THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



21 



For ttie Aiuerican Bee Journal. 



Introducing Unfertile Queens. 



S. SIMMINS (75—100). 



It is seldom necessary to give virgin 

 queens to full colonies, but where 

 queen- rearing is carried on, there are 

 often uiciny on liand, and so must be 

 given to nuclei, either made up pur- 

 posely to receive them, or those queen- 

 less, already established. Much has 

 been said in reference to different 

 plans recommended, but no satisfac- 

 tory method seems to have been 

 adopted. The plan which I now of- 

 fer, 1 believe will meet the wants of 

 all, who, like myself, rear a large 

 number of queens yearly. 



Towards evening select as many 

 queenless nuclei as there are young 

 queens on hand, close up each, but 

 allow ample ventilation ; then drum 

 on the sides for a few seconds, asid 

 permit the queen to run in through a 

 slit previously made in the perforated 

 material, close it at once that no bees 

 may come out, and give them their 

 liberty on the next morning. By first 

 being frightened, and then finding 

 themselves conflned, the bees lose 

 their first inclination to attack the 

 restless young queen. As soon as the 

 first fright is over, the quilting should 

 l)e partially re-arranged to guard 

 against chill during the night, but do 

 not remove the perforated zinc which 

 should cover the entire upper surface. 

 The entrance should be arranged to 

 close or open, without extra fixing. 



I would not introduce a queen of 

 any kind to a full colony by this 

 means, but where it is necessary to 

 give a virgin queen to such, it will be 

 at a time when the colony has re- 

 cently swarmed, and little risk is in- 

 curred by permitting her to rnn down 

 from the top of the frames by first 

 driving the bees back with a" little 

 smoke. 



I trust that others will try the plan 

 and report thereon during next sea- 

 8(m. It occurred to ray mind, because 

 on very many occasions, when send- 

 ing queens away with bees in 3^-pound 

 lots, I have had to take the bees from 

 a full colony, and the queen from a 

 nucleus. The queen was put in last, 

 and the shipping-box immediately 

 closed, and remarkable as it may 

 seem, not one report of death has been 

 received. 



Nuclei can be made up from full 

 colonies, at the same time it is de- 

 sired to accommodate newly hatched 

 queens, when confined over night In 

 this way ; but they must be carried 

 some distance away, and if not re- 

 moved from the same yard, the bees 

 should be made to note their new 

 location ; because every bee which re- 

 turns to what a few hours since was 

 its own home, will be slaughtered. 

 They will not be accepted by their 

 own comrades after being confined 

 under excitement, even should they 



have been away only five minutes ; 

 hence the caution I have elsewhere 

 given in regard to fertile queens with 

 attendants after being confined on a 

 journey. 



This process of introducing queens 

 by fear is quite different from that of 

 inserting fertile queens in full colo- 

 nies ; but the case is exceptional, be- 

 cause of the restless character of the 

 virgin queen whose bearing attracts 

 the attention of tlie bees, even if she 

 does not first attack them, which 

 frequently has been the case. 



Brighton, England. 



For the American Bee journal. 



Chilled Bees are Not "Hibernating." 



WJI. K. CLARKE. 



US, Mr. Voungman. If the theory be 

 true, it will soon have hosts of friends; 

 if it be false, it will die without any 

 to lament it, for even I shall decline 

 to be a mourner at its funeral. 

 Speedside, Out. 



On page 779 of the Bee Journal 

 for 1884, Mr. Wm. Malone discusses 

 the question, " Do bees hibernate i"' 

 and which he answers in the negative, 

 basing his reply on tlie case of a 

 prairie grey-squirrel which he found 

 several winters ago, and which he 

 considers " a perfect example of 

 hibernation." He concludes that bees 

 do not hibernate because their torpor 

 is not so profound as that of the 

 squirrel which he discovered. But 

 tlie condition is one that admits of 

 degrees. Bees may not become so 

 utterly quiescent as did the squirrel, 

 and yet liibernate to a certain extent. 

 Mr. Gallup, Mr. L. C. Root, Mr. Allen 

 Pringle, and otliers, testify that bees 

 relapse into a dormant state, out of 

 which they are "slowly aroused;" 

 even Mr. Ileddon uses the phrases, 

 "perfect quietude," and "semi- 

 hibernation." The scientific term 

 denotes a state of winter torpor, 

 whetlier partial or complete. 



Hibernation is not the result of ex- 

 posure. " Chilled bees " are not 

 " hibernating bees," but bees under- 

 going tlie process of being frozen to 

 death. In the early stages of this 

 process they may be restored by 

 warm til, but unless thus restored, 

 they will die. They are not on the 

 road to death when they hibernate. 

 It is nature's expedient for preserving 

 them alive. Mr. Malone confounds 

 two states that are perfectly distinct 

 and opposite the one to the other. 

 Kirby and Spence, in their Entomol- 

 ogy, rather poetically speak of spring 

 as " the period when insects shake off 

 the four or five months' sleep which 

 has sweetly banished winter from 

 their calendar." They also argue at 

 length that something more than cold 

 leads insects to retire into their hyber- 

 nacula; and that something more 

 than wamth leads to their re-appear 

 ance in spring. That something more 

 is instinct. "Chilled bees," as Mr 

 Malone tells us, invariably show signs 

 of diarrhea when revived by warmth, 

 but it is one of the evidences of hiber- 

 nation, that they have, as the result 

 of going into that condition, escaped 

 the dread disease. 



Mr. ,S. J. Youngman has my thanks 

 for his frankness in saying, " I think 

 Mr. Clarke's theory has but few 

 friends." lie is evidently sorry for 

 me and my theory. Do not fret about 



Fur the American Bee Journal. 



Season of 1884— Selling Honey. 



A. U. STOCKING (O.i— 80). 



Owing to the state of my health, I 

 have deferred making my report for 

 the past season longer than I intended 

 to. I commenced the season with 65 

 colonies, all in fair condition, having 

 wintered them on the summer stands 

 with chaff cushions over the frames, 

 which was all the protection they 

 had. I lost only .S by starvation, but 

 several by robbing. 



Fruit bloom was abundant, and 

 they got a good supply of honey and 

 built up strong by the time white 

 clover blossomed, but the weather 

 was so cold and wet that they secured 

 but little honey ; but before basswood 

 came on, the hickory trees were cov- 

 ered with honey-dew, and the bees 

 soon filled the sections, which de- 

 stroyed my white honey. This honey 

 was dark and thick, but had no very 

 disagreeable flavor, ani I had no 

 trouble in selling it at, a reduced 

 price. Basswood bloom lasted only 

 three or four days, but did not yield 

 very abundantly, and the fall was so 

 dry, with very cold nights, that I ob- 

 tained but little fall honey. 



It was a very poor season with me. 

 I got only about .SO pounds of honey 

 per colony, spring count, the most of 

 it being comb honey ; but the bees 

 filled the brood-chambers full, and 

 thev were put into winter quarters 

 heavy with honey and strong in bees. 

 I had but few swarms, and now I 

 have 80 colonies on the summer 

 stands. 



I have sold all my honey for the 

 last three years in my home market, 

 and have not yet been able to supply 

 the demand. I have worked hard to 

 create a home market, and have been 

 successful. I set my own price on 

 my honey, and would not allow it to 

 be sold at any less than the price I 

 put upon it, whilst others brought in 

 honey and sold at lower prices than I 

 did. I was the first one to introduce 

 the 1 and 2-pound sections into this 

 market, and I have taken great pains 

 to put up my honey in sections in a 

 clean and attractive shape. I had 

 some trouble in introducing extracted 

 honey, but I succeeded, and now I 

 cannot begin to supply the demand, 

 whilst there is a good deal of ex- 

 tracted honey in the stores with no 

 sales. I sell a great deal of honey to 

 farmers who come to my apiary for it. 

 I believe it all honey-producers 

 would go to work and create a home 

 market amongst their farmer neigh- 

 bors, and in their near country towns ; 

 establish a high standard tor their 

 reputation for lioney of the first qual- 

 ity ; produce that honey in an attrac- 

 tive shape, and be careful to keep it 

 there, there would not be so much 

 complaining about the low prices, 



