES FOR THE ACCEPTING AND 

 REARING OF PREPARED CELL- CUPS. 



The foregoing is for use in cases of haste 

 or emergency; but a much less laborious 

 plan to accomplish the same end is in pre- 

 paring a hive as is the case when cells are 

 built above an excluder with a laying queen 

 below; for, by the use of queen-excluding 

 zinc, nearly all the operations in queen- 

 rearing can be accomplished without hav- 

 ing to find a queen. To get a colony in 

 readiness to accept cups, simply shake the 

 bees from enough combs of brood to fill a 

 hive, and place it over a populous colony 

 with only a queen-excluder between, with 



a laying queen below, as has been so often 

 described for cell-building. These combs 

 of brood are drawn from any colony or col- 

 onies in the apiary, and replaced by frames 

 filled with foundation or empty combs. The 

 bees are simply shaken and brushed from 

 them without having to find the queen or 

 queens. 



The bees in the bottom story over which 

 they are placed will at once take possession, 

 and, as soon as the brood is all sealed in 

 this top story, it can be placed on the ven- 

 tilator and the combs thoroughly examined 

 for queen-cells. Better shake the bees from 

 them, to be sure none are overlooked; and, 

 besides, this shaking process and rough 

 handling tends to hasten matters, as a 

 search for the queen immediately follows. 

 Remove all cells, and place the slotted cov- 

 er on, enough combs having been removed 

 to leave spaces for the reception of the cups. 

 While it is not essential that bees be brood- 

 less to accept cups, provided there be no 

 unsealed brood present, it may be necessa- 

 ry for them to be prepared a few hours 

 longer before giving the cups, and the prep- 

 aration of the bees can be done the evening 

 before, or earlier in the day than recom- 

 mended in the first case, with the other ma- 

 nipulations to follow at the time given. 



As soon as the accepted cups are given to 

 the cell-builders the hive of queenless bees 

 used over the ventilator can again be placed 

 over the same colony as before, with the ex- 

 cluder between, and the operation repeated 

 as often as desirable. 



To keep this colony in a condition for con- 

 tinuous work as cup-accepters, it is neces- 

 sary to fill another body with combs of 

 brood as before, and place it on the exclud- 

 er with the first one above it, until the 

 brood is all sealed in the second lot of combs. 

 After this is done, and before the brood in 

 the second lot is sealed, the bees should be 

 shaken from two or three of the second lot 

 of combs into the one placed on the ventila- 

 tor, to start the necessary excitement in it, 

 when the latter is set off to make ready for 

 the acceptance of cups. By the time the 

 brood in the second set is sealed, the bees 

 will have emerged from the first set, and 

 the latter can be disposed of, the queen-cells 

 removed from the second set as recommend- 

 ed, with the fi.rst, the second used over the 

 ventilator, and another set placed under it 

 for the brood to become sealed. Thus man- 

 aged, the same hive can be used the season 

 through, and the combs and adhering bees, 

 whenever a set is removed as above describ- 

 ed, can be used in forming nuclei. 



The idea is to use bees for accepting cups 

 that were only a few hours previously de- 

 prived of unsealed brood and queen, either 

 by taking them from the queen and brood 

 or the brood and queen from them and thus 

 have them in a condition to accept larvae at 

 once, in a hole in a block, or wherever 

 found, regardless of the crudeness of the 

 transfer or preparation. 



Creek, N. C. 



[See Editorials.— Ed.] 



