IVOV 



GLEANINGS IN ilEE CULTURE. 



63 



put liitle knots of wax even on the hi\e-walls. So 

 far I have said nothing about wax scales that may 

 be dropped. We can not see these, because the 

 bees of a strong colony will not leave any sort of 

 chip of wax or any thing else where we are likely 

 to see it. I think that burr and brace combs are 

 the richest in wax of any thing we get wax from, 

 and they are evidently built, at least partly, to 

 get rid of the surplus. 



I know that I am going contrary to popular 

 opinion, but I have simply told the results of my 

 experience and observation. Ready made combs, 

 during a rush of honey which comes on sudden- 

 ly, are valuable, but otherwise they should be 

 uspd only as baits. 



In producing extracted honey I should use a 

 brood chamber of ten or twelve frames instead of 

 an eight-frame brood-chamber when running for 

 comb honey, in order to prevent robbing of the 

 stores. 



Loveland, Col. 



[Our correspondent has struck on a very im- 

 portant topic, and one that should merit not only 

 careful thought but extended discussion. It in- 

 volves the problem of the production of wax for 

 market. It has been generally assumed that the 

 bee-keeper outside of the tropics can not afford to 

 produce wax in place of honey; but as editor of 

 Gleanings we see in our general correspondence a 

 tendency toward the feasibility of producing wax 

 for market instead of honey alone. It is one of 

 those questions that will not down; and //"wax is 

 produced involuntarily, and if in the production 

 of comb honey a large amount of natural wax is 

 lost, then producers should stop and think. 



Vou will notice in the foregoing that we have 

 put the two //} in italics, for we would not at this 

 time go so far as to make the positive statement 

 that wax is produced involuntarily, whether it be 

 used in comb-building or not; but we are anx- 

 ious to get hold of additional data that may have 

 some bearing on this question. 



If we mistake not, the Apicultural Expert, Dr. 

 E. F. Phillips, in the Division of Entomology, 

 Washington, D. C, has been giving this matter 

 some attention If so, some bulletin will doubt- 

 less have some important data that will mean 

 much to bee keepers. — Ed.] 



MOVING BEES SHORT DISTANCES. 



Does it Pay to Move Colonies Two or 



Three Miles and then Back Again to 



a Desired Location? 



BY CAREY W. REES. 



It is necessary for me to move an apiary about 

 40 rods; and as we are not likely to have cold 

 weather here to keep the bees in the hives more 

 than a few days at a time, I have been at a loss 

 to know just how to proceed. 



Some time ago it was so cold that the bees were 

 not flying, and I moved ten hives. The next day 

 was cold, and only a few bees flew; but some that 

 did fly returned to the old location, and after a 

 short time entered hives near by without loss by 

 fighting. The weather continued like this for 

 three days, and then came a warm day, and the 

 bees flew as in summer time More bees return- 



ed than before, and entered o'her hives; but as I 

 did not think those were much loss, or not enough 

 to warrant me in moving the bees two or three 

 miles, and allowing them to stay for two or three 

 weeks, and then move them to where I want 

 them, I concluded to try the plan again, which 

 I did when the weather was warm and many bees 

 were flying; but I don't \\ ink that any more bees 

 came back than before, and nearly all returned 

 that did come within a few hours, as nearly as I 

 could tell. 



To-day I moved ten more hives, and let the 

 bees remain shut in until noon, then opened and 

 left them fly; but I smoked these last ones well 

 a number of times. I do not know whether any 

 of these returned. If so, it was only a few. This 

 was a very warm day, and the bees were flying 

 as in summer time and carrying in pollen. I do 

 not know if they are getting any honey or not; 

 but a neighbor told me a few days ago that his 

 bees were getting a little honey. He said that 

 he caught some of them and found sweet nectar 

 in their honey-sacs. 



How can any one tell to a certainty that fewer 

 bees are lost when moved two or three miles than 

 when moved a quarter of a mile, as the ones that 

 are lost in the field are not seen.? What means 

 have we of knowing.? Since they must be famil- 

 iar with all the territory within a radius of two 

 or three miles, isn't it reasonable that they could 

 as easily return that distance as a quarter of a 

 mile.? 



Lytle, Texas, Dec. 15. 



[Hives of bees can be moved at any time of the 

 year; but where they are moved less than half a 

 mile there is sure to be more or less returning of 

 the old bees. In the fall, after cold weather has 

 set in, there will be much less of this returning 

 than during the early part of autumn when the 

 weather is warm. In your case, or in any local- 

 ty where it is likely to turn warm every few days, 

 we would advise putting the bees to be moved 

 down cellar during the coldest part of the winter, 

 and keeping them there about six weeks. They 

 can then be placed in any spot desired. 



You ask how it can be known that bees will 

 return when moved a short distance, more than 

 when moved a long one. Very easily by weigh- 

 ing up the colony. As bees do not ordinarily 

 fly more than one and a half or two miles, if they 

 be put in an entirely new location they will re- 

 mark their new home by taking note of every 

 thing in the vicinity. If we move baby nuclei, 

 containing only five or six hundred bees, two 

 miles or more they will hold their strength after 

 being moved; but if they be carried only a short 

 distance, these little boxes will be more than 

 likely to be pretty well deserted in twenty-four 

 hours unless these little clusters are formed of 

 several lots of bees mixed together. 



As a general thing, bees are not familiar with 

 territory more than a mile and a half distant at 

 the most. Probably a mile will cover 95 per 

 cent of their range of flight. — En.l 



THE ALEXANDER PLAN INDORSED (N ENGLAND. 



I have found that Alexander's method of 

 strengthening weak colonies by placing them 

 over strong ones answers very well. 



Bedford, Eng., June 3. F. W. MooRE. 



