August, 1919 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



two long slots exactly above the second ami 

 fourth combs (which arc not used). Only 

 three combs are used in it — one in the cen- 

 ter and one at each side. The slots are oc- 

 cupied by special bars called cell-bars, which 

 have sixteen 5/16-inch holes in which the 

 wooden cell-cup bases are securely held by 

 the flange. A special machine can be pro- 

 cured to press out the waxen cell cups on 

 these wooden bases; but I prefer to make 

 them by the dipping process. I use wooden 



Fig. 2. — Swarthmore swarm box with wire-elotb 



bottom raised to give ventilation beneath. See lid. 



Fig. 3. 



sticks about the size of a wooden hayral^e 

 tooth which, I first soak in water and then 

 dip in melted wax, heated to about 160 de- 

 grees, to a depth of half an inch. As the 

 wax cools they are dipped again to a lesser 

 depth, and so on for a few more times. The 

 resulting cell has a fine edge, and I find it 

 best to put fresh ones on the wooden cups 

 every time they are used. So much for the 

 apparatus, and now for the method. 



Two bars of cell cups are fitted into the 

 lid. Three combs of new unsealed honey, 

 one of which must contain some new pollen, 

 are placed in the box. Great care is neces- 

 sary to see that no brood nor eggs are in 

 any of these combs. About half a cup of 

 water is sprinkled into one comb. In the 

 middle of a fine morning, wlien a gentle 

 flow of nectar is on, I take the box to a good 

 colony that has a two-year-old queen and is 

 so strong that it can spare the required bees 

 for a night. Bees from a younger queen will 

 do, but they are not quite so keen on start- 

 ing cells. I do not wish to get the queen in 

 the box, so I locate her and put her to one 

 side. I push the combs in the swarm -box 

 over to one side, then in the empty space I 

 quickly shake in the bees from five or six 

 well-covered combs, space the three combs 

 again properly so that, when the lid is on, 

 the two rows of cell cups will be above the 

 blank spaces, and finally carry the box to 

 a sheltered spot or to the window in the 

 honey-house. 



It is just here that Pratt's directions are 

 incomplete. It is after he has detailed the 

 method of grafting that he says the box 

 must be covered with warm material and 

 the room darkened, the inference being that 

 this was unnecessary till the grafting was 

 finished. As soon as the bees are in the box, 



v.annth and darkness are important. The 

 bees, being qucenless and broodless, cluster 

 on the cell cups, polishing and warming 

 them. Every little while the "queenless 

 roar" will be heard in crescendo and di- 

 minuendo, which augurs well for success. 

 When the bees are brought in I put the 

 box on a bottom-board in case I wish to 

 shift it. I lay a cloth over from each side 

 and allow it to touch the ground so as to 

 shut out the light at the bottom of the box, 

 yet far enough away to allow the air to 

 circulate. When I come to graft the cells 

 I am very careful to remove the covering 

 from the "top without letting any light fail 

 underneath at the sides. The light wouhl 

 cause the bees to rush to the bottom, and 

 it would be some hours before they would 

 again cluster on the cell cups. 



I usually leave the bees five or six hours 

 before grafting; but when all the conditions 

 have been favorable I have given them 

 barely half an hour. From my breeder colo- 

 ny I get a comb containing larvae which are 

 so small they can barely be seen were il 

 not for the food that surrounds them. II 

 requires good eyesight to spot the youngest 

 larviE, and a steady hand to lift them out 

 on the grafting needle and place them in 

 the cell cups without damaging them. The 

 bees reject any damaged ones. I manage 

 to pick up some food with the larva and de- 



Fig. 3. — Lid of .swarm box witli two long slots for 

 cell bars. 



posit it in its new quarters with enough 

 food to give it a comfortable appearance. 

 The first ones are being fed before I have 

 finished, and a contented hum takes the 



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BLANK BAR 



Fig. 4. — These bars fit into slots of swarm-box lid. 



place of the queenless roar. I generally get 

 from 2.5 to 30 cells accepted. In the morn- 

 ing following, it is easy to pick out those 

 which have been accepted. They are nicely 

 rounded and drawn down with a new edge 

 of white wax. Each larva can be seen float- 

 ing in a plentiful supply of royal jelly. The 

 failures are either empty or started in a 

 half-hearted way. 



The queen-cells being started, the next 

 thing is to get them finished and incubated. 

 Pratt gives a method of using a queenless 

 and broodless colony for a few days, after 



