AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



553 



answered by 



Marengo, III. 



In this department will be answered those 

 questions needing immediate attention, and 

 such as are not of sufficient special Interest to 

 require replies from the 20 or more apiarists 

 who help to make "Queries and Replies" so 

 interesting: on another page. In the main. It 

 win contain questions and answers upon mat- 

 ters that particularly interest beginners.— Ed. 



Loss of Queens in Introducing. 



I introduced a queen on the 5-day 

 plaj?. She was all right when the 5 days 

 were up, but I found her 4 or 5 days 

 afterward thrown out in front of the 

 hive. Why did they accept her, then 

 kill her ? Or is that often the case ? I 

 have lost X of my queens in introducing 

 this fall. Is that above the average 

 lost ? W. P. 



Choctaw City, 0. T. 



Answeb. — Yes, your loss is heavier 

 than usual. With regard to the queen 

 you mention, if a queen is fully accepted 

 and goes to laying, she is rarely rejected 

 afterward. Sometimes, however, the 

 bees seem to think she'll only do till 

 they can get another queen started. 



Wintering Nuclei, Etc. 



1. Can I with safety (to queens) unite 

 in one hive for winter two nuclei, sepa- 

 rated with a division-board having queen- 

 excluding metal 4x4: inches on each side 

 of the opening in the division-board? 

 How shall I prepare nuclei for winter ? 



2. On Aug. 5 I purchased a select 

 tested queen. I found on Oct. 2, two 

 frames containing two or four eggs in 

 each cell, four frames partly filled with 

 honey and no eggs. Is this indication 

 (more than one egg in a cell) a detriment 

 to the quality of the queen ? Please 

 give the reason for this excessive laying. 



R. C. W. 



Answers. — 1. I have wintered prob- 

 ably a hundred or mora nuclei in the 

 way you mention, only no excluder zinc 



between. Simply a division-board %- 

 inch thick between the two nuclei, then 

 wintered the same as any colony. 

 There's surely an advantage in letting 

 one have the heat of the other, I think. 

 In all cases where the two are clustered 

 up against the division-board, making a 

 solid cluster with the division-board in 

 the middle, I am afraid the zinc would 

 not be quite so good. 



2. If a queen is present, and there are 

 not bees enough to cover well the other 

 combs, the plurality of eggs in a cell 

 shows a good queen. If the eggs are in 

 drone-cells, I should suspect laying 

 workers. 



Cedar Wood for Feeders and Supers. 



Are bee-feeders made of cedar lumber 

 any detriment to the bees? I made 

 some percolator feeders as described by 

 you recently, and the very next day 

 the water above the sugar tasted of 

 cedar. Also, could surplus honey get 

 any flavor of cedar on account of using 

 cedar lumber for supers ? J. F. R. 



Puyallup, Wash. 



Answer. — While I wouldn't want to 

 keep extracted honey in cedar vessels, 

 on account of the taste, still I hardly 

 think it would do any harm to the bees. 

 It might be well to let the feeders stand 

 for some time filled with water before 

 using. That would take away some of 

 the rank flavor. 



Cedar supers would be all right for 

 comb honey. The flavor of pine is quite 

 strong, but I never knew it to afifect sec- 

 tions of honey. 



Section Slats— Winter Protection. 



1. In using sections for comb honey, 

 how can best results be obtained from 

 slats or tin rests ? I have had no expe- 

 rience, as I am a new hand, and the 

 grasshoppers have interfered with the 

 honey crop for three years. 



2. About what is the cheapest and 

 best winter protection for bees ? 



Wood's Cross, Utah. W. C. A. 



Answers. — 1. There is a difference of 

 opinion. Some like one, some the other. 

 For my own part, I like the T tins, 



