Gleanings in Bee Culture 



EXAMINING A COLONY OF BEES. 



BY F. DUNDAS TODD. 



[However familiar the experienced bee-keeper 

 may be with the details as told in this article, we 

 feel sure that the points mentioned will prove of in- 

 terest and value to the beginner, for who.se benefit 

 they were especially intended.— Ed.] 



It is always good policy for the beginner 

 in bee-keeping to see an experienced hand 

 manipulate the frames of a hive before he 

 tackles the job himself, because it will give 

 him confidence, helping to overcome the 

 instinctive dread of stings. He will learn 

 by observation that, when handled skillful- 

 ly (and this word in the present connection 

 really means gently), most bees remain 

 quietly on the frames, and are no more dan- 

 gerous than so many flies. Worker bees are 

 constituted of high nervous tension, and 

 will not tolerate with eqvianimity a sudden 

 jar or shock of any kind; therefore all move- 

 ments must be easy and gentle if one de- 

 sires them to be in good humor. In his 

 dread of stings the novice is apt to rush 

 things and be jerky in his movements, and 

 so bring about the very condition he least 

 desires — an irritated, pugnacious communi- 

 ty. It is not wise to depend upon smoke to 

 quell an insurrection. Tne true rulership 

 consists in avoiding the beginning of strife. 



Here are a few simple rules that are worth 

 following while working with bees: 



1. Never stand in front of the hive en- 

 trance, for that is the bee ' roadway. You 

 will soon get notice to move; and if you fail 

 to comply, stinging will be attempted. 



2. Never put a frame nor any other part of 

 a hive in front of the entrance. 



o. Leave all frames in the same order in 

 the hive as you found them, and turned the 

 same way. 



4. Make every movement slowly and de- 

 liberately, never dropping a frame into \)0- 

 sition, but placing it exactly where it be- 

 longs. 



5. Avoid, if possible, killing a single bee: 

 for among communists, whether human or 

 not, an injury to one is an injury to all, and 

 must be avenged. Kentucky feuds are a 

 lingering remnant of the Scotch clan spirit 

 among the descendants of the Highland ex- 

 iles of the eighteenth century. 



It is possible you do not have a neighbor 

 to give you the first lesson, so I will invite 

 you to come to my yard and examine with 

 jne a hive; and since you can not l)e with 

 me in reality I will bring my camera into 

 l)layand illustrate each feature that fnaybe 

 worthy of not ice. 



First, we get the smoker agoing, then put 

 on our bee-suits. All being ready we stand 

 alongside the hive, which will appear as in 

 Fig. 1 — that is. if it is an eight-frame Lang- 

 stroth, which thi-: happens to be. Its cover 

 is rather diderent in design from those in 

 general use; but it is popular on this side of 

 the Pacitic coast where we have long-con- 

 tinued \\ inter rains, and only short s]iel!s of 

 severely cold weather. Notice that the l)ee- 

 keei)er is standing on the sunny side of the 



hive so that, when he comes to examine the 

 frames closely, the sunlight will strike into 

 the cells. 



We will begin by removing the cover, see 

 Pig. 2; and when we do so we find a piece of 

 cloth underneath. This is known as the 

 quilt, and is usually made of table oil-cloth 

 with the glossy side down, as the Ijees have 

 a habit of carrying out any fabric they can 

 tear to pieces. The purpose of this cloth is 

 to retain the heat of the hive, for reasons 

 that will be seen later. 



The cover of your hive is probably a flat 

 one; and when you try to take it off you 

 may find it fastened down tight. Very 

 likely the bees have cemented it all round 

 to the body with propolis — a kind of glue — 

 and we must break the bond. So we force 

 the hive-tool under one corner of ;he cover 

 and give it a twist; or, press your left hand 

 firmly upon the center of the cover, and at 

 the same time pull up one corner with the 

 right. 



The cover is set to one side; then we take 

 the quilt by one corner and peel it off. We 

 now see the tops of the frames, from between 

 which, if it be late spring or summer, thou- 

 sands of bees are appearing and covering 

 the upper i)art. Fig. '.) shows how the hive 

 will look at this stage. 



Bees are much like people. Some are 

 good-tempered and some are not. Any one 

 keepintr bees as a hobby is foolish to have 

 any of the vicious kind, more especially if 

 he is surrounded by near neighbors. The 

 best working bees in my own yard are .so 

 gentle that I rarely have to use smoke on 

 them. But I have had colonies so vicious 

 that they attackedany living thing coming 

 within ten yards. The queens at the head 

 of these colonies soon ceased to exist, being 

 replaced by others from a less pugnacious; 

 strain. So when we remove the quilt we 

 have a chance to learn something about the 

 temper of the insects in this particular hive; 

 for if they are good they will stay quietly 

 on the combs; but if bad they will run 

 around and fly off — some at us, and some to 

 the hive entrance. Now is the lime to use 

 smoke to keep them in subjection. How 

 much, will depend on circumstances; but 

 never more than is necessary. With the 

 average hive it is usually enough to give a 

 few puffs across the frames, never down 

 through them, as the quilt is being peeled 

 off. In the case of a colony known to be ir- 

 rital)le, it is usually necessary tT give a puff 

 or two into the hive-entrance Viefore remov- 

 ing the cover. In spring and autumn, when 

 the colonies are weak in numbers, it is often 

 unnecessary to use smoke. 



In the eight-framehivewe are examining, 

 the inside width is 12)^ inches; but the 

 frames occupy only 11 inches of that, so 

 there is a free space of over one inch on one 

 side of the frames. Part ff this is filled by 

 a "follower' made ot a thin board. Occa- 

 sionally this is called a division-board. In 

 use it is pu.shed tight against the last frame. 



Our first work is to remove the follower 

 that occupies the space between the frames 



