594 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Sept. 17, 



Dividing Colonies — Mr. Bevins' Plan. 



BY C. P. DADANT. 



We have but little fault to find with Mr. Bevins' plan of 

 dividing, in the way that he described it on page 547, and to 

 this inquiry, we would reply that the use of full sheets of 

 foundation or of empty worker-combs removes our greatest 

 objection to the method mentioned. What we hold is, that 

 unless combs of foundation be given to the two divided colo- 

 nies, and especially to the one queenless one, most of the 

 comb built will be worthless. But allow me to develop the 

 idea fully. 



In a state of nature the bees of a swarm go into an empty 

 cavity and build, first all worker-comb, and towards the last 

 one or two drone-combs. We believe that the queen prefers 

 to lay eggs in worker-combs, and that the bees build the 

 worker-comb to please her. But when they are so far ahead 

 of her as to see that she has all she can fill, they go back to 

 the cheapest way of building, which is building with large 

 cells. For this reason we do not believe in giving the bees a 

 part of their combs already built, neither do we think it right 

 to give them, as some do, half sheets or one-third sheets of 

 foundation. Give them full sheets or only starters. If you 

 give them full sheets they cannot build drone-combs. If you 

 give them only starters, they feel the need of worker-comb, 

 and will build mostly worker-combs. But if you give them a 

 good portion, say half of the combs already built and the rest 

 of the space empty, they will build more drone-comb than with 

 any other method. You may not agree with us as to the 

 cause, but you must agree as to the effect, if you try it. 



If the colony is queenless it is still worse, for in that case 

 not a single worker-cell will be built. The bees know that 

 they are queenless, that drones are needed to fertilize the 

 young queens, and since there is no present need of worker- 

 comb, and the drone-comb may be built more economically, 

 being of greater capacity for honey, the necessity is then im- 

 'perious to give them the combs already built. 



If the queen of a swarm is old and not very prolific, more 

 drone-comb will be built than if she is young and vigorous. I 

 say it is thus because the old queen is not desirous of much 

 room. Laying in worker-cells, when the egg must be impreg- 

 nated as it passes out, has become more or less of a fatigue to 

 her, and she more readily lays in drone-combs, for in that 

 case the eggs pass by the spermatheca which contains the 

 seminal fluid, without impregnation. She must lay, whether 

 she will or not, for in the busy season, when she is highly fed 

 by the bees, her eggs are produced in such quantities that if 

 no cells were furnished they would drop "like ripe fruits." 

 The impregnation of the egg, as it is ejected, while passing by 

 the spermatheca, is evidently pleasurable to her, but finally 

 becomes a fatigue from which she can rest by laying drone- 

 eggs. 



The young queen, on the other hand, finds a pleasure in 

 laying worker-eggs, and the bees accede to her wishes by 

 building only worker-comb, especially, if there is no comb 

 built ahead and she keeps up with them. 



If you do not accept this explanation as plausible, and 

 hold that the queen does not have her own way, we can still 

 make the matter plain by throwing the responsibility on the 

 workers. When they have an old queen, and see that she is 



failing, they are anxious to rear drones so they may be sure 

 of the fertilization of the young queens that they will soon be 

 forced to rear. When they are hived on a hive half full of 

 comb, there is plenty to do for the queen, and they do not see 

 the need of worker-comb till she has caught up with them. 

 But with a young queen, and no room ahead, they feel the 

 need of worker-comb. 



From these facts we would deduce the following rules : 



Never give empty space for comb-building to a queenless 

 colony or to a colony that has a very old queen. 



When hiving a swarm give them no comb at all, but only 

 starters, or else give them combs entirely built, but do not 

 leave a portion only of the combs to build, as they will be sure 

 to build a large quantity of drone-comb. 



If you wish combs built in the natural way, let them be 

 built by a strong, vigorous colony with a prolific queen, and 

 you will have the minimum of drone-combs. Being a manu- 

 facturer of comb foundation, it is not my place to recommend 

 the use of it, in full sheets as Mr. Bevins does, but were it not 

 for that hindrance, I long ago should have replied to Hutch- 

 inson's "Use and Abuse of Comb Foundation." Others have 

 done it as efficiently as I could. But I repeat it, to a man who 

 does not wish to invest much money, no difficulty need be ex- 

 perienced in building good worker-comb, if he will act accord- 

 ing to the instincts of the bees. Hamilton, 111. 



Some Hints on Wintering Bees. 



BY MRS. L. C. AXTELL. 



Last winter our bees wintered well, both in the cellar and 

 out-of-doors. We lost but one colony, and found two queen- 

 less in May, when going through to clip queens' wings. We 

 used to look them all through as soon as put out-of-doors in 

 the spring, but as bees have paid us so poorly for several 

 years we looked them through but once before swarming 

 in the middle of May, to clip the queens' wings, as we think 

 that clipping wings is the most important and paying work we 

 have to do with bees. We lost no swarms in consequence, at 

 least we think we lost none, although we had many swarms, 

 both first and some virgin swarms. 



We lose less than formerly in cellar wintering. The rea- 

 son for losing less, we think, is mainly the large entrance we 

 give by lifting up one side of the hive, as our hives are not 

 nailed but clamped at the corners ; any way to give a large 

 opening at the bottom so all the dead bees can be easily car- 

 ried out by the bees, so as not to clog their entrance. When 

 they have a small entrance the bees that die in the hive drop 

 down and clog the entrance, and the live bees find themselves 

 shut in, they become uneasy and restless and eat more, which 

 causes them to become diseased and die. The dead bees re- 

 maining in the hive would decay, often causing the death of 

 the whole colony. 



The colonies wintered out-doors winter just as safely as 

 in the cellar, by turning the frames around so as to pack them 

 with straw on all sides. We lift them up from the bottom- 

 board by standing them upon a frame one inch high, so as to 

 give more room under the frames for the dead bees in long 

 cold spells, so as not to clog the entrance ; but care must be 

 taken that no mouse can get in, or they fill all below the 

 frames with chaff, and so fill up the entrance. In two of our 

 hives last winter I found the entrance clogged, and the first 

 warm day when bees could fly I took down all four sides and 

 caught hold of the frames the bees' frames rested on and 

 turned them back, and with my hand scraped out all the chaff, 

 as the mice had it packed tight up against the frames. 



One would think the bees would sting the mice, and so 

 keep them out, but they do not. I suppose the bees are dor- 

 mant when the mice do most of their work. When warm, 



