June 28, 1900. 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



405 



fail to hatch, and it is not uncommon for others equally 

 fine to furnish queens deformed, and that should be dis- 

 carded instead of consuming- valuable time in a nucleus. 



While I prefer allowing- the bees to have access to the 

 cells until within a day or two of hatching-, so as to add to 

 or take wax from them as they see fit, still, if the proper 

 temperature be maintained, and, as they can be inserted 

 without rough handling, or changing their positions, it can 

 be done any time after all are well sealed ; and thereby re- 

 duce the number of daj's of queenlessness when built by 

 queenless bees, or allow the giving of a fresh batch oftener 

 to those over an excluder. 



In multiplying nuclei the reasons for leaving the queen 

 and unsealed brood on the old stand is that the field-force 

 and enough comparativel.y young- bees return to it to feed 

 the larva: and keep the queen laying, leaving the others in 

 a better condition to receive a young queen, which will 

 have a field-force by the time she begins to lay, and bees 

 hold more tenaciously to the hive they have for some time 

 occupied, and will sulk when the field-bees quit coming to 

 it, instead of deserting the brood as they often do when 

 given a new hive and location without their queen. 



If the queen be carried to the new location she will be 

 comparatively idle until the bees begin field-work, whereas, 

 at the old stand she is kept busy. Warren Co., N. C. 



Robber-Bees in the Apiary — What About Them ? 



BY C. DAVBNPORT. 



IN the long ago, when I was young in years, and in bee- 

 keeping also, I spent considerable time in anxiously 

 watching hives when young bees were rushing in and 

 out during their exercise or play-spell, wondering if it was 

 not a case of robbing. The subject of robbing was in those 

 days a sort of nightmare affair with me, and I was always 

 dreading and expecting a desperate case of it to commence, 

 and when finally two or three weak, and what I now know 

 to have been queenless colonies, were cleaned out by rob- 

 bers, I thought I had at last discovered the cause that might 

 prevent me acquiring great wealth with bees, and that it 

 must be this same cause which had prevented old, experi- 

 enced bee-keepers from becoming rich, for, in those palmy 

 days of youth, it seemed to me that, barring some great un- 

 foreseen calamities of this kind, it would be an easy matter 

 to make a great amount of monej' with bees, besides fully 

 enjoying all those things which we would not sell for money 

 if we could. But if whole colonies were to be wiped out by 

 robbers in such a short time that I hardly knew anything 

 about it until the whole affair was over, it changed the ap- 

 pearance of the prospects. 



Now, I do not suppose there are any at present who 

 hold such exaggerated views in regard to our pursuit, or 

 who dread robbing as I did in those days, but possibly some 

 who have not been long engaged in our fascinating, if not 

 wealth-acquiring, pursuit may be interested in what I shall 

 say on the subject of robbing, for I remember how eagerly 

 I then read everything I could find regarding it. This was 

 considerable, but it seemed to me the writers treated the 

 matter in an awed, scared way, giving grave warnings not 

 to do anything to' incite it, vaguely hinting at the great 

 danger a bad case entailed. Brief accounts of how bands 

 of frenzied robber-bees had attackt and killed almost all 

 kinds of domestic animals, and in one or two cases they 

 had sacrificed human life itself to their blind, unreasoning 

 rage ; and what dismayed me the most, was what was said 

 about the colonies in large yards robbing and fighting until 

 the greater part were destroyed. The subject was not an 

 assuring one as then treated, most particular caution being 

 given not to throw a drop of honey or anything sweet where 

 the bees would have access to it during a time of scarcity, 

 or when no honey was coming in. 



Two years ago last fall, at a time when not a drop of 

 honey was to be had in the fields, and as the general ex- 

 pression would be, "bees were just crazy to rob," while 

 shoveling honey out of the cellar one day, I smiled grimly 

 as I thought of this warning, for there were nearly 200 col- 

 onies within a few rods. " Shoveling honey out of the cel- 

 lar " causes a gasp of amazement to a young lady leaning 

 over my shoulder, then follows such a volley of questions 

 that I retreat across the way to my bachelor den, where I 

 am safe from interruptions of this kind. But perhaps I 

 should explain that this honey was stored in a room over 

 the cellar ; it was in a large alcohol barrel, about SOO pounds 

 of fine mixt clover and basswood. The barrel got to leak- 

 ing, and before I knew it the honey was all in the cellar 



which had a dirt floor. I shoveled out three or four wagon 

 loads of sand and honey mixt, which the bees industriously 

 workt over, and no trouble with robbing occurred ; in fact, 

 if I have any broken comb, sticky frames, or anything else 

 that I want cleaned up, bees are allowed to do the work 

 whether honey is coming in or not, and with me full colo- 

 nies worth saving protect themselves from all robbers that 

 ever mass together and attack them, and with no precau- 

 tion taken except in some cases to contract the entrances ; 

 that is, after they have had their first cleansing flight in 

 the spring. The only actual trouble and loss I have had on 

 account of robbing has occurred when the hives were first 

 set out in the spring, when the number of colonies wintered 

 in cellars is so large they can not be, or if for any other 

 reason they are not, all put out the same day, there is dan- 

 ger under somfe conditions, of those set out first robbing the 

 ones put out later. 



Bees usually will not make much effort to defend their 

 hive from attack until after they have had their first flight 

 in the spring, and by the time this is over the robbers may 

 be at work in some hives in such force that there is appar- 

 ently but very little effort made afterwards to repel them. 



An old idea, and one still largely believed is, that after 

 bees have concentrated in large numbers to secure any 

 sweet that may have been exposed, or when a queenless col- 

 ony has been overcome and cleaned out, the whole mass 

 then, if nothing better offers, throw themselves upon some 

 one colony, which even if a strong one may not be able to 

 repel them. This is entirely erroneous, and it is well that 

 it is, for if they did make a determined attack en masse, 

 half or more of the colonies in a yard might be destroyed 

 in a short time, but the way they really do, after whatever 

 they have been at work on is about gone, is to scatter or 

 divide up and look for more. Single bees, and in a few 

 cases I have seen about a dozen, attempt at nearly the same 

 time to enter some hive with an unusually large entrance, 

 or one which did not seem to be as well guarded as others ; 

 but if they get in at all they are soon dragged out again. 

 Meanvchile, the whole yard may appear to be getting in an 

 uproar, great masses of bees may cluster on the top and 

 around the sides of hives that are tiered up on some colo- 

 nies, a great number of bees may be flying in and out of 

 the hives which seem so strongly attackt, and many a 

 novice might think the matter was beyond his control, and 

 .imagine ruin staring him in the face. 



I have seen even old, experienced bee-keepers get ex- 

 cited, and spray and throw water on these hives on which 

 robbers were clustered in a frenzied attack, but if a close 

 observation is made it will be seen that these apparently 

 frenzied bees take good care to keep out of the entrance. If 

 one more venturesome than the rest does get in it is roughly 

 handled. The bees flying in and out so lively are bees that 

 belong to that hive, and they are ready to fight to the death 

 if necessary to defend their stores. 



A colony of average strength, if in normal condition, 

 will, before succumbing to robbers, make such a fight that 

 it would always be remembered by one who witnest it ; and 

 it is something I feel safe in saying, but very few have ever 

 seen, after a whole yard has, as the novice would think, be- 

 gun robbing, it is in reality only the colonies as a whole 

 becoming waked up to the fact that something unusual is 

 taking place, and they are flying around to find out what it 

 is. Then a general call to repel boarders follows, and in a 

 few days things quiet down, with no harm done. 



Still, as a matter of fact, I think it much better to avoid 

 as much as possible all disturbances of this kind in a yard, 

 especially late in the fall, for it excites and worries large 

 numbers of bees, and this may do harm by impairing their 

 vitality to endure the long confinement of winter. But 

 whenever I wish to handle a colony for any purpose, such 

 as taking out or exchanging frames, I always do so without 

 any regard whatever as to robbing, no matter whether a 

 drop of honey is coming in or not. In some cases hundreds 

 of robber-bees will get into the hive and on the combs of 

 the colony being handled, but after the hive is closed up 

 they are soon expelled and others prevented from entering. 

 No precaution is taken except to contract the entrance more 

 or less, depending upon the weather and strength of the 

 colony. I do not advise others to do so, but I have prac- 

 ticed this for years with no bad results. With nuclei the 

 case is different. I have reference to full colonies, tho they 

 may be pretty weak and still repel .robbers if in normal 

 condition. 



In regard to robbing in the spring when bees are first 

 put out, as before mentioned, there is an easy way to over- 

 come this. Simply smoke the colonies already out enough 

 so the bees will fill themselves with honey. It is very 



