Jan. 1, 1!)12 



the cell, especiailx after they are three <la\ s 

 old; but the ejigs are harder to distinguish 

 on account of their small size; in fact, they 

 look like very short bits of white thread at- 

 tached to the far end — that is, the bottom of 

 the cell. It is just as well for the beginner 

 to learn to detect the i)resenc-e of eggs in the 

 comb, for an evenly arranged patch is pret- 

 ty good proof that the queen has been busy. 



HOW TO REVKRSE A COMH. 



A frame has two sides, so you had better 

 look at tile other one too. Your most natu- 

 ral impulse will be to cant the frame over; 

 but don't do so; for as you lilt it up to the 

 level the weight of the comb is apt to break 

 it away. Try it thus: Lower one hand, say 

 the right, until the top Ijar is i)erpendicular 

 (Fig. iS) ; turn the frame half way round, 

 using the top-bar as a pivot (Fig. 9); then 

 raise the hand that was lowered (Fig. 10). 

 Your frame is now upside down, with the 

 second side toward you. Here is another 

 method that can Vie carried out without a 

 pause; Let the lugs of the 

 frame rest on the middle 

 fingers of each hand, 

 these being Vient toward 

 the chest. Turn the comb 

 end for end by swinging 

 the left hand to the right 

 of the right hand, then 

 swing the comb up into 

 the position shown in Fig. 

 10. To get to the original 

 jiosition, reverse the move- 

 ments. 



17 



arrangements of the inmates, not only to a 

 considerable extent, but possibly to the in- 

 jury of the young; for in May it is a rather 

 extensive incubator where many thousand 

 eggs are being hatched while young bees 

 are being brooded. An open hive means 

 the loss of heat; therefore we resolve that in 

 future we will do the necessary examina- 

 tions as speedily as possible, and never lift 

 the cover unless the shade temi)eralure is 

 about (io or warmer. 

 Victoria, H, C. 



THE BRAULA CCECA NOT A TRUE PARASITE. 



BY .JOHX A. WOLFFSOHN. 



I notice in your August 15th issue, page 

 4<j8, an interestmg paper on " Braulacipca," 

 by Dr. Bruennich. in which the author says 

 that " to my knowledge no one has observed 

 the act [of feeding of the bee-louse] till 

 now."' It may interest the doctor and some 



REPLACING FRAME.-?. 



\^'hen through with this 

 frame, replace it in the 

 hive, pushing it tight 

 against the vacant side. 

 There is no excuse for 

 j)lacing it on the ground. 

 If you have changed it so 

 that you have forgotten 

 which is the front end, 

 just look at the brood, for 

 the bees prefer to have 

 their young toward the en- 

 trance of the hive, but 

 the honey at the rear. 

 When you have examined 

 as many frames as you 

 want, push them over to their original po- 

 sition by putting the hive-tool between the 

 side of the hive and the end -bar of the 

 frame, and using it as a lever. Now insert 

 the frame (irst taken out, pushing it into 

 place, then the follower. 



Occasionally it is necessary to move a 

 brood-chamber from the stand, and to the 

 novice it is a ])roblem what to do with it. 

 He feels he sliould not set it on the ground, 

 as there is every chance of killing many 

 bees. The smaller the bearing surface the 

 better, so one can use a bottom-board, an 

 empty hive, or a very shallow box. resting 

 the bottom of the hive across the sides. 



Our first excursion through a bee-hive has 

 been quite a long one, and has disturbed the 



Apiary of T. H. Hill. Maywood. 111., a suburb of Chicago. 111. A 

 neighbor's house is just back of the fence, but there have never been 

 any complaints. The hives are at the back of the lot in full view of 

 the street, and attract a great deal of attention, especially when the 

 owner is working with the bees. 



of your readers to learn that M. Lucien 

 Iches, in his excellent work. "L'abeille 

 domestique." Paris, 100-5. ([uotes the follow- 

 ing from .1. Perez, Xof(;-'< cV apiculture: 



One day. bavins captured a bee with one of the.se 

 lice I fixed its head with a pair of pincers sufficient- 

 ly to keep it unmovable. and to capture the small 

 parasite easily. Both it and the bee were left for a 

 while on the table in ray studio, under a glass. 



When 1 returned to them I was not a little puz- 

 zled to see the parasite in the most vivacious and 

 strange agitation. Seated on the fore part of the 

 bee's head it was moving about with incredible 

 vivacity, as though possessed of veritable rage. 

 Now it would go to the marsrin of the bees cap. 

 with its fore feet raised, stamp and scratch as hard 

 as its weakness would allow at the base of the bees 

 lip: then it would suddenly run back to the inser- 

 tion of the antenn;c to renew its inu>etuous attack 

 immediately. I was quite taken uii by my first sur- 

 prise, when I suddenly saw all this fury turn to per- 



