52 



fHE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Queries v^* |>eplies. 



The Use of Drone-Traps. 



Query No. 5 I have •'> hybrid colonics of 



bees. 3 black, and -' Italian colonies. If they 

 all winter well, would it lie a good plan to 

 give the Italians a card of drone eomii, and 

 put drone traps on the hybrids and blacks, 

 when the youiitr Italian ciueens are mating ? 

 Is there a better way /— Utica, Ont. 



Pbof. a. J. Cook remarks : " There is 

 no better vay, unless by giving only 

 worlier-comb or cutting off tlie heads of 

 the drones. You must control or Icill all 

 drones from undesirable colonies." 



Dr. J. P. H. Bkowx replies as follows : 

 "Tes, it is a good plan ; but in connection 

 cut out all drone-comb from the impure 

 colonies and put in worker-comb, and ex- 

 amine them every two weeks and shave 

 off the cap of every drone-cell that can be 

 seen." 



W. Z. HuTCiriNSON responds thus : 

 "The plan is a good one, if there are no 

 blacks nor hybrids within two or three 

 miles. An excellent way would be to 

 send South for Italian queens and Ital- 

 ianize the blacks and hybrids before 

 drones can be reared." 



■ Messrs. Dadant & Son answer : 

 "Tliere is a better way than to use a 

 drone-trap, which is a nuisance at the 

 best. Take all. the drone-comb out of 

 your black and hybrid colonies early in 

 the spring, and replace it with worker- 

 comb, or with worker foundation it comb 

 cannot be had, and you will rear 50 

 workers to every square inch, in place of 

 32 drones, with no more expense ; and 

 these workers will store honey for you in 

 place of eating it." 



James Heddon says: "It I were in 

 your place, and producing comb honey, I 

 should not care to breed my Italian 

 queens to purity. Supposing that you do, 

 have you too much drone-comb in all the 

 colonies, or in sucli shape that you cannot 

 place it all with the Italians? If so, I 

 would pnt all I could with them, and then 

 beginning early, keep the unwanted 

 drones' heads cut off as fast as they are 

 sealed. You can use the Jones' entrance 

 drone-excUiders, and after 4 p. m. remove 

 it and let the drones out, and while out, 

 replace it and keep out the most of them 

 for evening destruction." 



Dn. G. L TiNKEK answers as follows : 

 "It would be 'a good plan' unless more 

 hybrid colonies are wmted, and there is 

 no ' better way ' than he one suggested, 

 if the colonies sought to be bred from are 

 isolated one or two miles from all others." 



G. W. Demaree replies : " 1 have al- 

 ways succeeded in getting purely mated 

 Italian queens by encouraging some Ital- 

 ian colonies to rear drones early in the 

 spring— give them some drone-ceils in the 

 centre of the brood-nest, not a whole card 

 —and clip the heads of the drones in the 



black colonies ; this is cheaply done be- 

 fore the surplus cases are adj nsted. Later 

 in the season I prefer to use the per- 

 forated-zinc to control the drones." 



Dr. C. C. Miller answers as follows : 

 " Instead of using drone-traps, I had 

 rather cut out all drone-comb (except in 

 the Italian colonies) and fill the holes in 

 the combs with worker-comb. Or, with 

 so few colonies, slice the heads off of the 

 sealed drone-brood once a week. If, how- 

 ever, blacks or hybrids are in neighbor- 

 ing apiaries, the most that can be done is 

 to encourage the production of large num- 

 bers of drones in the Italian colonies." 



J. E. Pond, Jr. says : "To the first 

 part of this query I would say, yes ; rear 

 as many Italian drones as possible, and at 

 as early a day as possible; also prevent 

 rearing of drones in the hybrid and black 

 colonies. By so doing, if there are no 

 hybrids or blacks other tlian you own, 

 within four or five miles of your apiary, 

 the chances are largely in favor of your 

 Italian queens' mating purely." 



G. M. DooLiTTLE responds as follows : 

 " Get Italian queens in all colonies as soon 

 as possible, after which all young queens 

 will meet Italian drones without any use 

 for the drone-trap. These first Italian 

 queens mated with hybrid or black drones 

 will be as good honey-producers as pure 

 Italians, as a first cross always gives 

 vigor." 



Frost and the Bee-Moth Larvee. 



Query IVo. 6.— Will frost destroy the eggs 

 and lar\'ie of the bee-moth V If so, what 

 temperature will it take to do it ?— Lyn, Ont. 



Prof. A. J. Cook responds thus : "The 

 bee-moth in its immature state survives 

 very severe frosts ; how severe, I cannot 

 tell." 



G. M. DooLiTTLE says: "Zero, or 

 lower, will generally freeze combs, so 

 that all eggs of the bee-moth are rendered 

 harmless." 



J. E. Pond, Jr. replies : " I do not 

 know whether frost will destroy the eggs 

 of the bee-moth or not ; but I have had 

 worms Hatch out in the spring, after hav- 

 ing been exposed all winter, with the 

 temperature as low as 18° below zero. 

 The eggs do not hatch though except 

 when very warm ; 70» above zero, at least 

 in my experience." 



Messrs. Dadant & Son say: "Frost 

 will undoubtedly destroy the eggs and 

 larvse of the moth, but we have never 

 tried to ascertain the degree required. 

 We think that if they are exposed to tem- 

 perature below 2.5°, it will destroy them." 



James Heddon says : Destruction of 

 tlie eggs and larvse of the bee-moth begin 

 at about 16° above zero, Fahr. After my 

 combs have been fairly exposed to a tem- 

 perature of 5° to 10° above zero, I always 

 feel safe about theuL In late years we 

 have hardly had any trouble from moths 



at all, whether combs are exposed to a 

 low temperature or not. Care during 

 summer is the preventive." 



G. W. Demaree thinks that " frost will 

 destroy the eggs of the bee-moth ; but not 

 the larviE, alter they weave about them- 

 selves the tough silken shroud so wonder- 

 fully adapted to their preservation." 



Dr. J. P. H. Brown says : "It is very 

 doubtful ; depend more upon the frames 

 of surplus." 



Dr. G. L. Tinker says: "The larvae 

 of the bee-moth is not killed by frost ; at 

 least not in protected situations where the 

 temperature may fall as low as zero. I 

 cannot say as to the eggs." 



California Exhibit at New Orleans. 



The Californian gives the following 

 particulars concerning the California 

 Exhibit of honey and honey-plants at 

 the AV'orld's Fair at New Orleans, La.: 



The opportunity to place California 

 honey where it can be seen and sam- 

 pled by a vast uiultittide of people, 

 has been improved by some of the 

 bee-masters of Southern California, 

 and samples from Los Angeles, San 

 Diego and A'^enlura counties have 

 been taken by the Southern Pacific 

 Railroad to the Exposition. 



Mr. J. E. Pleasants has been selected 

 to represent tiie Los Angeles County 

 Bee-Keepers' Association at New Or- 

 leans, and he started to that city on 

 Dec. 6, taking with him a model ex- 

 tracting-house, 600 pounds of honey, 

 a large quantity of wax, and a fine 

 collection of thrifty-growing, honey- 

 producing shrubs and plants indige- 

 nous to Southern California. They 

 were in pots, aud will no doubt grow 

 and bloom in the climate of New Or- 

 leans almost as well as in Southern 

 California. Visitors to the Exposition 

 can then form some idea as to the 

 source from which the great yields of 

 honey are obtained in this locality. 



The good taste of Mr. Pleasants in 

 putting articles in place to show to 

 the best advantage has often been 

 evidenced at our local Fairs, notably 

 at the last Fair of the Sixth District 

 Agricultural Society, held in this city 

 last October, where Mr. Pleasants 

 took the premium for the largest and 

 best display of honey. 



1^" At the World's Exposition, let 

 it be understood, says Dr. Brown, that 

 "all exhibits of colonies of bees and 

 bee manipulations will only be during 

 the week of the Convention. Supplies 

 can be exhibited any time during the 

 Exposition." 



I®" From an investment of $2.00, 

 every subscriber to the Weekly Bee 

 Jouunal for 1885, will receive fifty- 

 two dividends. 



1^" Do not forget to send for a 

 Binder in which to file your Journal 

 and thus have the full benefit of it 

 during the whole year. 



