Sept. 10, 1903. 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



585 



ruadily started on top as below), and they built burr-combs and built 

 ou the separators, making waste, and injuring the appearance o( the 

 sections. 



3. Don't trust them. They'll put whatever they get in any cell 

 that is not full. 



4. No; 'M pounds of sugar and water, half and half, wouldn't 

 make "20 pounds of stores, only about 14. Count 10 pounds of bugar 

 to equal about U pounds of honey, no matter how much water is u.sed. 



Use about '.}•-' pounds of sugar for the lO-frame colony. 

 ■ 5. Thai's one of the things I've never been able to find out, why 

 one colony will have pollen in its sections when others exactly like it 

 will have none. Shallow hives make a tendency to more pollen in 

 sections, and if the queen lays in the super, that will make more pol- 

 len there, but there are still occasional cases which I don't know how 

 to account for. 



G. It can be safely done, but is not generally advisable. 



7. It would be all right. Deeper than "s would be still better for 

 the bottom-board, but I would not *are to have the entrance more 

 than •'.,, and perhaps not more than 4 inches wide. 



Don't be worried about troubling me with questions. Yours are 

 so neatly and clearly given that it's a pleasure to answer them. 



Queen Questions— Putting on Supers-Tobacco-Smoke. 



3. 

 good? 



10 



11 



Can queen-bees sting* 



Do they always mate with a drone in the air? 



It the virgin queen had her wings clipped would she be any 



When is the best time to clip her wing? 



Can workers lay ? 



Will the queen go up in the top part of the hive to lay ? 



When should top supers be put on '. 



Will the bees store honey above while there is room below ? 



Are the brood and honey put in different combs below ? 



. Where will I find the brood when I want to divide a colony? 



. W'ill tobacco-smoke kill bees? Nebraska. 



Answers. — 1. Yes, indeed, but they'll not sting you. One queen 

 will sting another, and, as a very rare thing, a queen may sting a 

 worker. 



2. Y'es. 



3. No, unless so little were taken off the wing that she could still 

 fly. 



4. The first time it is convenient to get hold of her after she begins 

 to lay. In the spring make a general going over to clip any that came 

 from superseding the previous tall. 



5. Not as a rule; but when a colony has been queenless along 

 time they may undertake the business, and then we have the pest 

 called laying workers. 



6. Sometimes. 



7. When the harvest begins, or a little before it. Generally you 

 will find bits of white wax on the top-bar and upper part of the combs 

 at about the time to put on supers. 



S. Generally not. 



9. No. 



10. In the brood-chamber. 



11. No. 



A book of instruction about bees would be worth to you many 

 times its cost. 



Building Up Weal( Colonies— Removing Supers of Honey. 



1. Advise me how to make a weak colony strong. Is it a good 

 plan to put two swarms together? 



2. What is the best way to take supers of honey from the hive? 



Pennsylvania. 



Answers. — 1. Early enough in the season there's no better plan 

 than to let them build up and grow. Later they can be aided by 

 frames of sealed brood from other colonies. It is also a good plan to 

 unite two or more weak swarms, but it is better to prevent all swarms 

 after the first. 



2. To give full particulars as to the whole of taking off honey 

 would go beyond the limits of this department, these being given in 

 your book of instructions on bee-keeping; but if you will mention 

 any particular point that is not clearly understood in your text-book, 

 I'll be glad to answer in full. 



Crating and Shipping Comb Hon'^y— Keeping Ants 

 Away from Honey. 



1. Please give instructions how to crate and ship comb honey. 



2. How do you keep ants from getting on it? Iowa. 



Answers. — 1. When you get the shipping-cases that are now fur- 

 nished by supply-dealers you will hardly need instructions for using 

 them, for you can hardly case the sections wrong, they being so 

 placed that one row comes directly against the glass so as to show the 

 face of the honey. It is of first importance that this row next the 

 glass be a fair sample of the whole case, for the man who veneers 

 by putting next the glass the best, and inferior honey back of it, will 

 in the long run be the loser by it. 



Unless there be so large a quantity of honey that it can be fastened 

 solid in the car, it should be put in the crates sold by some supply- 

 dealers, the crates so placed that the emls of the sections shall bi- to- 

 wards the front and rear, so as to stand the bumping of the cars. On 



the contrary, if the sections are hauled on a wagon, they should be 

 placed crosswise. . 



2. While the honey is on the hives the bees will keep the ants 

 away, but ants are sometimes very troublesome in the house. A 

 small quantity of honey can be kept from them by having it placed on 

 some kind of a platform with feet resting in cans or dishes kept filled 

 with water or oil. That is not so convenient with large quantities, 

 and aggressive rather than protective measures must be taken. Dishes 

 may be set containing poison of some kind mixed in thinned honey. 

 If you can trace them to their holes, pour gasoline or bisulphide of 

 carbon into the holes, and cover up. 



Uniting Colonies-Care of Combs. 



I have 50 colonies of bees in dovetailed hives, and want to 

 keep but 35, spring count. How and when can I double them up ? 

 What should I do with the frames of larvae, and honey? And how to 

 keep the frames of comb during the winter? Tennessee. 



Answer. — Better wait until next spring to unite. If you unite 

 this fall, there may be some casualties in winter, and you would not 

 then have your 25 in spring. Even if you are sure of no winter losses 

 in your mild climate, there are advantages in waiting till spring. 

 There will be no question about care of combs through the winter, 

 and by doubling .50 full colonies in the spring you are likely to have 

 25 stronger colonies than if the doubling were done in the fall ; and '25 

 very strong colonies will take no more care than 25 weaker ones, and 

 will store more surplus. 



If there are any points not made entirely clear in your book about 

 uniting in spring, send ou all the questions you like, and I will cheer- 

 fully answer them — if I can. 



Extracting and then Feeding Sugar -Does Sliaking a 

 Queen Off the Comb Injure Her? 



1. Will it pay to extract from the brood-chamber and feed sugar 

 worth Scents a pound, when honey is worth 10 cents? 



2. Can I depend upon getting most of what is fed stored in the 

 combs? 



3. Would it kill a young queen that just started to lay, to shake 

 her off the comb ou the ground? I think I stopped one from laying 

 in that way. Canada. 



Answers. — 1. 1 don't know. In some cases it might, in others 

 not. 



2. I'm not sure that I get exactly the drift of your question. Of 

 course, whatever is fed to the bees will be stored somewhere, with the 

 exception of what the bees consume for their own use, and so it may 

 be expected to be stored in the brood-chamber so long as there is room 

 there. After cramming the brood-chamber, the bees would store any 

 further surplus in the upper story, but, of course, you would not want 

 sugar to be stored to sell as honey. 



3. It is not likely that a queen would be at all injured by being 

 shaken upon the ground from a comb held at the usual height. There 

 may have been some other reason for the cessation of laying in the 

 case you mentioned. 



Queenless and Queen-Right Colony. 



1. Will a queenless colony of bees carry in pollen in this State as 

 late in the season as Aug. 17? 



2. How can a person tell that bees are queenless if he can not 

 look into the hive? 



3. If a colony has a queen will there be brood and eggs in the 

 comb at this time of year! Maine. 



Answers. — 1. A queenless colony may carry in pollen at^any time 

 in the season when pollen is to be found. But after they have been 

 queenless for some time, they accumulate a surplus of pollen, and are 

 then likely to carry in little or no pollen. 



2. It you find a colony carrying in little or no pollen when others 

 are carrying in big loads, you may suspect queenlessness; but the 

 sure way is to look into the hive. 



3. In your region you may expect queens to continue laying 

 throughout September,"but in some cases they may cease before the 

 month has advanced much. 



Does Returning Swarms Make Too Big Colonies for 

 Wintering? 



I am keeping bees for the first time, and consequently I have 

 very much to learn about them. 1 started last spring with 2 colonies, 

 and have increased to 7, besides gettiug 140 pounds of surplus already, 

 with the bees still hard at it. 



What I want to ask is this: If I keep returning the swarms that 

 are coming off now to their parent hives, instead of establishing new 

 colonies, as I am advised by several writers in the American Bee Jour- 

 nal, will not such parent colonies become so populous that the 8- 

 frame dovetailed hive cannot contaiu enough honey in order to in- 

 sure sufficient stores for them for winter ? It so, what would be best 

 to do? Iowa. 



Answer. —No, you can never have more than the progeny of one 

 queen in the hive, no matter how many times you return the swarm. 



