May 1. 1912 



285 



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Swarms Issue Before Cells are Sealed and After 

 Queens are Hatching 



In the summer of 1910 I had M colonies, spring 

 count, located in a young orchard on a north slope. 

 There was very little swarming until July 4; but 

 from then on, swarms issued to about Aug. 1. In a 

 majority of the cases I examined the parent colo- 

 ny after the swarm Issued, and in almost all cases 

 found that young uueens had already issued or 

 were gnawing their way out. In a number of in- 

 stances the virgins came out while I was transfer- 

 ring swarm cells to queenless colonies. I well re- 

 member ray first experience of that kind. I cut 

 out a fine cell from a hive where a swarm had just 

 issued, and laid it on a bit of board in the shade of 

 a hive while I was cutting out another and closing 

 the hive. When 1 looked at it again a bee was 

 crawling all over the outside of it, and it was emp- 

 ty. I thought it could not be a queen, because it 

 had not had time to hatch: but when the same 

 thing was observed again, 1 "tumbled." 



In the summer of 1911 1 had my bees on a south 

 slope with very little shade, and that from boards 

 laid over the hives. Bees began swarming during 

 the early part of June, and kept it up actively till 

 the last of the month. By that time it was getting 

 dry, and the previous abundant tlow of honey was 

 tapering off. My previous year's experience led 

 me to suppose that swarms do not generally issue 

 until young iiueens are ready to come out: but 

 that season it was just the opposite. When I went 

 through parent colonies I found a majority of the 

 iiueen cells still unsealed, and had difficulty in get- 

 ting any number of sealed cells from my best colo- 

 nies to use in raising queens. I think all cells 

 opened in hives from which swarms had just is- 

 sued showed the queen still in the grub state — at 

 least none were ripe, so far as my memory serves 

 me. It completely upset my previous year's expe- 

 rience. 



Rains came about the middle of July, and the fall 

 tlow was good. About the first of August, swarm- 

 ing began again and continued up to the 15th of 

 the month. About ten or fifteen per cent of the 

 colonies swarmed at this time. As In June, the 

 bees again seemed to be swarming long before 

 their queen cells were ready to hatch. Probably, 

 taken as an average, my bees were not quite so 

 well provided with storage room in 1911 as in 1910. 

 In 1911 they were also more exposed to the sun. 



But allowing for the two above-named differ- 

 ences I am myself inclined to charge the difference 

 in haste to swarm more to the difference in the 

 .season and honey flow of the two years. 



Pellston, Mich. J. D. Uobinson. 



Clipped Queens Not a Nuisance 



The thought has often occurred to me that bee- 

 keepers have a great advantage over those who 

 handle other live animals because of the uniform 

 action of bees under certain conditions. It seems 

 to me that we should know just what bees will do 

 if treated in a certain way: and yet, was there ever 

 a business in which there is so much disagreement 

 among the masters of the craft ? 



Some claim that clipped queens are a "nuisance." 

 1 can't see it that way, for I "have clipped all of my 

 queens for the past 25 years, and I can not recall 

 that in all that time a single queen has been killed 

 or injured by the bees on account of having been 

 clipped. I always cut off about two-thirds of both 

 wings on one side, and my bees hardly know what 

 a queen would look like having both wings whole. 

 Of course, queens reared in the fall keep both wings 

 until clipping time in the spring, whlih is just as 

 s on as I can handle them without exposure to 

 cold. 1 clip to save time, work, and swarms. I am 

 sure that I have saved a great many dollars' worth 

 of bees by having all queens clipped. 1 admit that, 

 if I were using very large hlve.«, and had my fields 

 all overstocked, it is likely that clipping could be 

 dispensed with. I'nder such conditions there 

 would be very few swarms. But the average bee- 

 keeper will save much work by clipping. My hives 

 are ail placed close to the ground, and during the 

 swarming season I keep the grass mown smooth 

 around the entrances. When a swarm issues, the 

 attendant can usually find the queen as soon as 

 she leaves the hive. 



I often pick up a queen, cage her, set the hive 

 (from which the bees are still issuing) back a few 

 feet with the entrance reversed, put a burlap over 

 it, and, after placing a prepared hive on the old 

 stand, put the caged queen in the entrance and go 

 about other work, not having expended more than 

 thirty seconds of time, well knowing that the bees 

 of the swarm will return to the old stand reasona- 

 bly soon, whether they cluster or not. 



II. E. Harrington, page 14:^, March 1, says that he 

 had to break off limbs and climb trees "just the 

 same." I can't see why. I clip to avoid climbing 

 trees and sawing limbs, and I do avoid it. My only 

 failures have occurred where colonies that were 

 supposed to have clipped queens had superseded 

 and reared young queens. This happens only once 

 in a great while. If you are sure your swarm can 

 can not combine with another that has a flying 

 queen, or that they have not a virgin queen with 

 them, you may rest assured that they will come 

 back in due time. In cases where several swarms 

 issue at nearly the same time, and all cluster to- 

 gether, it is an easy matter to divide them up and 

 distribute them where wanted, if all of their queens 

 are in cages. Possession of the queen is the key to 

 the whole situation: and for my part I would not 

 think of working without this advantage; but, as I 

 intimated at the start, it is much easier to get the 

 bees to agree on a certain course of action than to 

 get any sort of agreement as to methods of proced- 

 ure on the part of the men who handle them. 



My son, who was practically reared in the apiary, 

 says he never knew of a queen being injured by 

 her bees because she was clipped. 



Bridgeport, Wi.s., March 14. Harry Lathrop. 



How to Find Where the Swarm Came from 



Going out into the beeyard one day recently, I 

 found three swarms hanging clustered. That eve- 

 ning, just before dark, I called my son to assist me 

 in finding where the swarms had come from, as I 

 always like to learn this; and my plan works so 

 nicely, and is so little trouble, 1 feel as if I should 

 write it up for the benefit of others. 



I have boxes of Vn stufT, 3M inches wide by 5 high, 

 and 5M long inside, with the bottom nailed fast. A 

 ?3-lnch hole is bored in one end, and covered with 

 wire cloth for ventilation. The top is the same 

 width as the outside of the box, but an inch or two 

 longer. A % piece of board that is a little smaller 

 than the inside of the top of the box is nailed on 

 the bottom of the cover to keep it from slipping off. 



When hiving one or more swarms I put about a 

 teacupful of bees in the box and set it in the shade, 

 and mark which swarm the bees are from. About 

 sundown, or later if the bees work late, they are 

 jarred down to the bottom of the box by setting it 

 down hard. I lift the top off and dust enough 

 wheat Hour on the bees In the box to coat them 

 lightly. I then dump them out on a hive cover; 

 and if they do not fly readily they are dumped 

 again on the ground. They will soon return to the 

 old hive: and if there are several "boxes" to lo- 

 cate, an old sack can be thrown over the entrance 

 and another box dumped, bees located, and so on 

 until all are disposed of. 



In order to work well the bees should be confined 

 away from the swarm for a few hours. If the 

 swarm has issued the same day, they are all right. 

 If liberated while bees are flying freely they seem 

 sometimes to be confused, and will try to enter 

 other colonies, especially where young bees are 

 playing. So. alter the yard has quieted down to- 

 ward n'ght is the best time. But if the yard should 

 quiet down before a rain, or if it should turn cool, 

 the bees will go home just as well. Do not wait 

 until nearly dark or the bees may not get their 

 beirings. Too much flour makes the bees slow. 

 It is easier if there is some one to find which hives 

 the bees are entering. r „ o a,=. 



Port orange, Fla., March 26. J. 'i- case. 



Italian Bees Swarm Excessively 



W. ('. Mollette. Feb. 15, 1912, p. 11)0. complains of 

 the exce.ssive swarming of Italians. Many in this 

 vicinity have had the same difliculty with Italians. 

 \ neighbor of mine who found a bee-tree asked me 

 to assist him In cutting it and hiving the bees. Ihe 



