820 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Oct. 1 



schaefflk's robber-trap. 

 July came in very cold (most unusual). 

 This stopped the flow of nectar, and before 

 I had thoug-ht of it the bees were robbing- 

 like fury. As a rule robbers attack the 

 weakest hives; but this time they reversed 

 the order of exercises and attacked the big- 

 strong double-decker ten-frame hives. I 

 tried the usual remedies, contracting- the 



A is a strip of wood filling the whole bee-space, and level with the 

 other sides ot bottom-board, but placed two inches back from 

 entrance; B, an inch strip extending across trap or super, level 

 with bottom A in position to rest on .strip A. C is a strip resting 

 and flush with B, but tacked to each end of super or trap. Wire 

 cloth is to be tacked to B and C, thus excluding bees from the 

 rest of the super. At D the wire cloth is bent forward and frayed 

 out at end: cloth extends to about an inch of top of super (trap); 

 arrows show passage of bees. 



entrance, placing, not a handful, but an 

 armful of grass in front of the entrance, 

 keeping it wet, etc. Nothing checked them. 

 In desperation I poured coal oil over the 



grass. This set them to thinking, but they 

 soon got over their aversion to it, and crowd- 

 ed down behind it. As the epidemic was 

 spreading, and the robbers stinging every 

 one who came near, I tried the plan of 

 transposing; but this simply made one hive 

 more of robbers, as they both went at it. 

 Then I sprinkled flour over the robbers, 

 and tracked them home. I sulphured the 

 strongest hives, thinking this 

 would weaken them in numbers 

 and allow the bees being robbed 

 to stand them off ; btit others 

 took their place. I next tried 

 Mclntyre's robber-trap; but rob- 

 bers are suspicious, and I caged 

 only about fifty. I then went at 

 it to devise a trap that the rob- 

 bers would enter, and I think I 

 have it worked out to a success. 

 I took a bottom-board and bored 

 a two-inch hole in the center. 

 This I covered over with screen 

 cloth. The object of the hole was 

 to have an opening where sul- 

 phur fumes could be sent up, 

 should I conclude to execute the 

 robbers. Across the front of the 

 bottom-board, level with the side 

 strips, and about Yz inch back 

 from the entrance, I nailed a 

 cross-piece that came up flush 

 with the side-strips. I then took 

 a half-super and nailed into the 

 front corners a ^-inch strip. 

 Across the bottom I nailed a 

 strip J2XI inch. To the front 

 edge of this strip I tacked a 

 piece of wire screen. This wire 

 extended up to within y^ inch of 

 the top of the super, and was 

 tacked to the strips on the sides. 

 The top of the wire cloth I rav- 

 eled out for an inch. Over this 

 trap I placed a hive with two 

 frames containing honey, and 

 over this a hive with empty 

 combs, and on top of this a frame 

 two inches deep, covered on both 

 sides with screen cloth (to pre- 

 vent the bees passing out the 

 honey as per Mclntyre's instruc- 

 tions). On top of this frame I 

 nailed an inch strip across one 

 end, so that there would be an 

 inch space between the screen 

 and the cover. 



When the bees got beyond all 

 control it was only necessary to 

 pick up the hive that was being 

 robbed, carry it into the honey- 

 house, and in its place set the 

 trap. As the trap's entrance 

 was the full width of the hive, 

 and at the same place, the bees 

 entered without hesitation, ran 

 up inside on to the combs, and 

 then, attracted by the light, they passed 

 directly up into the upper hive. The bees 

 in the honey-house were allowed to remain 

 there until early the following morning, 



