THE AMERICAN BEE-KEEPER. 



The Auxiliary Colony. 



BY GEO. A. STOCK WEIiIi. 



The auxiliary colony is an important 

 factor in any apiary. Indeed, it is in- 

 dispensible. A nucleus colony may 

 be called an auxiliary colony, and any 

 colony may be occasionally immedi- 

 ately auxiliary to some other colony, 

 but the distinctive auxiliary is the 

 servant, throughout the season, of all 

 colonies, or of so many as may require 

 its aid. 



The auxiliary colony is not expect- 

 ed to store honey except for its own 

 use. It must be as strong as it is pos- 

 sible to make it. The keeper should 

 begin to build it, or help it to build 

 itself, in the fall or early spring. It 

 does not matter what kind of bees are 

 employed. If there be in the apiary 

 a colony of testy, hot-tempered blacks 

 that fight and stab at every oppor- 

 tunity without sufficient provocation, 

 let that colony be the auxiliary colony, 

 or one of them, for there should be 

 several in a large apiary. 



If the fiery temper of the black 

 rascals is not subdued, squelched, if 

 the colony does not have some respect 

 for its master before the season be 

 over, then it is not worth saving, and 

 the race should be changed by a new 

 queen . But they will yield if proper- 

 ly "worked," and will recognize the 

 keeper as absolute master. 



The hive for the auxiliary colony 

 is the two-story Simplicity. The upper 

 story may be another body like the 

 brood chamber, or it may be two half- 

 stories, Before the season be over, it 

 may be tiered up with other half- 

 stories. The auxiliary colony is a 

 comb-builder exclusively, although it 

 may be robbed to strengthen other 



colonies, but in an apiary properly 

 conducted there should be no colonies 

 to build up. The nuclei are not work- 

 ing colonies, only bee-plants of infer- 

 ior growth not ready to bear fruit. 



Experience shows that the honey 

 gathered is larger when the bees have 

 ready-made combs, when there is 

 nothing to do except to empty the 

 honey into receptacles already prepar- 

 ed, than under the usual conditions. 

 During the flow of any kind of honey, 

 the bees cannot gather all of it, but 

 they will gather more, or they will 

 have more time to gather it if there 

 be no comb to build. 



The greatest success comes, if at the 

 beginning of the flow of honey, a 

 crate of ready-made combs be placed 

 in the surplus chamber. This gives 

 the bees a great impulse. If the brood 

 chamber be full, as it ought to be, 

 except laying room for the queen, 

 there is no place for honey, except in 

 the surplus combs to put it, and there 

 it goes with a rush. 



The combs used early in the season 

 are made the year before, either by 

 the auxiliary colony or other colonies, 

 the latter being unfinished sections 

 emptied by the extractor. It is the 

 work of the auxiliary colony to make 

 comb all summer, either pound 

 sections, or combs in brood-frames for 

 extracted honey. 



When the auxiliary colony has 

 nearly completed a crate of combs,- it 

 is taken away with the honey and 

 given to a storing colony. The effect 

 on the storing colony is wonderful. 

 Here is more room, here are sections 

 dripping with honey ! TheTmost in- 

 different colony is aroused at once, and 

 if it appear- to be on the 'point of 



