May 25, 1905 



THE AMERCAN BEE JOURNAL 



377 



also the queen, then dropping her in among 

 the bees, or letting her run in between the 

 frames, and in nearly every case she has 



been accepted. This is a great saving of time 

 to the beeki L-per.— W. Woodlbt, in the 

 British Bee Jouinal. 



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Doctor ITTtllcr's Q)ucstton Box 



Send Questions either to the ofBce of the American Bee Journal, 

 or to Dr. C. C. Miller, Marengo, 111. 

 Dr. Miller does «o< answer Questions by mail. 



% 



J 



Diseased Bees 



We have 20 colonies of bees, 4 of which are 

 diseased, and we do not want the disease to 

 spread. 



The colonies are pretty strong, have frames 

 full of brood, and have plenty of honey. The 

 larv* die in various stages, some while quite 

 young and others just before being sealed and 

 after being sealed. Some die while they are 

 white, some turn brown and black. Those 

 that are black are large, but both turn black, 

 sealed or unsealed. Some of the larvae come 

 half-way out of the cell and stick there. 

 There is a sour smell on combs and larv.T, 

 but no ropiness in the larv*. 



1. Do you think it is pickled brood, or foul 

 brood \ 



2. Can we feed the honey back to the bees? 



3. We have shaken the bees into new hives 

 on new frames and foundation, and let them 

 fly. Have we done right! 



4. What causes the pickled brood, it it is 

 pickled brood? 



5. Do you think the cold, frosty nights did 

 it? 



6. We hear there is some foul brood in our 

 township, but none closer than 4 or 5 miles, 

 that we know of. If this is foul brood to 

 whom s'jould we send a sample? 



Illinois. 

 Answers. — 1. It may be pickled brood. 



2. No, the honey will very likely carry the 

 disease with it. If it is nice honey it will be 

 all right for the table. 



3. It would probably have been better if 

 you had waited till bees were busy storing. 



4. A microbe, but just exactly what microbe 

 does not seem entirely settled. 



5. Not if it's anything like pickled brood. 



6. General Manager N. E. France, Platte- 

 ville. Wis. Put in tin or wood, so it will not 

 be mashed in the mail. 



Swarming Affected by Hive-Color 



At the State Bee-Keepers' meeting yester- 

 day Allen Latham said bees would not swarm 

 from a hive painted a dark color and set in 

 the shade. Does the color of a hive have any 

 effect on swarming when in the shade? 



Connecticut. 



Answer. — 1. I don't understand why color 

 should make any difference in the shade. Pos- 

 sibly he meant that shade would lessen the 

 likelihood of swarming, even if the hive was 

 dark . 



Queens Missing and No Queen-Cells 



This spring I sent to one of the queen- 

 breeders for 2 queens, which I introduced 

 into 2 good, strong colonies. One week later 

 I opened the hives and found both queens all 

 right and both were laying. I put a feeder 

 in each hive, and began feeding a little every 

 night. Two weeks from the time I introduced 

 the queens I looked for them again, and 

 found them without any trouble, as the bees 

 were blacks and the queens Italians. A few 

 days later I looked for the new queens to clip 

 them, but could find neither of them. Do you 

 think the bees killed them, and if so what 

 was the cause? 



I waited a week and then looked again, but 

 there was no queen in either hive, and the 

 eggs had all hatched. I could find no queen- 

 cells started 3'et, so 1 waited a week and 

 looked again, shaking the bees off the combs 



and looking very carefully for queen-cells, but 

 there was no sign of one started. I have 

 fince given each colony a frame of eggs and 

 brood, and still they do not start queen-cells. 

 The brood is all sealed except that in the 

 frames I have given them the past week. 

 What can I do to get them to start cells? 



Minnesota. 



Answer. — The case is a very unusual 

 one, and I don't know what to think of it. 

 Sometimes a queen is accidentally killed by 

 the bee-keeper when a hive is opened, and 

 sometimes the opening of a hive makes the 

 bees kill a queen, but it would seem strange 

 to have it happen with 2 colonies, and then to 

 have neither colony start cells. If they per- 

 sist in refusing to start cells, you might try 

 swapping frames of brood and bees with other 

 colonies. 



Strong Colonies for Winter 



1. Does it pay to work for strong colonies 

 of young bees to go into winter quarters? 



2. Can it be done by feeding in the fall to 

 cause brood-rearing? 



3. When would you begin feeding for that 

 purpose, and how long would you feed? 



Minnesota. 

 Answers.— 1. It pays to have such colo- 

 nies, and it sometimes pays to work for them. 



2. Yes, if there is no yield of honey in late 

 summer and fall. 



3. Generally I wouldn't begin at all, for 

 generally nature takes care of the matter ; but 

 if there is an absolute absence of nectar I 

 would perhaps begin toward the last of 

 August and continue 2 or 3 weeks. 



Bees In a Nail-Keg— Moths— Trans- 

 ferring— Swarming Rendering 

 Beeswax, Etc. 



I have a small colony of bees which I kept 

 outdoors all winter in a nail-keg. When I 

 hived them last fall they seemed to be a large 

 colony, but they have been dying until now 

 there is only about a quart of bees in all. On 

 March 16 I changed them to an 8-frame hive 

 which I had made. While I was transferring 

 them the weather got cooler, the temperature 

 going to 4U degrees above zero. I put a good 

 roof over them and a carpet over this. They 

 had nearly enough brood-comb to fill one 

 frame, and only about 4 square inches of 

 honey. They have never seemed to be satis- 

 fied since I changed them, and did not appear 

 to be gathering any honey or pollen, although 

 the apple-trees are in bloom, and several days 

 ago, while still iu the keg, they were gather- 

 ing in a great i-le;il of pollen. Yesterday — 8 

 days after I transferred them — the whole col- 

 ony left the hive. I followed them 150 yards, 

 and they clustered on a limb. I put them in 

 the hive again, and they seemed to be better 

 satisfied. I don't think they have a queen. 

 She probably ;,'ot killed while I was transfer- 

 ring them. 1 have never seen her, although 

 when they swarmed I looked carefully for her. 



1. Is the lo=5 I mention natural? 



2 Should there be a constant loss of bees 

 in winter through dying and falling to the 

 bottom of the Hive? 



3. What does a honey or comb moth look 

 like? 



4. How early is it safe to transfer, taking 

 climate, etc.. into consideration ! 



5. What is t!if best time to transfer! 



G. Can a colony of bees be transferred to a 



hive, or can a swarm be put in a hive, with- 

 out any honey or comb, or even foundaiion 

 starters, or is it best to put comb in a hive 

 when transferring or hiving a swarm! 



7. How is beeswax made? Should it be a 

 bright yellow color, or rather dark! In what 

 shape should the cakes be made for sale? 



8. How much brood-comb should there bo 

 in an ordinary 8-frame hive about the first of 

 May? 



9. Would it be best to get a frame of brood 

 and put it in the hive, or put starters in the 

 frames? 



10. Would having no queen cause them to 

 swarm? If so, will they swarm again? 



11. Will bees build comb in a brood-frame 

 at all without starters? Indiana. 



Answers. — 1 and 2. Yes, bees are con- 

 stantly dying off from old age, and all the 

 worse in a colony which was queenless last 

 summer or early fall, as there are none but 

 old bees. 



3. I don't know. Perhaps you mean a bee- 

 moth, or wax-moth, which is a common-look- 

 ing moth of a dull, grayish color. 



4. Not before fruit-bloom. 



5. About 21 days after the issuing of the 

 prime swarm, for that allows the prime swarm 

 practically to transfer itself. If you don't 

 want to wait for that, transfer in fruit-bloom. 



6. A swarm will generally stay all right in a 

 hive entirely empty, but in transferring the 

 combs go with the bees. 



7. Melting the combs and separating the 

 wax from the other parts makes beeswax. 

 Unless it is burned or injured in some way it 

 should not be very dark color. It doesn't 

 matter about the shape of the cakes. 



8. The 8 frames should be entirely full of 

 comb in the fall, and of course there will be 

 just as much comb the following May. 



9. If you mean, when hiving a swarm, it is 

 better to have the frames entirely filled with 

 foundation, and many think it advisable to 

 give a frame containing brood and honey to a 

 swarm. 



10. Yes, a colony in the case you mention 

 would be more likely to swarm out if queen- 

 less, and still more likely if also short of 

 stores. In that case they are likely to swarm 

 out again. 



U. Yes, but they may not build it just 

 where you want it. 



If you have not already secured a book of 

 instruction about bees, you could not more 

 profitably invest a dollar or so than in that 

 way. 



^ .4.^^^ 1 



Sunken Brood Capplngs, Etc. 



1. When the cappings of the brood-cells are 

 sunk, is it always an indication of disease, or 

 are the cappings of healthy brood sometimes 

 sunk? 



2. Of what use to the bee are the 3 black 

 spots (thus .■.) seen on the back of the head 

 of the larva' about the time the eyes begin to 

 get dark? 



3. Is there any reason for bees so often 

 holding their hind legs straight down instead 

 of using them to hold on with when they 

 cluster? 



4. I had 4 queens come out with a swarm, 

 and, as far as 1 know, it was a prime swarm. 

 How would you account for that? 



Tennessee. 



Answers. — 1. 1 don't know that the cap- 

 pings of healthy brood are ever sunk, but 

 dead brood might have sunken cappings with- 

 out any disease being present ; and, of course, 

 dead brood could hardly be called healthy 

 brood. 



2. I don't know unless it be the three sin- 

 gle eyes. 



3. They are likely to have a good reason for 

 everything they do, but I don't know « hat 

 the reason is iu ihiscase. If you mean when 

 they cluster in festoons, it would seem that 

 the hind legs ought to hang down free su that 

 the next bee below could hang onto them. 



4. The old queen may hive been lost in 

 some way (possibly accidentally killed, pos- 

 sibly she issued with a swarm, was unable to 

 fly, and the swarm returned), and when the 

 young queens matured a numberwere allowed 

 to go out w ith the swarm. 



