Sept, 14, 190S 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



651 



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I)octor IHtUcr 5 ^ucstion^ox 



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

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

 Dr. Miller does iwt answer Questions by mail. 



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J 



Keeping the Wax-Worm Out of 

 Sections 



How do you handle supers of comb honey 

 so as to keep the wax-worm out ot the 

 sections, when you want to keep the supers 

 (or honey) a few weeks after taken off the 

 hive? How long can it be kept so that the 

 worms will not bother it? Missouri. 



Answer. — I don't pay any attention to any- 

 thing of the kind, and there is no trouble. 

 But years ago there was trouble. The dif- 

 ference probably is that years ago 1 had black 

 bees, and now there is much Italian blood. 

 At that time I fumigated the sections with 

 sulphur 2 or 3 weeks after taking off the sec- 

 tions, repeating the dose some 3 weeks later. 



Winter Hlve-Protectlon- 

 Wlnter 



Feeding for 



1. I am making some boxes to place over 

 the hives to protect the bees through the win- 

 ter. I would want them weather-tight. 

 Would it be advisable to cover them with tar 

 roofing paper? Or would the odor of tar be 

 offensive to the bees? 



2. What size opening must be left for them 

 through the winter ? 



3. When is the proper time to start feeding 

 for winter? Illinois. 



Answers.— 1. The tar on the outside will 

 not trouble the bees. 



2. An opening equivalent to 3 or 4 square 

 inches. 



3. August, if they can gather nothing later. 

 In general, just as soon as possible after it is 

 known that feeding will be necessary. Gen- 

 erally it ought not to be necessary. 



Judging from ttueen-Cells-Wax- 

 Moths-Dead Brood Outside of 

 Hive-Putting on Supers- 

 Feeding Bees in 

 Winter 



1. After a queen-cell is sealed or capped, 

 how many days will it be before the queen 

 emerges, and can I tell by the outside of the 

 cell whether she is a good queen or not? 



2. Some days ago I difcovered wax moths 

 in my only weak colony, so I cleaned out and 

 killed all the worms with the exception of a 

 few which went out of the entrance, down 

 into the grass. Is there any danger of their 

 going back in the hive again? What shall I 

 do if they should? 



3. Is it a bad sign to see a few white brood 

 dead out on the grass in front of the hive? 



4. As I read in the American Bee Journal 

 that as soon as the bees begin making white 

 wax on lop of the frames it is time to put on 

 the supers, I tried it, but ihey have not 

 started to work in them yet, although the 

 supers have been on over 2 weeks. How can 

 this be? 



5. Can I fied bees in winter? With what 

 kind of feeder could I do it the most easy and 

 satisfactory way? How should I do it? 



Wisconsin. 



Answers.— 1. The queen should emerge 

 something like r or 8 days after the cell is 

 sealed. A cell with a gooii queen in ii is likely 

 to be of good size and well pitied over the sur- 

 face with indentations. A cell with a poor 

 queen is likely to be small, with a smooth sur- 

 face. But there are exceptions; a good queen 

 coming from a poor-looking ceil, and rice, 

 versti. 



2. It is not likely they will re-enter the 



hive, and it they do the bees ought to be able 

 to take care of them, as they have now no 

 web to defend them. But it will be no harm 

 to look over the combs again, as others may 

 be there that were too small for you to notice; 

 and worms grow. 



3. It is of no great significance so long as 

 they are very few. But if there be any great 

 number, look out for starving. 



4. The white wax is a pretty good sign that 

 the bees are getting more than will meet their 

 daily needs, and that it is time to put on 

 supers. But the weather and the yield are 

 tickle affairs, and it may happen that after so 

 good a promise there is no fulfillment. Let 

 us hope, however, that in your case the cessa- 

 tion of storing is only temporary, and that a 

 little later there may be a rushing business. 



5. There is no need of it so long as you have 

 the matter in mind this far in advance, and it 

 is very much better to have the bees fully sup- 

 plied before cold weather comes. Feeding in 

 winter is not a thing to be advised, but if 

 necessary it is better to give sealed combs of 

 honey or candy. 



Colony in a Box— Do Noises Disturb 



Bees ?-Preparing for Winter— 



Basswood- Management 



Between Harvests 



1. I have a colony of bees in an old box. 

 What would you advise me to do with it? 



2. Would the noise made by mowing the 

 bee-yard bother the bees any? Does noise of 

 any kind bother bees? 



3. When should they be packed for winter? 



4. About when does basswood bloom here? 



5. Should the supers be left on between the 

 two harvests? If not, how does one know 

 when to put them on for the second harvest? 



Iowa. 

 Answers— 1. A good way is to leave it 

 where it is till it swarms next year. Put the 

 swarm in a good hive; then 3 weeks later the 

 worker-brood will be all hatched out, when 

 you can cut open the box and dispose of the 

 comb. 



2. Noises in general do not trouble bees. 



3. Better have the packing done early in 

 November. 



4. Probably about the first week in July. 



5. Take them off when the lirst harvest is 

 over, and put on again when you can tell by 

 the flight of the bees that they are again stor- 

 ing. Sometimes there is no distinct break be- 

 tween the two flows, and you must keep 

 something u" all the time, in that case, get 

 off all Hnisbfd work at the close of the first 

 harvest, ami leave sections that have bees 

 started. If you work for extracted honey, 

 leave the supers on from one flow till the 

 other, only extract all light honey at the 

 close ot the first harvest. 



What Alls the Bees ? 



Karly in M 

 common \xi:> 

 them from hi 

 or UUO or ^i" 

 box-hives \\ i! 

 honey and tl: 

 were full of I 

 plentiful. 



It seems sn 

 colonies ca^r 

 the least iiii' 

 supers. Tliti 

 decrease in : 

 my land, and 

 months, the; 



arch I purchased 2 colonies ot 

 from a neighbor. We removed 



s apiary to my land, a distance 



i feet. They were in old-style 

 glass on one side so that the 

 bees could be seen. The hives 



oney, and the bees seemed to be 



inge to me that neither of the 

 a swarm this year, nor showed 

 lination to store honey in the 

 iiHc'S of the colonies appeared to 

 umbers after being located on 

 although I have had them for o 

 do not seem to be any more 



populous or have any more honey on hand 

 than when I first bought them. 



My neighbor has about 20 colonies. Do 

 you think some of the bees may have returned 

 to their old home and united with the colonies 

 there? 



Inasmuch as they have neither increased 

 nor produced honey for me this season, do 

 you think that it would pay me to winter 

 them, especially as they are common bees in 

 old-style hives, and I notice infested with bee- 

 moths? 



I have been thinking of destroying my 

 present outfit and trying again next spring 

 with Italian bees in modern hives. What do 

 you advise? New York. 



Answer. — It is practically certain that 

 when, with no precautionary measures, you 

 removed those bees 600 feet, you gave notice 

 to the field-bees that they should return to 

 their old place. If, however, the colonies 

 were what they ought to have been, they 

 should have recovered from the set-back more 

 than they appear to have done. Don't destroy 

 them, however; if they winter satisfactorily 

 they will be good capital to work on next 

 spring. Seeing it's you, let me give you a 

 word of advice. Take some time evenings, 

 after your chickens have all gone to roost, to 

 study up your text-book on bee-keeping, and 

 after you are well informed, decide what you 

 want to do with those bees next spring. It 

 not entirely clear about it, send on any ques- 

 tions that occur, a little while before time for 

 action, and they will be cheerfully answered 

 in this department. 



Bait for " Lining " Bees in the Woods 



1. What kind of bait is the best for lining 

 bees in the woods? 



2. How can J set it so the bees will scent it? 



3. When is the best time to use it? 



Michigan. 



Answers. — 1. Honey diluted with water, 

 perhaps half and half. Some make a smudge 

 by burning, and some flavor the bait with 

 anise. Some make a smudge by burning old 

 combs. 



2. Set it out in the open in the woods where 

 the bees are prospecting. 



3. After the harvest is over, when there is 

 little or nothing to be had from flowers. 



Apiary Record Book -Weak Colonies 

 —Outdoor Wintering 



1. On the first page for Aug. 3 I see you 

 and your record-book. Now that record-book 

 is just what I want, but I do not know just 

 how to arrange it. I have some 50 colonies. 

 My hives are numbered from 1 up witn 2'., - 

 inch hand-painted figures. The hives are 

 white and the figures black. Would you give 

 us a sketch of a page? 



2. I have 4 colonies that were hived just as 

 the white clover fiow was over, and they are 

 rather weak. Each colony has brood. Is 

 that a sure sign that they have a queen? 



3. Would you take some frames from strong 

 colonies and give to these weak ones? In 

 this locality there is an abundance of Span- 

 ish-needle and goldenrod. which reach their 

 height this month and next. 



4. Which is the better for outdoor winter- 

 ing, to lake olT the empty supers or to leave 

 them on ? 



5. Shall I put straw pads over them or not? 



Missouri. 



Answers — 1. It is not at all certain that 

 what suits one for a record-book will suit 

 another, but I think you will Had advantage 

 in something that will give a perruaneut record 

 ot each colony. You will find it a great 

 advantage to have conlraciions for the more 

 common entries — and a great many entries 

 will bu alike — no matter what the contrac- 

 tions may be, only so you will understand 

 them yourself. Although it luay be no model 

 for you to follow, I cheerfully give you a 

 trantrript of one colony, the one that I think 

 has done the poorest of any in the home api- 

 ary, chiefly due to the fact that it started in 



