THiE mmLmmiGRH be® jQj\jmnms^. 



165 



f 



Ainoiinl «>r l>roiic-Coiiib lor a 

 Single Colon}. 



Written for the American Dee Journal 



Query 618.— How much drone-comb should 

 there be in each hive to place its colony in a 

 normal and thrifty condltioD ?— S. fi. 



There need not be any. — A.B.Mason. 



Not over 3 square inches. — Will M. 

 Baknum. 



As little as possible is enough. — R. 

 L. Taylor. 



Six inches square, in the aggregate. 

 — Mrs. L. Haukison. 



Three or four inches square would 

 be plenty. — J. P. H. Brown. 



The bees will take care of tliat. — H. 

 D. Cutting. 



None, unless you wish drones from 

 that colony ; then veiy little goes a 

 long way. — A. J. Cook. 



I would not put any in. The bees 

 will get in a little in spite of you. — C. 

 C. Miller. . 



The least you can get built. The 

 bees will look after that, if you try to 

 have none. — Eugene Secor. 



There will always be sufficient to 

 meet Nature's requirements. How to 

 prevent too much, is a wiser considera- 

 tion. — J. M. Hambaugh. 



From 2 to G square inches, or just 

 enough so that the bees will not cut 

 down worker-comb to build drone- 

 comb. G. M. DOOLITTLE. 



My design is to have none, and with 

 this design in plain sight all the time, 

 I have more than I want. A queen- 

 breeder will properly have a diflerent 

 view. — J. M. Shuck. 



None are needed, except for queen 

 impregnation. Two full sheets of 

 drone-comb in a good colony, in an 

 apiary of anj- size, are sutiicient for the 

 entire apiary. — Dadant & Son. 



Verj- little ; in fact I do everything 

 possible to prevent them having any 

 at all. It is better policj' to select one 

 or two colonies of extra nice liecs, and 

 give them a frame of drone-comb for 

 the purjjose of suppl^MUg drones for 

 the apiary. — C. H. Dibbern. 



I never put in any (except in a few 

 choice colonies for having drones to 

 rear queens), as the bees will always 

 fix some places in the combs for the 

 queen to lay drone eggs. — P. L. Vial- 



LON. 



Now here comes a question about 

 which I differ from the " books." My 

 experiments with colonies on perfect 

 <Ul-work,er combs, has led me to the 

 conclusion that the presence of drones 



is not essential to normality in a col- 

 on}- of bees, when speaking of colonies 

 as indivi<luals. The whirring noise of 

 the drones' wings in the throng of 

 busy workers is as assuring to the col- 

 ony that has no drones, as it is to 

 those that have them. Neither does 

 the absence or presence of drones af- 

 fect the swarming fever, in my judg- 

 ment. Notwithstanding, I pri'fer to 

 give all my best colonies some dron(^- 

 comb. — G. W. Demaree. 



A long discussion could ari.se re- 

 garding the word "normal." I have 

 had strong, thrifty colonies wliich gave 

 an immense amount of surplus hone}', 

 that had not a drone-cell, nor a drone 

 in the hive, the whole season through. 

 — James Heddon. 



That will depend upon the age of 

 the queen and tlie conditions of the 

 colony. When I know just what the 

 word "normal" means, I may be able 

 to answer ; but different minds give a 

 different meaning to it, so that it is 

 impossible to ilecide just what the 

 word means, unless more is stated. — 

 J. E. Pond. 



Normal and tlirifty conditions may 

 not go together. A colony may be 

 more thrifty when it is not normal, 

 tlian when it is. A colony is normal 

 when it has the amount of drone-comb 

 which it would build if left to itself ; 

 but it will be more; thrifty if it lias onl}- 

 a few square inches of it. — M. M.vhin. 



Permit just as little drone-comb as 

 po.ssible, and then you will have " an 

 abundance." If you want drones from 

 that special colony, you might permit 

 more drone-comb than usual. — The 

 Editor. 



Rearing Droneii Aviien Supplied 

 ^vilh %Vorker Foundation. 



Written for the American Bee Journal 



Query 619.— Will bees rear drones in a 

 hive supplied with full sheets of worfeer foun- 

 dation ?— G. (i. 



Yes.— H. D. Cutting. 



Yes.— J. P. H. Brown. 



Occasionally. — Will M. Barnuji. 



Yes, a few. — R. L. Taylor. 



Yes, but very few. — C. C. Miller. 



Yes, to a limited extent. — J. M. 

 Hambaugh. 



They will rear all they need. — 

 Eugene Secor. 



Occasionally very little ; usually not 

 at all. — A. J. Cook. 



Yes. They will make places for a 

 few. — M. Mahin. 



Yes. Bees will have some drone- 

 comb anyway, according to my ex- 

 perience. — G. M. Doolittle. 



If you mean the lower hive, they 

 will rear a few, if you allow them to 

 swarm naturally. — Mrs. L. Harrison. 



Yes, they will be almost certain to 

 lind some place where they will rear 

 some. If no better place offers, a few 

 drones will be reared bj' lengtlicning 

 out worker-cells. — C. H. Dibbern. 



Certainly not, unless, as is some- 

 times the case, they build a few drone- 

 cells upon worker foundation. — James 

 Heddon. 



Yes. They will enlarge the worker- 

 cells In tlio lower corners of the comb, 

 sometimes only on one side of it ; and 

 they will fr(H|uently enlarge cells in 

 dift'erent parts of the comb. — A. B. 

 Mason. 



Yes ; there are always some places 

 where they will, and if there are none, 

 they will make some. Foundation 

 limits the drones, but does not entirely 

 prevent them. — P. L. Viallon. 



There are always a few corners or 

 some places where the foundation 

 stretches a little, where drones will be 

 reai'ed ; but tlie extensive and unprofit- 

 able production of drones will be pre- 

 vented. — Dadant & Son. 



Yes, more than are wanted. Foun- 

 dation docs not prevent drone-rearing, 

 but curtails it^ — keeps it within bounds. 

 There are spaces often in the edges of 

 the combs, also in the bee-space around 

 the frames, where they may be built. 

 I have seen the central space in sec- 

 tlon.al hives entirely filled with them. 

 — J. M. Shuck. 



Yes, most certainly. You cannot 

 prevent Nature from carrying out her 

 own opei'ations. Not as many drones 

 will be reared, to be sure, but those 

 that are reared in worker-cells, will be 

 dwarfed in size. To prevent excess, I 

 use young queens, and a small amount 

 of drone-comb. — J. E. Pond. 



If the .combs are not perfect, and do 

 not fill tlie frames perfectly, a few 

 drone-cells will be fashioned by the 

 workers, and a few drones will be 

 reared. But with good sets of all- 

 worker combs drawn from foundation, 

 I work many colonies that are posi- 

 tively without drones at all times. — G. 

 W. Demaree. 



Yes ; the dictates of Nature will be 

 obeyed. The bees will enlarge cells at 

 the corners to accommodate the rear- 

 in" of a few drones. — The Editor. 



A Fa.voriil»le Word from any of our 

 readers, who speak from experience, lias 

 more weight with their friends than any- 

 thing we might say. Every one of our 

 readers can lend us a helping hand, in this 

 way, without much trouble, and at the same 

 time help to scatter apicultural knowledge 

 and promote the welfare of our pursuit. 



