The Production of Comb-Honey 317 



of the honey-flow, all the supers should be removed to pre- 

 vent honey from being carried down to the brood-chamber 

 and to keep the bees from propolizing the sections excessively. 

 At this time bee-escapes (Fig. 31) greatly increase the ease 

 of taking off supers and, while they are useful at any time, 

 they are specially helpful after the honey-flow ceases. The 

 honey should be taken to the shop and protected carefully 

 from robbing bees. 



Preparation of bait sections. 



Before storing the supers, any unfilled sections should 

 be sorted out and the partially filled ones may be given 

 back to the bees to be emptied. If no disease is present 

 in the apiary or in the neighborhood and if there are a con- 

 siderable number of such sections, they may simply be 

 exposed where the bees can get the honey from them and 

 they should be left there until a day or two after the bees 

 have ceased to visit them. Bees often leave sealed honey 

 untouched under these circumstances. If there are only 

 a few supers, they may be stacked on colonies and should 

 be left there for a day after the bees have taken out the 

 honey. In this way excitement is reduced to the minimum 

 and general robbing is prevented. The emptied sections 

 should then be saved for bait sections the following season. 



Storage in supers. 



The full supers are so placed in the honey-house as to 

 permit free circulation of air, by laying them crosswise or 

 by putting sticks between the supers. The storage room 

 must be kept dry with the windows open (but screened) 

 during warm weather. During damp, cool weather, the 

 windows should be closed and the room may be heated 

 artificially, sudden changes in temperature being avoided. 

 If wax-moths are abundant, the honey may be fumigated 

 with sulphur fumes or carbon bisulfide (p. 414). 



Comb-honey should be prepared for market as speedily 

 as practical after its removal from the hive. This is specially 



