GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



June, 1919 



IN many locali- | 



ties thruout I ir— ~ 



the North this I L. 



is the busiest L— 



month — the / 



month in which 

 bees store the 

 greatest part of 

 their surplus 

 honey. It is al- 

 so the season when they are most inclined to 

 swarm, and therefore will require very close 

 attention; for, as previously stated, it is 

 generally true that those colonies that are 

 very large and yet do not swarm are the 

 ones that store 'the greatest quantities of 

 honey. 



Normal Condition This Month. 

 At this time of the year there should be at 

 least six pounds of stores; the hive should 

 be overflowing with bees, and there should 

 be quantities of worker brood in at least 

 nine or ten combs. Those that have already 

 been given a super, doubtless have consider- 

 able brood in both stories by this time, if 

 the queen has had access to both stories as 

 previously recommended. 



If, however, the colony is short of stores, 

 seems weak, has too little worker brood, 

 clusters out on the front of the hive, or 

 starts queen-cells, special measures will need 

 to be taken. 



Stores. 

 For a colony ever to run short of stores is 

 a disgrace to the beekeeper; but of all 

 times he can least afford to have this happen 

 just before the honey flow. Yet this is the 

 time it is most apt to happen, for brood- 

 rearing is then at its height, and great 

 quantities of stores are consumed, so that if 

 the beekeeper has been at all stingy with his 

 bees the strongest colonies may in a few 

 days be destitute, and the drones, perhaps, 

 be driven from the hives to starve, or larvai 

 pulled out at the entrances in order that the 

 few remaining drops of honey be saved for 

 the workers. In such an emergency, candy 

 should be dampened and fed to the bees by 

 placing it over the brood-frames, or light- 

 brown sugar can be dampened and placed in 

 a dish on top of the brood-frames. Syrup 

 could be fed; but we do not recommend it, 

 as it is liable to start robbing. 

 Robbing. 

 If any sweets are left exposed so that 

 robber bees gain access to them at a time 

 when no honey is coming in, a great turmoil 

 and excitement ensues which is not good for 

 the bees nor for any human being who hap- 

 pens to be on the scene. During a dearth 

 of honey, hives should never be opened for 

 any length of time for fear of starting rob- 

 bing. If robbing should begin, the hive 

 should be immediately closed, and the en- 

 trance should be contracted to a %-inch 

 hole so that the colony may more easily de- 

 fend itself from the robbers trying to enter. 

 When to Requeen. 

 All the colonies lacking in bees or worker 



TALKS TO BEGINNERS 



By lona Fowls 



1 



brood, which the 

 beginner knows 

 wintered well 

 and had plenty 

 of stores thru- 

 out the spring, 

 but not enough 

 stores to crowd 

 the brood-cham- 

 ber, doubtless 

 have a defective queen, which should be re- 

 placed by a good Italian. To do this it is 

 only necessary to find the old queen, kill her, 

 and then introduce a new one by the cage 

 method as given in the directions that ac- 

 company her when received from the queen- 

 breeder. Since queens purchased from a dis- 

 tance do not always arrive when expected, 

 the queen should not be killed until the new 

 one arrives. Then the old one may be killed 

 and the new one introduced at the same 

 operation. 



Which Colonies Swarm? 

 Very strong colonies that cluster on the 

 front of the hive or start queen-cells, usually 

 need some attention to prevent swarming. 

 Still, sometimes colonies start queen-cells 

 because their queen is old or defective, and 

 they wish to supersede— that is, raise an- 

 other to take her place. In such a case one 

 will usually note that fewer queen-cells are 

 started than under the natural-swarming 

 impulse, and also the brood will be scatter- 

 ingly placed, and often a large proportion 

 of drone brood will be present. Under this 

 condition, all but the best queen-cell should 

 be torn down and the bees allowed to raise 

 another queen to replace the poor one. 



When colonies are supplied with good 

 young queens, sufficient ventilation, plenty 

 of super room in which to store honey, and 

 enough room in the brood-chamber for the 

 queen to lay without being crowded by 

 brood or honey, it is usually possible to keep 

 the colony contented and hard at work. 



Providing Ventilation. 



If all packing has been removed in May, 

 and the entrance-block is now removed, giv- 

 ing an entrance the entire width of the hive, 

 this may in some cases provide all the venti- 

 lation needed; but if the weather is very 

 warm it will be found a great help to move 

 the inner cover back a little, leaving 

 a quarter-inch crack at the front of the 

 hive. To give still more ventilation, the su- 

 pers may also be moved slightly backward 

 or forward to give a bee-space, and the 

 hive itself may be raised from the bottom- 

 board by inserting a small block at each 

 corner. (If raised on blocks it will be neces- 

 sary, when beginning work at the hive, to 

 blow a little smoke thru this side opening, 

 as otherwise one would be likely to be stung 

 by the sentinels stationed along the crack.) 



When producing comb honey, giving ven- 

 tilation at the bottom-board will probably 

 be all that is necessary; but in extremely 

 hot weather a slight opening may be given 

 next to the cover. When producing comb 



