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APRIL, 1919 



QUESTION.— 

 In an article 

 In- Frank C. 

 P e 11 e t t on 

 boelKceping, he says 

 if the queen is lost 

 when there are no 

 larvje or eg?s from 

 which to raise an- 

 other queen, the 

 colony is doomed. 



In another place he says that in the spring if one 

 finds the queen dead, he may purchase one and 

 replace her. Then why could he not do this any 

 time during the season if the queen is lost and there 

 is no chance of rearing another? 



New Jersey. Mrs. F. B. Shaffer. 



Answer. — That is exactly what he should 

 do. Mr. Pellett simply meant that, if no 

 queen is provided, such a colony is doomed. 



Question. — ^Would not old kid gloves be better 

 to handle frames with than brown duck or canvas 

 bee-gloveis? Ralph Gaston. 



Pennsylvania. 



Answer. — No. In our experience kid 

 gloves are much worse than nothing. It is 

 very awkward to work in the apiary with 

 gloves of any kind; but, if gloves must be 

 worn, we advise very loose canvas gloves. 



Question. — Would it pay to try to keep pure 

 Italians in a thickly settled district where every- 

 body keeps black bees in box hives? 



Indiana. S. E. Troxel. 



Answer. — Yes, it certainly would pay you 

 to keep good Italians. In your location this 

 will mean that in mating you will sometimes 

 get hybrids. However, a strain of bees 

 from an Italian queen mated to a black or 

 hybrid are nearly always good honey-gather- 

 ers, and often the first cross are better at 

 honey-gathering than either of the original 

 strains. 



Question. — I looked in my hive, and part of the 

 comb in the brood-chamber is quite dark. What is 

 the cause of it, and what shall I do ? 



North Carolina. H. C. Fox. 



Answer. — The dark color of the combs 

 need not worry you in the slightest, for the 

 dark combs are those which have been in 

 use for a long time in the brood-chamber. 

 The older combs become, the darker they 

 are; but, contrary to the belief of some, we 

 do not think that age lessens the value of 

 combs at all. In fact, we rather prefer the 

 old combs. They certainly are warmer dur- 

 ing the winter, since the cells are lined with 

 many layers of cocoons. Not only do we pre- 

 fer old combs, but the bees also show the 

 same preference. 



Question. — When I purchased my colonies last 

 spring I placed them on a bench about two feet 

 from the ground, with the front about an inch lower 

 than the rear. I? my plan wrong? Should my 

 hives be nearer the ground? A. H. Gilmore. 



Pennsylvania. 



Answer. — You would, we believe, like it 

 better to have your hives down nearer the 

 ground. They should not, of course, rest on 

 the ground, but be high enough up to be 

 away from the dampness. They may rest on 

 bricks or on 2x4 's, or on a regular hive- 

 stand which one can easily make. When 

 hives are placed on stands or benches of 



1. RANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



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some height it 

 necessitates 

 much more lift- 

 ing during the 

 lioney flow; also, 

 if the colony is 

 wintered o u t - 

 doors, it is prob- 

 a b 1 y 11 o t a s 

 w a r 111 as it is 

 when closer to the ground. 



Questions. — (1) When bees start to swarm, and 

 the queen is caught in a wire Alley trap, will the 

 bees return to the hive? (2) If you let the queem 

 loo.se from the trap will she swarm? (3) Is it wise 

 to leave the wire Alley trap on all the time? (4) 

 Will all the bees go thru a bee-escape? If so, how 

 long will it take? (5) Can the drones be caught 

 in a wire Alley trap? Clyde R. Lumadue. 



New Jersey. 



Answers. — (1) Yes, they will return; but 

 the proper thing to do when they swarm is 

 to move the old hive to a new location and 

 put on the old stand a hive with empty 

 combs or frames of foundation. In a short 

 time the swarm will return, and, if the 

 queen is then given them, they will enter 

 the new hive and probably remain content- 

 edly. (2) The colony will usually swarm 

 again the following day. (3) No. It would 

 seriously interfere with the workers carry- 

 ing in honey and pollen. (4) The bees will 

 usually all leave a super in 24 to 48 hours, if 

 it contains only honey; but, if it contains 

 brood, the bees would not leave it. (5) Yes. 

 That is the principal use of the trap. 



Question. — Can you give me any information 

 nlout stingless bees? H. Ritter. 



New Jersey. 



Answer. — Stingless bees may be found all 

 the way from the southern part of the Unit- 

 ed States to certain parts of Argentine. 

 There are probably over 100 species, which 

 vary greatly in size and habits. There may 

 be from 100 to 100,000 in a colony. Some of 

 these live in the ground, others in trees. The 

 natives sometimes keep stingless bees in 

 hollow logs, but seldom secure more than a 

 gallon of honey per hive. Ordinarily the 

 bees may be handled without veil or other 

 jirotection; but when unduly stirred up they 

 may be very cross, crawling into the ears, 

 nose, and hair, and biting most viciously. 



Questions. — (1) If one uses the Alexander meth- 

 od, would it not be a good plan to let the new colo- 

 ny on the old stand produce comb honey while the 

 parent colony produces extracted honey? (2) If 

 one captures the virgin queen from an after-swarm, 

 why does the swarm insist on hanging to the limb 

 instead of coming back to the hive? In every case 

 our first swarm.s (led by a clipped laying queien) has 

 returned within 15 minutes, while those led by 

 virgins refuse to come back. (3) Would copper 

 wire take the place of tinned wire for wiring frames 

 of foundation? Raymond Russell. 



New York. 



Answers. — (1) If either one of the colo- 

 nies is to produce comb honey, the parent 

 colony should be chosen. However, no comb- 

 honey production should be attempted un- 

 less the colony is very strong. (2) If the 

 colony persists in hanging on the tree after 

 the virgin queen has been captured, it is 



