Amekican Bee Journal, 



DEVOTED EXCLUSIVELY TO BEE CULTURE. 



Vol. XI. 



CEDAR RAPIDS, JUNE, 1875. 



No. 6. 



How to Transfer Bees. 



A subscriber writes us to know how 

 to change bees without loss, from the 

 round, log, square gum or common hive 

 to movable frame hives. 



As this is a timely question, we give an 

 answer at length. 



The best time to do this is about the 

 season of swarming, which season varies 

 with the latitude and climate. In the 

 Northern States, June is the month of 

 swarms ; in the Middle and Southern States 

 they come with early and abundant 

 bloom. 



About the time when swarms are expect- 

 ed naturally, take the hive which you 

 wish to transfer, and blowing a little 

 smoke into the entrance, remove it a rod 

 or more from its stand, leaving an empty 

 box or hive in its place,, into which the 

 bees that are out in the fields may gather. 

 Invert the hive which you have moved, 

 and put over it an empty box or hive, as 

 near the same size and shape as possible, 

 and stop all holes or cracks between the 

 two with grass or weeds that may be at 

 hand, leaving no hole large enougli for a 

 bee to escape. Then with sticks keep up 

 a sharp drumming on the bottom hive, at 

 which the bees, alarmed, will fill their 

 sacs with honey and mount up into the 

 upper hive. In from twenty to thirty 

 minutes, most of the bees with their queen 

 will be in the empty box on top. The 

 beginner need not fear driving too many ; 

 let all go that will. Then carefully set 

 the box containing the bees in a shady 

 place, and take the old hive back to the 

 place where it stood. AYhile you have 

 been driving, many bees will have come 

 back to their home, and finding it gone, 

 will be roaming in and out of the empty 

 hive in distress. These will at once rush 



into the old hives when it returns, and 

 gladly adhere to it; then remove it to a 

 location some yards ofl", when, as it con- 

 tains many hatching bees and eggs, the 

 bees will at once rear a new queen to 

 replace the one just driven out, and in a 

 short time be as prosperous as ever. Kow 

 place your new movable comb hive, with 

 its entrances all open, on the old stand, 

 and spread a sheet before it ; on th is sheet 

 empty the bees you have driven into the 

 box, and they will at once take a line of 

 march for the entrance of the new hive; 

 if they gather there, brush a few in with 

 a wing or twig, and they will call the 

 others, who will enter in a body and accept 

 the new hives as their home. 



You have now a nice swarm in your 

 new hive, which will work as well as any 

 natural swarm and quickly stock their 

 hive. You have besides your old hive, 

 in which the bees are rapidly hatching, 

 and in three weeks they will have a young 

 queen and a goodly number of bees.but no 

 brood in the combs. Therefore in three 

 weeks repeat the process of driving out 

 the bees; and after this is done, split open 

 the old hive, or carefully take oft' the side, 

 and fasten all straight nice pieces of the 

 comb into the frames of a movable comb 

 hive;— a little melted resin will help hold 

 them in place, or they may be kept in 

 place with thorns. Comb need not be 

 rejected because it is old or black, as, if 

 it is straight and free from mould, it is 

 quite as good to rear tees in, or to store 

 honey for their use — indeed, it is proved 

 that old comb is better than new for these 

 purposes. No drone-comb should be put 

 in the frames. This may be known by 

 the larger size of its cells. 



Arrange the frames containing comb in 

 in the hive, set it in its place, and empty 

 the bees on a sheet in front, as before 



