360 Beekeeping 



Difficulties of identification. 



At times this work calls for considerable knowledge of 

 botany, which most beekeepers cannot be expected to possess. 

 Because of errors in identification and failure to keep in 

 touch with recent advances in the science of botany, the 

 scientific names of the honey-plants in the books and journals 

 on beekeeping often do not agree with those of the leading 

 botanical works. 



Study of neighboring locations. 



It frequently happens that a beekeeper maintains his 

 apiary for years in one locality, sometimes experiencing a 

 total failure of his crop, when within a few miles of him 

 there are nectar resources on which he might draw, but of 

 which he is in ignorance. Many beekeepers have come to 

 see this only after they have established out-apiaries. A 

 beekeeper who is depending on his bees for a considerable 

 amount of his income should make a study of the regions 

 about him, perhaps for a distance of several miles, and when 

 he finds a locality which looks promising, but concerning 

 which he can get no definite information, it will pay to place 

 one or two colonies there and to inspect them at intervals 

 during the season. In this way, it is possible at times to 

 find locations favorable for migratory beekeeping. Any 

 swamps within moving distance should be investigated, 

 as these regions are more dependable than drier locations. 

 In view of the fact that many beekeepers by staying at 

 home are losing nectar that is abundant only a few miles 

 away, it is evident that scouting should be more generally 

 practiced. The increasing use of automobile trucks by 

 beekeepers will probably lead to more migratory beekeeping 

 than has existed in the past. 



Function of nectar. 



The nectar which is secreted in the flowers of numerous 

 species of plants is not a mere by-product of plant activity 



