THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



629 



I have never seen anything of this 

 kind, unless the bees were starving, 

 and even tlien not to any great ex- 

 tent.— W. Z. Hutchinson. 



It is very likely caused by the moth 

 larvae. Nuclei of black bees are some- 

 times seriously affected by moth- 

 worms that move about in a web un- 

 der the cappings of the brood. A 

 neighbor box-hive bee-keeper lost all 

 of his bees (5 colonies) the past win- 

 ter, and obstinately refused to sell 

 the old combs or melt them up. He 

 declared if he could not rear bees be 

 would rear moths, and he did. My 

 bees were not harmed by them, but I 

 saw a great many skeletons of moths 

 before tlie entrances of the hives- 

 moths killed by bees.— G. L. Tinker. 



There are various causes, none of 

 which you need to fear. I should wish 

 to know more about the conditions 

 surrounding your colonies, to even 

 make a guess. In all questions of 

 this nature, the descriptions are too 

 indefinite.- James Heddon. 



Bees sometimes drag out larval 

 bees, because all gathering stops. If 

 they are imago bees before they have 

 expanded to their full proportions, I 

 cannot answer. I hear such com- 

 plaints from several. It is an inter- 

 esting question. I have had nothing 

 like it.— A. J. Cook. 



Drones and Fertile-Workers. 



Qnery, No. 13T.— Can a drone from a fertile 

 worker fertilize a queen? lam havioK more fer- 

 tile workers tliis season than 1 ever saw. Wtien- 

 ever a hive beeomt's queenless, the fertile workers 

 bet;ln layinK at once, but I have not had any 

 trouble in introducing queens. I have had some 

 queen-cells built around etfps from laying workers 

 but I did not let them remain, for I was satisfied 

 that tbey would do no Kood.— H. M. W. 



Yes, why not V— Dadant & Son. 



See answer to No. 123. I take it 

 for granted that you have Cyprian or 

 Syrian bees. No one wants the combs 

 filled full of useless drones, if they 

 can introduce queens without trouble. 



— G. M. DOOLITTLE. 



Yes, I feel certain that there can be 

 no doubt of it. Not only are their 

 organs perfect, but the sperm-cells 

 are active, and tliere is no reason to 

 doubt but that they are functionally 

 perfect. — A. J. Cook. 



I do not think that a drone from a 

 laying worker is virile. H. M. W. 

 has Syrian or Cyprian blood in bis 

 tees. I have had more than 2,000 of 

 these little drones from laying work- 

 ers, but colonies of Syrian bees, or 

 those having Syrian blood, do not act 

 like Italians or blacks having laying 

 workers, about tearing down queen- 

 cells of their own construction, or 

 killing the virgin queens as they are 

 about" to take their bridal trip. There 

 is never any trouble with these bees 

 from laying workers unless the queen 

 they have reared is lost or removed 

 ■before becoming fertile, or very soon 

 after. Then we are obliged to in- 

 troduce a laying queen, which they 

 accept readily. If given brood they 

 ■will rear a queen and allow her to be- 

 come fertile, but they will also rear a 

 small colony of drones at the same 

 time. Under these circumstances 

 every bee appears to be able to lay 

 eggs. I have had less trouble wiih 



them than with Italians or blacks, 

 because I could always introduce a 

 queen.— G. L. Tinker. 



This question is practically answered 

 in my answer to No. 123. 1 consider 

 the drones from a virgin queen and 

 those from a laying worker to be of 

 precisely the same value ; and I am of 

 the opinion that they are fully develop- 

 ed and capable of fecundating a queen 

 At any rate tliey possess the organs 

 of generation as full and complete as 

 those from a fecundated queen. — J. E. 

 Pond, Jk. 



Arranging the Hive for Winter. 



Query. Xo. 138. -Would it be advisable when 

 preparing bees for winter, to place the combs that 

 the bees are KoinK to winter on, in the upper story. 

 and then place th-, upper story on an empty lower 

 story? If this were done, the dead bees and foul 

 air could settle to the bottom, and the warm air 

 stay at the top.— W. S. 



It might do well.— C. C. Miller. 



After a trial of the plan, I think the 

 gain (if any) is not equivalent to the 

 extra labor that must be performed. 



— G. M. DOOLITTLE. 



It allows the dead bees to drop out 

 of the combs ; farther than this I do 

 not know that it is a benefit. — W. Z. 

 Hutchinson. 



This experiment might be tried. 

 "We have never tried it, but we are 

 inclined to think that it would be 

 rather cold in a cold winter. — Dadant 

 & Son. 



I believe there is some advantage in 

 this open space below the combs. I 

 think 2 or 3 inches all-sutticient. Colo- 

 nies have wintered nicely, both with 

 and without it.— James Heddon. 



Bees would, no doubt, winter very 

 well by the plan indicated, if the 

 upper story was well protected. I do 

 not, however, see the necessity for 

 the lower story, as if properly pro- 

 tected there will be few dead bees, 

 and the foul air will pass out of a 

 large entrance. — G. L. Tiniver. 



I have often wished that without 

 trouble I could elevate all the bees a 

 little above the usual position. If as 

 well protected I cannot see any dan- 

 ger in following the above sugges- 

 tion ; while I can see possible good. — 

 A. J. Cook. 



I do not think it would. I may be 

 wrong, but I have tried just this ex- 

 periment and made a failure every 

 time. Dead bees may settle to the 

 bottom, but foul air will hardly do so. 

 It hardly pays to experiment in win- 

 tering, that is, to do so by leaving the 

 old beaten track that has been 

 traveled with comparative safety for 

 many years.— J. E. Pond, Jr. 



Wintering Bees in a Bee-House. 



Query, N». 12©.— Would bees winter safely 

 in a bee-house so constructed that each colony, 

 would be enclosed in chafT-packinff, the same as in 

 a chafT-hive, with arrangements to clo«e the out- 

 side entrance on the approach of cold weather, 

 and give them ventilation from the inside where 

 the'wind cannot blow in upon the bees, even 

 though the temperature migh' be nearly as low 

 inside the house as outside ?- Seymour, Wis. 



I think they would.— G. L. Tinker. 



If the temperature in the cellar is 

 allowed to reach a low point, the hivps 

 should certainly be protected.— W. Z. 

 Hutchinson. 



I should prefer to leave them on the 

 summer stand, wliere chaff packing is 



used.— (}. M. DOOLITTLE. 



Theoretically it looks all right, but 

 practically I think it has never been 

 made a success.— C. C. Miller. 



Low temperature is the demon 

 that slays our bees. I should not like 

 the plan suggested. We must keep 

 the temperatun^ up either by using a 

 cellar, or by wise packing. — A.J.Cook. 



It would be very good for winter- 

 ing, but we are opposed to a bee-house 

 for summer manipulations. At any 

 rate you should have it so arranged as 

 to let the bees fiy on warm winter 

 days.— Dadant & Son. 



No one can tell with certainty. Bees 

 winter with protection and without 

 it. They are lost, too, under the 

 same circumstances. It is one of 

 those things that no one can tell, and 

 experiments really prove nothing, for 

 one season one plan works well, and 

 fails the next. The best plan is to 

 adopt the method that has most gen- 

 erally proven safe, and stick to it.— J. 

 E. Pond, Jr. 



I should prefer to have them out 

 where the snow would drift about the 

 hives, and where the sun could shine 

 upon them at other times. Do not 

 put bees inside of a cold repository ; 

 but if you do, keep its temperature 

 up to 45°, or leave them out to get the 

 advantages of out-door wintering. — 

 Jasies Heddon. 



Convention Notices. 



t^" The Maryland, Virginia and West Vir- 

 ginia Bee-Keepers' Association will meet in 

 the Court House at Hagerstown, Md., on 

 Oct. 21, 188.5, at 10 a. m. D.A.PiKE.Pres. 



^g~ The Progressive Bee-Keepers' Asso- 

 ciation, of Western Illinois, will meet at Ma- 

 comb. Ills., on Thursday, Oct. 15, 1S8.5. Let 

 ever.vbody come and have an en.1oyable time. 

 Good speakers ai-e expected. 



J. G. Norton, Sec. 



pw~ The New Jersey and Eastern Bee- 

 Keepers' Association having accepted an 

 invitation to meet with the fiercer County 

 Board of Agriculture, of Trenton, N. J., 

 will hold their semi-annual convention in 

 the Grand .lury Room of the Court House 

 at Trenton, N. .!.. on Thui-sday and Friday, 

 Nov. 5 and 6, 188.5, at 10 a. m. A full attend- 

 ance of the members is requested. To all 

 persons interested in our voeation, we ex- 

 tend a cordial welcome. The committee of 

 arrangements have secured hotel accommo- 

 dations at reduced rates. 



Wm. B. Treadwell, Sec. 



i^~ The Western Bee-Keepers' Associa- 

 tion will hold its fourth annual meeting in 

 Independence, Mo., onThursday and Friday, 

 Oct. 1.5 and 16, 1885. The Association will 

 endeavor to make this the most interesting 

 meeting yet held, and will spare no pains 

 within its means to make it valuable to all. 

 Several of our most prominent bee-keepers 

 have signified their intention to be present. 

 C. M. Cr.^ndali,, Sec. 



t^~ The 4th semi-annual meeting of the 

 Wabash County Bee-Keepers' Association 

 will be held at North Manchester, Ind., on 

 Oct. 10, 1885. in the G. A. R. Hall, Union 

 Block. First session at 10 a. m. All bee- 

 keepers are cordially invited to be present. 

 J. J. Martin, Sec. 



t^~ On account of the great rain on Aug. 

 29. the meeting of the Marshall County Bee- 

 Keepers' Association was postponed until 

 Saturday, Oct. 17, 188.5, when a meeting will 

 be held at the Court House in Marshalltown, 

 Iowa, at 10::W a.m. Subjects for discussion 

 — "How to winterbees successfully," and the 

 " Care and Sale of Honey." Bee-keepers of 

 adjoining counties invited. .T.W.Sanders. 



