1896. 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



359 



8 



CONDHCTED BY 



DR. C C. mrLLBR, MAJRENGO, ILL. 



IQuestlons may be mailed to the Bee Journal, or to Dr. Miller direct.! 



milkireetl Pollen-ltlasses on the Feet of Bee§. 



I send two black bees for examination. Their feet are 

 covered with a yellow, fuzz-like hair. It is something new to 

 me. G. F. Y. 



Central City, 111. 



Answer. — If you will look closely you will see that the 

 little bodies attached to the bees' feet are hardly fuzzy or 

 hairy, but more like flat, solid affairs. They are pollen-masses 

 from milkweed, and are each year the cause of a good deal of 

 alarm to those unacquainted with them. Looking something 

 like a diseased growth on the foot, it is no wonder anxiety 

 may be felt lest similar growths take place on the feet of all 

 the bees. It is unusually early in the season to be troubled 

 with them, but this year doesn't seem to follow rules. You 

 will find some of the bees'so loaded with these pollen-masses 

 as to lose the use of their feet, and to be driven out of the 

 hives. As the milkweed is a good honey-plant, possibly the 

 damage done to the bees is made up by the amount of nectar 



secured. 



—^ — ' — ■ 



Bees Working Only in the morning. 



What is the matter with my bees ? I have three strong 

 colonies in a cool, shady place, and they work vigorously in 

 the morning, but cluster on the front of the hive in the even - 

 ing. I have had the supers on about three weeks, but they 

 have not started any surplus yet. I first thought they were 

 " fixing to swarm," but they have had time to rear a queen 

 since they began to cluster. I also thought the honey-flow 

 was coming to a close, as they killed out the drones, but they 

 seem to have plenty to do in the morning. I live in a forest 

 country, where we have wild grape-vines, ratan and many 

 others ; also pine, oak, hickory, black walnut, sweet gum, etc. 



Delroy, Tex. J. T. E. 



Answer. — It is nothing unusual at times for bees to work 

 busily in the forepart of the day and then lie idle in the after- 

 noon for lack of anything to do. Very likely that's the case 

 with your bees. Many plants seem to get ready through the 

 night to offer the bees a feast in the morning, and when that's 

 used up the bees know enough to stay at home. Even if 

 nectar flows all day, If the number of flowers is very small, 

 the bees may have nothing to do after the morning hours. 



Action§ of Wild Bees — Bailed Queen, Etc. 



1". What makes wild bees, after their tree is cut down, 

 drink at their watering place stronger than they did before 

 they were cut down, and the honey taken from them? Is it 

 the overdose of honey they had eaten, or not? 



2. What makes wild bees, after the tree Is cut, work to 

 the bait where they were first coursed from, and the honey 

 all around where the tree was bursted? It seems that they 

 were somewhat greedy. 



3. On May S one colony of my bees swarmed. On May 4 I 

 opened the old hive to pick out my choice in color of queens, 

 and killed the rest of them. As my bees are very much mixed 

 up, I want the best. Some of the cells were not open, and I 

 opened three of them ; to my surprise the queen was poking 

 her tongue out. I helped her to get the door open, and saw 

 a worker in the cell with her. The worker was turned head 

 to tail with the queen, was dead, and appeared dry. I closed 

 the cell-door, and thought that I would kill the queen and 



send it to you. This may be very common, but not to me. Do 

 you think when the cell was near being capped, the worker 

 went in to see to the young queen, and some of the workers 

 capped the cell ? If not, how was it ? 



4. The other day I clipped one of my best, and put her back, 

 and they balled her and killed her. I clip all of my queens, 

 and this is the first to have been hurt when put back. I do 

 not know why they did it. G. W. B. 



Answers. — 1. I don't know. 



2. It seems certainly that they would be foolish to go off 

 a long distance when honey is so near at hand, and I suppose 

 most of them do work on the honey at hand, but the ones 

 that have been working on the bait may start where they 

 already know there is honey without noticing there is some 

 nearer. 



3. When several young queens are in a hive and the bees 

 Intend to swarm again, it is the common thing for all but one 

 to remain in the cell, although the capping may be 3ut nearly 

 around. You will often see the young queens stick out their 

 tongues to be fed by the workers, and sometimes a queen will 

 push her head out and dodge back. Again, you will see the 

 queen try to get out and the bees drive her back. A worker- 

 bee might enter a cell after the queen had gnawed the cap- 

 ping open, and the other workers might keep her there till 

 she died. 



4. In rare instances a queen will be balled on being re- 

 turned, but if you close the hive at once and leave them, the 

 bees will usually release the queen. 



Sprayed Trees may Have Caused It. 



I had four colonies of bees that died. They had plenty 

 of honey to eat, and there were no moths, and no foul brood. 

 I would like to know what was the matter. They died the 

 flrst of May. They had been working nicely. G. E. L. 



Morocco, Ind. 



Answer. — I don't know. Possibly a case of poisoning. 

 Fruit-bloom may have been visited by them about that time, 

 and some one may have been so unwise as to have sprayed his 

 fruit-trees with poisonous chemicals. If so, it was no doubt a 

 case of ignorance, for spraying fruit-trees when in bloom is a 

 damage to the trees, and can do no possible good. 



Only One Cent a Copy for copies of the American 

 Bee Journal before April 1, 1896. We have them running 

 back for about 10 years. But you must let us select them, as 

 we cannot furnish them in regular order, and probably not 

 any particular copies. Just send us as many one-cent stamps 

 as you may want old copies, and we will mail them to you. 



Tbe Names and Addresses of all your bee- 

 friends, who are not now taking the Bee Journal, are wanted 

 at this office. Send them in, please, when sample copies will 

 be mailed to them. Then you can secure their subscriptions, 

 and earn some of the premiums we have offered. The 

 next few months will be just the time to easily get new sub- 

 scribers. Try it earnestly, at least. 



The AlsiUe Clover Leaflet consists of 2 pages, 

 with illustrations, showing the value of Alsike clover, and 

 telling how to grow It. This Leaflet is just the thing to hand 

 to every farmer in your neighborhood. Send to the Bee Jour- 

 nal office for a quantity of them, and see that they are dis- 

 tributed where they will do the most good. Prices, postpaid, 

 are as follows : 50 for 25 cents ; 100 for 40 cents ; or 200 

 for 70 cents. 



■*-—¥ 



A BJew Binder for holding a year's numbers of the 

 American Bee Journal, we propose to mail, postpaid, to every 

 subscriber who sends us 15 cents. It is called "The Wood 

 Binder," is patented, and is an entirely new and very simple 

 arrangement. Full printed directions accompany each Binder. 

 Every reader should get it, and preserve the copies of the Bee 

 Journal as fast as they are received. They are invaluable for 

 reference, and at the low price of the Binder you can afford to 

 get it yearly. 



