280 



August, 1914. 



lAm^rican Hee Joarnal 



hives much larger than most others. And. 

 as you say. they have comparatively little 

 swarming. Like enough they think the 

 reason why all others do not use such large 

 hives is because all others do not know 

 enough: but they're a rather modest lot and 

 wouldn't say such a thing out loud. But 

 there are some who. no doubt, like myself, 

 would use a larger hive than they now have 

 if they were to start afresh, but when one 

 has a full stock of hives on hand.it is not 

 easy to make a change. However, the Da- 

 dants have nothing on me as to size of hives 

 after all. Up to the time of putting on su- 

 pers this year. I had i6-frame hives, that is, 

 I had two stories of 8 frajnes each. No. in- 

 deed. I'm not going to be outdone by any lot 

 of Frenchmen in the way of being liberal in 

 giving room to bees. 



Stopping a Swarm Best Breeders— Price of Bees 



1. Is there any way to stop a swarm of 

 bees that are passing by you going to the 

 woods; if so. how ? 



2. Which are the best bees to breed from. 

 Italians. Carniolans. or others ? 



^ What is the difference between an un- 

 tested Queen and a breeder .' 



4. What are common bees worth in old 

 box hives? Arkansas. 



Answers.— I. Some have reported success 

 by flashing upon the swarm the reflected 

 rays of the sun by means of a looking-glass. 

 Perhaps the most reliable thing is to throw 

 upon the bees a strong spray of water. 



2. Some prefer one. some another, but the 

 majority prefer Italians. 



3. When applied to Italians, a tested 

 queen is one old enough to have produced 

 workers, and those workers show- that the 

 queen is pure and purely mated by having 

 three yellow bands. A breeder is a queen 

 supposed to be exceptionally good, so as to 

 be a desirable queen to breed from. You 

 can call your best queen your breeder, and 

 she may or may not be a very superior 

 queen. 



4. There is no standard as to the price In 

 different places they may be worth $joo or 

 less, up to $.s.oo or more. 



Emptying Out Partly-Filled Frames 



What is the best I can do with frames 

 partly-filled with honey; that is. not " ripe ? " 

 Would you put them on hives to be finished 

 up. or let the bees clean them out in the fall, 

 if they will, or what would you do ? 



Pennsylvania. 



Answer.— If you put those partly-filled 

 frames over hives in fall to be emptied out. 

 the bees may or may not empty them. If 

 you expose them In the open they will as- 

 suredly empty them promptly; but they will 

 also tear to pieces the tender new comb, 

 ■you may avoid this by covering them up and 

 allowing entrance for only one bee at a time. 

 A good way is to mass them on one hive- 

 now and not "later "—then when they are 

 filled and sealed extract, or else keep them 

 for the bees next spring. 



After-Swarms — Wlien to Prevent Swarming 



In one way I understand that a new queen 

 on emerging goes about and kills oi destroys 

 all other queen cells or emerging queens: 

 but then this seems to me not to tally with 

 what is said in this connection with after- 

 swarms. In the latter, one queen takes off 

 a swarm, then a later queen takes a second 

 one. and so on. Now. if the first queen 

 really did settle all about other cells and 

 queens, how could there be after-swarms ? 

 • 2. When one examines a colony and finds 

 queen-cells, how can one satisfy himself as 

 to whether the latter are of a colony that 

 has already swarmed or that the colony is 

 preparing to swarm ? I meet with cases in 

 which it seems to me that there are lots of 

 bees, so I feel nonplussed to recognize 



whether I should treat such colony to pre- 

 vent swarming or not Pennsylvania. 



Answers. — I. When a young queen emerges 

 from her cell, her first care, under any and 

 all circumstances, seems to be to kill all 

 rivals in their cells, and this she does by 

 digging into the side of the cell. So strong 

 is this destructive feeling in her, that a 

 good many times I have known a young 

 queen in a nursery, where she could get at 

 no other queen-cell, to dig a hole in the side 

 of her own cell after emerging from it. If 

 matters were left entirely to her there 

 would be no after-swarming. But the work- 

 ers have the deciding vote, and if they de- 

 cide there shall be an after-swarm they 

 stand guard over the cells and will not al- 

 low the young queen to destroy them. Then 

 it looks a little as if the queen said. "Well, 

 if I can't get rid of these hated rivals, at any 

 rate I won't stay in the hive with them," and 

 off she goes with a swarm. As soon as the 

 swarm leaves, generally all guarding of the 

 cells ceases, all the virgins sufficiently ma- 

 ture emerge from their cells, fight until only 

 one is left, and she is allowed to destroy all 

 remaining cells. If. however, the bees de- 

 cide upon further swarming after the first 

 after-swarm, only one queen is allowed to 

 emerge, and she goes off with a swarm, and 

 this may be repeated until the last swarm 

 issues. 



2. It is not always easy to decide whether 

 a swarm has issued or not. If you find sealed 

 cells, brood in all stages, and eggs, and then 

 succeed in finding the old queen, you may 

 be sure there has been no swarming, unless 

 it be that a swarm has issued and returned, 

 which may happen if the queen is clipped 

 or unable to fly. If you do not find the 

 queen, then you can only guess by the num- 

 ber of bees present. If there are no eggs, 

 then the chances are that the colony 

 swarmed three days or more ago. 



Robbing— Feeding Weak Colonies— Swarming 

 When Tliere Is No Honey to Gattier 



1. If bees begin robbing a hive can it be 

 stopped, and how ? 



2. The honey-flow seems to be over here, 

 and I have three weak colonies with very 

 little comb, but nice good queens. How 



would you feed them so other bees would 

 not get to the feed ? 



i- Would you put sugar syrup out in the 

 open for all of the bees to eat. or would it 

 have a bad influence on them woiking on 

 the flowers later ? 



-1. Will bees swarmwhen there isno honey 

 to gather? Illinois. 



Answers —I. If bees have a good start at 

 robbing a weak colony, it is a hard matter 

 to stop them Perhaps the best thing is to 

 takeaway the colony, putting it down cel- 

 lar for two or three days, and put in place 

 of the hive another hive like it, containing 

 some comb and a little honey. (If you leave 

 nothing for them to work at. they will at- 

 tack ontfor more of the nearest colonies ) 

 When they have cleaned out the little 

 honey, and satisfied themselves there is no 

 more to be had, they will quietly give it up. 

 Then, after two or three days, return the 

 colony to its place, closing the entrance to a 

 very small space, perhaps allowing passage 

 for only one or two bees at a time, and it 

 may be that the robbers will not make an- 

 other start, especially if a good queen is 

 present. But if the colony is queenless. the 

 case is rather hopeless. 



Sometimes robbing has commenced at a 

 fairly strong colony with a good queen. The 

 first thing is to limit the entrance. Perhaps 

 painting carbolic acid about the entrance 

 will answer. A pretty good way is to pile 

 hay or straw a foot deep in front of the en- 

 trance and keep it well wet with water. 



Generally robbing is owing to some care- 

 lessness on the part of the beekeeper, and 

 prevention is better than cure. 



2. Use a Miller feeder in the evening after 

 flight is over, and there will be no trouble. 

 Other feeders can be used. If you happen 

 to have none you can use a crock-and-plate 

 feeder. Take a gallon crock, or some other 

 size, put sugar in it. and an equal measure 

 or weight of water, lay it over a piece of 

 heavy woolen cloth or four or five thick- 

 nesses of cheese-cloth, and on this lay a 

 plate upside down. With one hand under 

 the bottom and the other on top. quickly 

 turn the whole thing upside down, and your 

 feeder is ready. Take the cover off your 

 hive, set over it an empty hive-body, set your 

 feeder in it. and cover up, being sure that 



Cozy Corner tor a Rctireu Business Man- 



1tai.l\n Beks ANii Kurbank Plums. 

 Chas. W. Brimhai.l. 



