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THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



April 2, 



Spring Work in the Apiary. 



BY WM. S. BARCLAT. 



As the season is rapidly approaching when the bees will 

 have to be examined, a few words in relation to the manner of 

 handling them may not be out of place. 



To those who have wintered their bees out-doors and at 

 the same time used single hives, I will here say that they are 

 more fortunate than myself if their bees bees are not troubled 

 with dysentery. To avoid this great trouble I would ad- 

 vise that the single hives be enclosed in an outside case, and 

 that they be packed now (as if for winter) on all sides except 

 the front of the hive, and if the weather is warm enough for 

 them to fly, that they be fed rye meal ; if not warm enough, 

 that the meal be liberally scattered over the tops of thecombs. 

 I remember one instance at least in which this treatment re- 

 lieved me of some serious oases of loss from this my greatest 

 spring trouble. 



Those who have used double hives which have not been 

 packed in their vacant spaces in the winter, should see that it 

 is done at once. So far as my locality is concerned, I am not 

 yet sure that it is not of greater consequence to pack at this 

 time, than it is to do so in order to meet the rigors of a severe 

 winter. In all outside packing I would advise that it should 

 be put in quite loosely, as in this way we are more apt to avoid 

 dampness, and this is our great object in packing. 



As to feeding to increase brood-rearing, I have almost con- 

 cluded that no matter how much honey may be in the hive, if 

 we place feeding-honey, or sugar syrup in the proper position 

 in the brood-nest it will be greedily taken by the bees, and 

 thus be promotive of increased brood-rearing. By the proper 

 position I mean by placing it out-side the division-board. I 

 like this much better than feeding lightly every day above the 

 brood-nest; it accomplishes the same purpose, and saves much 

 time and labor. 



Another matter that has been much practiced and written 

 about is that of brood-spreading. This is a subject that should 

 be approached with great caution — indeed, after practicing it 

 to a limited extent for some years past, I have serious 

 doubts that there is anything gained by the practice ; and 

 where it is attempted, I would insist that no spreading of 

 brood should be attempted until the colony has at least four 

 or five combs of sealed brood, and not even then, unless there 

 is promise of continued favorable weather. If it is then at- 

 tempted, it will be found that a little sugar syrup filled about 

 one-third of the way down the combs, given for eggs, will 

 cause them to be tilled with brood much sooner than if given 

 empty. 



The danger to be encountered in spreading the brood is to 

 be attributed to the rapid and variable changes of the weather 

 in which the bees, in closing the cluster, uncover their brood, 

 and thus a portion of it is killed. I find after this has occurred 

 the colony almost always becomes discouraged to su.^h an ex- 

 tent that it is almost impossible to induce them to rear bees in 

 time for the honey harvest, and thus the bees are reared 

 only to become consumers instead of honey-gatherers, so that 

 I much prefer to blanket down tight over the combs, not even 

 using a "IIIll's device," and then use plenty of packing over 

 the brood-nest, leaving an empty space next the roof of the 

 hive, and if feeding is done, let it be in the brood-nest outside 

 of a division-board, as before spoke of. 



In my locality, natural pollen will be very late this season, 

 and as I find that the feeding of rye meal is a great assistance 

 to brood-rearing, I would reccommend that this, or other pol- 

 len-giving material, be given freely to the bees. 



Beaver Pa., March 17. 



Mr. Aikiu on the Swarming Question. 



BY ADRIAN GETAZ. 



In the Bee-Keepers' Review for December, Mr. R. C. 

 Aikin, in an excellent contribution on the swarming question, 

 says : 



"In the American Bee Journal for Nov. 14, 1895, page "31, I 

 find the following sentence by Mr. Adrian Getaz : ' Excepting the 

 case of loss of queen, queen-cells are constructed only when three 

 conditions are present, viz.: 1st, a honey-flow; 2nd, a number of 

 young bees, and ,3rd, the laying of the queen restricted by either 

 the lack of space (or rather empty combs) or a failure in the 

 fecundity of the queen.' In the article from which I quote, he 

 advances the theory that the bees under such conditions have a 

 surplus of larval food which is used in the construction of queen- 

 cells, hence swarming results." 



The idea that the surplus of larval food is the cause of 

 swarming is not original with me. It was discussed exten- 

 sively in Gleanings during 1889, and advocated by quite a 



number of our leading writers, chiefly Messrs. Stachelhausen 

 and Hasty. Dr. Miller and Editor A. I. Root also endorsed it. 

 In some of the foot-notes Mr. Root insisted that previous to 

 swarming, larval food is found in the embryo queen-cells, 

 even quite awhile before any egg is deposited therein. He 

 also stated that the idea of a surplus of larval food being the 

 cause of swarming had first been advanced by Adair, several 

 years before. 



All seem to have taken the ground that the swarming 

 notion originates with the young bees on account of the sur- 

 plus of larval food. This, 1 cannot see ; it does not seem to 

 me that the young bees, which have hardly over been out, 

 should be the ones to get dissatisfied and want to swarm. , 



On the other hand, I can very well conceive that having 

 more larval food than they can use in feeding the queen and 

 young brood, they construct queen-cells, and, perhaps at first, , 

 only store the food in them until finally eggs are laid there 

 also. Once the queen-cells constructed and getting pretty far 

 advanced, the old queen begins to realize (probably as Mr. 

 Hasty says, by the scent of the cells) that rivals are there. 

 She gets excited and tries to destroy them, the bees instinct- 

 ively try to protect them, and finally the excitement reaches 

 the point where swarming takes place. 



That the plurality of queens, or queen and queen-cells, is 

 the immediate cause of swarming seems to be admitted with- 

 out doubt, as least as far as I can see. If two or more queens 

 are at liberty, a fight ensues, and only one remains. If one 

 is free and the others in cells, and protected by the bees, or 

 caged by the apiarist (this I know by experience), the free 

 queen, after attempting to destroy her rivals, will swarm. 

 Further on Mr. Aikin says : 



" But what causes this surplus of larval food? lean see a 

 reason in the activity and stimulus of the honey-flow, the greater 

 number of nurse-bees, and the surplus augmented by a decreased 

 amount of brood caused by crowding the queen; but if these are 

 the causes of building cells, why do fehey not continue until the 

 close of the flow ? If the colony can be gotten safely past the first 

 part of the flow (or through the first 10 or ISdays) without swarm- 

 ing, we may have present all the conditions named, and yet the 

 swarming will decrease 'Sy to T5 per cent." 



This may depend upon a great many circumstances, and 

 I would like to know more about it. 



In my locality honey comes in irregularly, and in moder- 

 ate quantity at the best, from the first of April (fruit blos- 

 soms) to the middle of July, or a little later (sourwood). Until 

 the first of June, or about then, should queen-cells be con- 

 structed, which is nearly always the case, swarming follows 

 invariably. During that time the weather, at least during 

 the night, is not very warm yet ; and the bees remain crowded 

 in the brood-nest, and in one, or perhaps two, supers imme- 

 diately above. The result is that the queen gets easily 

 crowded for space, and that when queen-cells are constructed, 

 they are fully protected by the bees. 



After that date, or about, the conditions change. I 

 always put plenty of supers on my hives so that they will not 

 be too warm. I find then (I mean after June 1) that the tem- 

 perature is high enough to permit the bees to break up the 

 cluster entirely, and work anywhere in the hives, and I find 

 them scattered in all the supers instead of being concentrated 

 in the brood-nest and immediately above. The higher tem- . 

 perature also favors the building of comb and storing in the I 

 supers. The result is that the brood-nest is no more crowded ; 

 with honey and bees; and the queen has enough empty combs 

 to lay in. 



If through failure of fecundity of the queen the construc- 

 tion of queen-cells takes place, the bees are not crowded 

 enough to sufficiently protect them, and the queen succeeds (I 

 say " succeeds" not" is permitted ") in destroying them, or 

 if the old queen is nearly worn out, and has not the energy to 

 do it, the first virgin born will surely do it thoroughly. 



Does the above apply to Mr. Aikin's locality? I don't 

 know. I would like to know. In his case, judging by his 

 writings, the questioo of temperature does not seem to play 

 any part. Until some time in June, he has but little nectar, 

 then all at once the flow comes in abundance, and with the 

 flow excessive swarming during a week or two. I should sug- 

 gest the following explanation : 



At the opening of a heavy flow the bees get somewhat ex- 

 cited, the same as they do when feeding begins, rush for the 

 nectar, and crowd the brood-nest. It is also known that 

 comb-building is not well started until after a few days. So 

 they will at first literally clog the brood-nest, then after a few 

 days the comb-building is well under way, the excitement 

 diminished, the honey carried from the brood-nest into the 

 supers, and the swarming decreases consequently. 



That is only a supposition. I would like to hear more 



