472 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



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At Borodino, New York 



DRONES Out op season. 



Please give me a practical way of raising drones 

 during a dearth of nectar. Then also tell how to 

 care for them so the bees will not drive them out. 



^ashville, Tenn. W. P. Morris. 



The first question is a hard one. When 

 there comes such a dearth of nectar that all 

 the drones are killed, especially if it comes 

 at the close of the white-honey harvest, it 

 is almost impossible to make any colony 

 start to rearing drones again in this local- 

 ity. The bees seem to know that no more 

 drones are necessary for the remainder of 

 the year, and, no matter how regularly or 

 liberally we feed, the queen will not deposit 

 eggs in drone comb, even if we make half 

 the cells of the combs of that size. But, 

 strange to say, should there come a yield of 

 nectar from buckwheat three or four Aveeks 

 later, the queen will lay in the drone-cells, 

 as we often have swarms issue when there 

 is a two or three weeks' yield from that 

 source. But, as I said, we may feed as 

 much as we please during the period when 

 the buckwheat should secrete nectar, and it 

 seems to have no effect on drone-rearing, 

 even though the amount stored may be 

 twice as great as though the honey were 

 stored from buclnvheat. 



In some cases where the bees were bent 

 on superseding their queen I have succeed- 

 ed in having a few eggs laid in drone-cells 

 by feeding in a time of dearth. The older 

 the queen, the more drones will be reared; 

 therefore if we try for drones out of season 

 we must use old queens or those on the 

 point of failing, even though young in 

 years. 



If there is a drone mother at an out-api- 

 ary, or one is taken with her colony three 

 or four miles from home a week or two pri- 

 or to the close of the main nectar flow, her 

 drones may be made useful in the home 

 apiary in this way: Take the bee-funnel 

 and a box having queen-excluding metal on 

 one side of it to this colony as soon as the 

 flow from nectar ceases. Then look over 

 the frames till the comb is found that the 

 queen is on. Set this aside, and shake all 

 the other frames in the funnel, so that the 

 bees will "rattle" down through it into the 

 box below. The combs do not have to be 

 shaken very hard to dislodge drones, for 

 they do not stick as tenaciously as do the 

 workers. If there are many drones on the 

 comb with the queen she can now be picked 

 off and placed on one of the combs, when 

 these can also be shaken down through the 



funnel into the box. Now close the funnel 

 hole in the box and i3lace it near the en- 

 trance to the hive, having the queen-exclud- 

 ing metal so that the workers can run out 

 near the entrance and into it, while you are 

 getting the hive properly closed. A few 

 workers should be left in the box to care 

 for the drones on the way home; and when 

 the right number remain, close the queen- 

 excluder side with wire cloth. ■ 



Arriving home, take the box of drones to 

 the prepared queenless colony; open the 

 funnel hole of the box, turning that side of 

 the box down over the frames, when the 

 drones will run out into the queenless colo- 

 ny, where they will be at home till they are 

 used for mating purposes or die of old age. 



In order to have drones clear to the close 

 of the queen-rearing season, I i^refer the 

 following: A daj^ or two before the nectar 

 flow has entirely ceased I go to the colonies 

 having my best drone mothers, which were 

 prepared for drone production at the open- 

 ing of the season by giving two or more 

 frames of drone comb, and take out these 

 drone combs, substituting frames of work- 

 er comb. These will have more or less drone 

 brood in them, from the egg to the matur- 

 ing brood, if we do not wait till the flow 

 ceases, and they should be set in the pre- 

 jiared Cjueenless colony. In this way we 

 gain from 24 to 28 days, having young vig- 

 orous drones all the way through. This 

 colony having these drones and the drone 

 brood must be kept queenless all the time 

 after we select it for keeping drones; for 

 with the great number of drones it Avill eon- 

 tain in proportion to the workers, the 

 drones would be slaughtered on the least 

 provocation when there is a dearth of nec- 

 tar. I used to allow such a colony to rear 

 and fertilize a queen; and as soon as she 

 got to laying I took her out and gave an- 

 other ripe cell ; but as the season waned the 

 bees would go to persecuting the drones as 

 soon as the queen became fertile, even be- 

 fore she had laid an egg. Frames of sealed 

 Avorker brood must be given this colony 

 every two Aveeks to keep up sufficient force 

 to care for the drones, and regular feeding 

 resorted to, so that there Avill be a Aagorous 

 flight every fine day. If a tAvo or three 

 story hive is used, better results Avill be ob- 

 tained, especialh' if the third story is filled 

 Avith frames of sealed honey. A large col- 

 ony rich in stores, and a daily "ration," Avill 

 ahvays give a vigorous flight at any time 

 the queens can go out. 



