Aug. 27, 1903. 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



553 



They are so cross that when the hive is opened they Hy out 

 at you as if they were shot out of a gun, stinging one all 

 over. What kind or breed of bees do you think they are ? 

 The other Italians are gentle, and have more yellow on 

 them. California. 



Answers. — 1. I don't know. Possibly they have been 

 queenless so long that the bees are all old, and old bees are 

 not the best kind for rearing queens. As you have given 

 brood, there will be young bees hatching out from that 

 brood, and if you give them brood and eggs again after 

 enough young bees have hatched out, it is possible they 

 may be willing to start cells. 



2. No, unsealed honey in the extracting super does not 

 prove the bees are still gathering. Two colonies apparently 

 equal in strength may vary greatly in industry ; one stor- 

 ing while the other scarcely makes a living. 



3. Hard to tell ; there may be black or Carniolan blood 

 in them. 



Keeping Wax-Worms Qut of Honey. 



I would like to know how to keep the wax-worms out of 

 comb honey. I have a nice lot to ship, and would like it in 

 first-class shape. New York. 



Answer. — You ask how to keep the wax-worms out. 

 The best way is to have strong colonies with a large propor- 

 tion of Italian blood in them. You probably, however, 

 want to know how to destroy the worms already in your 

 sections. Fumigate them with sulphur. Use about a pound 

 of sulphur or brimstone for each thousand cubic feet of 

 space. Take any old vessel and fill it partly with ashes. 

 In this set the iron vessel to hold the brimstone. Put in 

 rags, live coals, or a hot iron, and as soon as lighted hustle 

 out so as not to breathe the fumes. Close up tight, and 12 to 

 24 hours later air out. That will destroy all but the eggs, 

 and you must repeat the fumigation about tfro weeks later 

 to catch those that hatched out from any eggs that might 

 have been present. 



If you can get it, it may be still better to use bisulphide 

 of carbon, which is believed to destroy the eggs as well as 

 the larvae. The amount to be used depends upon the number 

 of sections and the space. One way is to stack up the supers 

 of sections 5 or 10 feet high, put an empty super on top, and 

 cover up in this two or three tablespoonfuls of the drug iu a 

 saucer, leaving it to evaporate. Be sure not to bring a light 

 near it, unless you want your friends to be troubled by a 

 funeral. 



The Alfalfa Pest-Numfier of Colonies for One Man. 



1. Please describe the insect that blights alfalfa. How 

 often does it appear in such large quantities ? I would like 

 to know all about it. 



2. How many bees are the most that one man can 

 handle, where there is a long but slow honey-flow ? 



California. 



Answers. — 1. I don't know, and refer the question to 

 some one of the constituency better informed. 



2. From 100 to three or four times that number, accord- 

 ing to the man and management. 



Did the Queen Pass Through Perforated Zinc? 



I have just overhauled my five hives. I had queen-ex- 

 cluders on 2 hives. In each case I find brood in the upper 

 chamber. I found the queen in one upper chamber, caught 

 her and put her down below. I suppose in each case the 

 queen must have passed through the perforated zinc. Do 

 you think my supposition correct ? Drones cannot pass 

 through them, but I think the queen must have done so, or 

 else I have queens above and below, for there is brood in 

 both places. If there are two queens, then the one I caught 

 and put below will either kill or be killed. 



I have not had much swarming, and no' great amount 

 of honey. The bees are working, but I think the brood eats 

 it all. There is lots of brood. British Columbia. 



Answer. — It is just possible that the case may be ex- 

 plained by assuming that the queen went up through the 

 excluder, but I would accept that explanation only as a last 

 resort. A virgin queen will make frantic efforts to get 

 through an excluder when she wants to go out on her wed- 

 ding-trip, but I have never known that a laying queen 



would try very hard to get through an excluder. Even if 

 the perforations were just large enough for such a queen to 

 squeeze through, I don't believe one queen in a hundred 

 would make the efi'ort. Still, if there is no possibility of a 

 queen in each story, or of brood having been put in each 

 story, it is just possible that there may have been perfora- 

 tions large enough, and that the queen passed through. 



Time to Rear a Queen -A Colony Killing Its Bees. 



1. I divided 11 colonies this summer. I put the old 

 queens on the old stands, and the new ones off by them- 

 selves. Now what I want to know is this : The "A B Cof 

 Bee-Culture " says that it takes 2+ days for a queen to 

 hatch, but 9 out of that 11 hatched in 12 days, and one of 

 them swarmed. There were no queens in there when I 

 divided them. 



2. I have a colony of bees that kill many of their bees ; 

 they have done it two or three times this summer. They 

 will kill about a pint and then stop for awhile. One colony 

 did it last year, and I thought at first that another swarm 

 had gone in, but I see that is not what is the matter with 

 them. Colorado. 



Answers. — 1. You must have misread the " A B C of 

 Bee-Culture." I think no authority nowadays makes the 

 time longer than 16 days from the time the egg is laid till 

 the young queen emerges from the cell, and 15 days is per- 

 haps nearer the truth in a strong colony. When the queen 

 is removed, as in your case, queen-cells are started from 

 young larvK, and the first young queen generally emerges 

 in about 12 days, so your bees followed the general rule. 



2. I don't know what the trouble is that would make 

 them kill off anything but drones. It might be, as you 

 supposed, a small swarm entering, only it would hardly oc- 

 cur so often. 



^-*-^ 



Buying and Rearing Queens. 



Would you advise buying a queen now, or wait until 

 spring ? I want to try rearing a few queens, and did not 

 know whether to get a queen now or wait until spring, when 

 it is not so warm for her to be sent through the mail. 



Missouri. 



Answer. — Better get the queen now. If you wait till 

 next year it will be somewhat along in the season before 

 the new queen gets settled in her place, and if you get her 

 this year you can begin breeding from her as early as you 

 like next year. In other words, you will be just so much 

 farther on by getting her this year; perhaps even being 

 able to rear some queens from her this year. 



Using the Drone-Trap-Introducing-Cages. 



1. How can I trap drones without injuring the queen or 

 her usefulness ? 



2. Does the old queen always issue with the first swarm 

 of the season ? 



3. Will she at no time come out unless a swarm issues ? 



4. Can non-swarming be practiced by the use of the 

 drone-trap without injury to the queen ? 



5. When the queens destroy one another, does the old 

 queen always come out victorious ? 



6. What cages are the best for introducing queens ? and 

 what kind of candy is used in them ? 



7. Is it an established fact that the queen has to come 

 out of the hive to be fertilized? 



8. How can I successfully practice non-swarming with 

 the use of the drone-trap, and destroy the surplus of drones 

 at the same time and not injure the queen or her useful- 

 ness ? Ohio. 



Answers. — 1. By using the Alley drone-trap. 

 2 Yes, unless some accident occurs to her. 



3. Not after she has taken her bridal-trip. 



4. Not satisfactorily. 



5. No. 



6. Merely for introducing without shipping, the Miller 

 cage with Scholz or Good candy. 



' 7. Yes. 



8. I don't know. 



You are quite right as to the importance of studying 

 one's business, and you would find it a very great help to 

 study a good bee-book. 



