1908 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



1009 



trouble has been to keep them from getting too 

 strong and swarming out. I do not think any 

 thing is gained by introducing virgins when the 

 number killed and crippled in introducing is 

 taken into consideration; and I believe that 

 queens mated in these nuclei in favorable weather 

 are fully equal to those mated by any other 

 method. 



At the close of the season the bees may be saved 

 by moving the mating-boxes two or three miles 

 from the yard and placing them in groups of 10 

 to 15 each. Allow the bees to fly from their new 

 location for a few days, tlien place an empty hive 

 in the center of each group, and in it hang all 

 the nucleus frames that contain brood by putting 

 them into regular L. frames. Brush the bees 

 from the empty boxes in front of the hive, and 

 move them away where the bees can not find 

 them. The bees will unite in the regular-sized 

 hive and make a colony that should winter as well 

 as any if given a queen and plenty of feed; and it 

 will be ready to divide into nuclei again the next 

 spring. 



Medina, Ohio. 



A FURTHER DISCUSSION OF QUEEN - 

 TRAPS. 



The Clipped-queen Plan Preferable ; Why 



Rear Drones ? Not Necessary to Lose 



Swarms with Virgins. 



BV A. J. HALTER. 



On page 555, of the May 1st issue, Mr. Tay- 

 lor replies to an article of mine regarding the use 

 of queen-traps. My contentions were based 

 wholly on outyard manipulation versus the clip- 

 ped-queen system for swarm control. 



I do not rear an abnormal amount of drones, 

 and do not find it necessary to obtain chicken 

 feed by catching them or starving them to death 

 simply for a good riddance. 



The main objection to the rearing of drones is 

 the feed and space required for their development 

 during the larval state. When developed, the 

 short duration of life is optional with the worker- 

 bees. I believe it is more profitable to requeen 

 systematically from choice stock, thus obtaining 

 a majority of young queens in the hives, which 

 lay fewer drone eggs; then, by removing combs 

 that contain too many drone-cells, when over- 

 hauling bees each spring the rearing of drones is 

 kept normal. 



Now in regard to the chilly nights and cool 

 spells of rainy weather — was this not the cause of 

 the shortage of honey last season.^ 



June 17th we had a very heavy frost, freezing 

 corn, tomatoes, etc., and on such occasions we 

 certainly prefer to have the queens inside the 

 h i ves. 



Mr. Taylor says he finds clipped queens very 

 annoying by hopping out of hives, and recom- 

 mends traps for catching queens not clipped when 

 a swarm emerges. I can not understand why a 

 queen with one wing should be more difficult to 

 catch than a queen with two wings when the 

 trap is adjusted. 



Several years ago what was called pickled brood 

 appeared in two of my apiaries, mostly among 

 hybrids and in colonies containing an old queen; 



but as soon as pure young Italian cjueens were 

 introduced the disease disappeared. This seemed 

 worth its consideration, and I began to recjueen, 

 clipping and marking the ages of each. 



I found that ciueens reared directly after the 

 main flow, which closes about the middle of July, 

 could be relied upon to pass through two suc- 

 ceeding honey seasons with very little danger of 

 being superseded until the main flow was over at 

 the end of the second season. During the latter 

 part of July all queens two years old are destroy- 

 ed, and a ripe cell is given; but this must be at- 

 tended to promptly at the time stated; for when 

 supers are removed and bees crowded into the 

 lower story, old queens are more likely to be su- 

 perseded; and when the first virgin queen hatches 

 a swarm will often issue, in our location, some- 

 times as late as September, owing to a late flow 

 of nectar. By requeening promptly we have 

 a good force of young bees ready for this flow, 

 which often gives quite a surplus. Those colo- 

 nies which do not give a surplus generally have 

 enough stores for winter — an item worth consid- 

 ering. The past season I operated about 150 col- 

 onies for comb honey, and about half this num- 

 ber of colonies for extracted honey and queen- 

 rearing. During this time there was not a swarm 

 with a virgin queen; nor were any swarms lost 

 by flying away. All laying queens being clip- 

 ped, the bees returned to the hives. By giving a 

 proper hive-stand, queens will generally return. 

 All told, there were not over ten queens missing 

 during the whole period, including accidents in 

 manipulations. 



Were I to rely wholly on queen-traps it would 

 be necessary to have them in use until the latter 

 part of August in this locality; but by clipping 

 queens and requeening, as stated, the swarming 

 period is shortened, and thus I have the benefit 

 of all the bees reared after the first of August, as 

 well as those reared for the main flow. 



Akron, Ohio. 



J. T. Dunne, Fresno County bee inspector, re- 

 ports that he inspected 35 apiaries last month. 

 He finds the general condition of the apiaries 

 north of Rolinda and west to the San Joaquin to 

 be in fine condition. Many of the apiaries in 

 this section have been extracted once and some 

 the second time. The flow in this section is 

 principally from the alfalfa. The 35 apiaries 

 under inspection embraced 1910 hives or colo- 

 nies. — Pacific Rural Press. 



FOUL-BROOD LEGISLATION IN INDIANA. 



Indiana bee-keepers are about to ask their leg- 

 islature to pass a measure that will suppress both 

 kinds of foul brood, and paralysis, in that State. 

 About a year or more ago they did secure such a 

 law; but owing to a defect the measure was in- 

 valid. They propose to try again. The new 

 law proposes the appointment of a State Inspect- 

 or of Apiaries acting under instructions from the 

 State Entomologist. He is given power to aid 

 in the development of the bee industry, and to 

 afford protection io the bee-keepers by the sup- 

 pression of bee diseases which now exist in sev- 

 eral parts of the State. Indiana ought to have 

 such a law, and have it quick. Mr. Pouder is 

 its sponsor. \\ . k. m. 



