1908 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



97 



out, there would not be much flying on the 

 part of the bees on bright sunny days, yet 

 having an atmosphere too cool to allow them 



HALTEB S STORM-DOOR OVER ENTRANCE 

 FOR OUTDOOR WINTERING. 



to fly out and thus get chilled. We are test- 

 ing this idea this winter, as well as the con- 

 troller of Mr. Weber, also shown. 



Time and again we have noticed that, with 

 the ordinary hive-entrance, perfectly healthy 

 bees would fly out on cool or cold days, be- 

 come chilled, and die by the thousands. 

 Those lured out by the inviting sunshine 

 were scattered around on the ground for sev- 

 eral rods within the vicinity of the apiary; 

 and so thick have they been that one could 

 scarcely walk without stepping on bees. A 

 cold spell following on without any warm 

 weather intervening would be very certain 

 to kill all these bees, and the colonies losing 

 them would suffer very heavily in conse- 

 quence. 



This last fall our Mr. Pritchard reported 

 the north yard had unusually strong colonies 

 during October; but a late inspection in De- 

 cember, when it happened to warm up, show- 

 ed that they were fearfully reduced in num- 

 bers. These had no entrance-controlling de- 

 vices, and the presumption is that the bees 

 flew out on deceptive days and died, for we 

 had many such days last fall. 



The loss from bees flying 

 out this way is not so marked 

 in very cold localities as it is 

 where a more moderate tem- 

 perature prevails. A bright 

 sunshine will often fail to 

 warm up a chilled atmos- 

 phere. It looks all right to 

 the bees outdoors. They come 

 out, discover their mistake too 

 late, and die. 



We regard this as a very 

 imjwrtant subject, because in 

 localities on a line just be- 

 tween the outdoor wintering 

 portion of the country and 

 the indoor, there are severe 

 losses just from this source. 

 Many times a colony will lose 

 two-thirds of its force, even 

 before the first of December; and then, of 

 course, it dies before spring. In other in- 

 stances colonies that have done well through 

 the winter suffer heavy losses in the spring 

 because of this (to them) peculiar spring that 

 invites the bees out where they die by the 

 thousands. 



We hope that Mr. Weber or Mr. Halter 



will be able to solve this problem in a pi'ac- 

 tical way. While Mr, Weber's is a more 

 complicated device, it may be, when intelli- 

 gently handled, far more effective. 



Hello! here is something more on this in- 

 teresting subject. — Ed.] 



HOW TO PREVENT ENTRANCES FROM BECOM- 

 ING CLOGGED IN THE WINTER. 



Last winter I packed my bees, two colonies, 

 side by side in a packing box with a |x3-in. 

 entrance leading straight into the hive; but 

 I found that the bees clustering down to get 

 more air actually shut oft' an already insuffi- 

 cient supply. In Gleanings for Nov. 15, p. 

 1438, Mr. Latham writes that it is very im- 

 portant to have the winter entrance directly 

 opposite the cluster; so this winter I have a 

 part of my colonies arranged with the sum- 

 mer entrance |X13 in. bridged full width 

 out to the packing-box wall, then the f X3 

 entrance cut in the packing-box. It seems 

 to me that, with this arrangement, it would 

 be impossible for the inside entrance to get 

 clogged with dead bees or ice. There would 

 be no damp corners in the front part of the 

 hive Air could reach the cluster direct, no 

 matter what side of the hive they are in, and 

 the whole front of the hive could be cleared 

 of dead bees and filth at any time if need be. 

 The distance from the wall of the packing- 

 box to the hive is 3 inches. Will any more 

 air get into the hive with this arrangement? 

 It looks colder to look in at the entrance. Is 

 there any thing about this that would be det- 

 rimental to the bees? H. D McIntyre. 



Gait, Out, Nov 1. 



[The arrangement of the vestibule shown 

 in the illustration, while perhaps not show- 

 ing the exact arrangement mentioned by our 

 correspondent, we should consider excellent. 



M INTYRE'S winter-case and VESTIBULED ENTRANCE. 



It is not entirely clear whether the bridge 

 covering the entranceway from the inner 

 hive to the outer casing is on a level with 

 the cover, or just barely above the entrance. 

 We should consider that it would be better to 

 have it elevated about 3 inches above the en- 

 trance so as to make a sort of inclosed vesti- 

 bule. This arrangement would catch the air 



