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THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL AND GAZETTE. 



MONTHLY MANAGEMENT. 



February. 



The "bee-year" commonly commences in 

 this month, as we have then the first indications 

 and evidence of reviving activity in tlie liive. 

 A f-mall amount of brood is indeed not nnfre- 

 quently found aire idy in January, in strong 

 stocks, when the weather is mild, Italian 

 queens particularly being inclined to early, we 

 might say premature, oviposition. This, how- 

 ever, is not a desirable condition of affairs, as 

 such early brooding is always hazardous, and 

 involves a large consumption of stores, which 

 might be more iisefully reserved till later in the 

 spring. It is hence advisable to repress brood- 

 ing, wherever practicable, till towards the 

 middle of March, if we wish to be sure of hav- 

 ing strong colonies when the gathering season 

 opens. 



Stocks wintered on their summer-stands 

 should, therelbre, remain undisturbed till after 

 the bees have been able to fly and discharge 

 their faeces, and are carrying out their dead. 

 This is the proper time, too, to change the bot- 

 tom-boards, substituting new and clean ones 

 therelbr, or cleansing and drying the old ones. 

 The dead bees found on the bottom-board of 

 every hive should be carefully examined, to 

 see whether the queen be among them; and if 

 she be found there, the stock should either be 

 broken up at once, or united with some weak 

 colony having a fertile queen. The hive should 

 now remain undisturbed,and requires no further 

 attention, till a mild day occurs, enabling the 

 bees to fly, when their deportment should be 

 carefully observed, to see whether any of the 

 stocks show signs of queenlessness. If any 

 such are noticed, they should be disposed of as 

 directed above, for it is much too early in the 

 season to think of enabling them to rear a 

 queen by supplying them with eggs and larvfe, 

 unless perchance a drone-breeding queen have 

 been wintered in the apiary. 



Stocks in movable comb-hives should also be 

 examined on the first day when bees are able to 

 fly, to ascertain the condition of their stores, 

 and to supply such as are deficient; and the 

 opportunity should likewise be used to look for 

 the queen. End-combs containing honey may 

 now also be set nearer the luiddle of the hive 

 where the bees have been clustered, to render 

 the stores more readily accessible to them, and 

 to restrict the brooding space to narrower 

 limits. 



Colonies wintered in a dark chamber or cellar 

 should not be replaced, or their summer-stands, 

 till the winter is thoroughly broken; and a mild 

 day, when the bees can fly, should be chosen 

 for the removal. Stocks intended to be placed 

 aside of each other on the stand, should not be 

 brought out at the same time, as the one which 

 makes the loudest humming will attract many 

 bees from its neighbor, if the bees of both be 

 flying at the same time, when set out. It is 

 better to remove, first, such as can be set re- 

 mote from each other. If before removal, and 

 while the weather does not yet permit the 



general transfer, any colony be found restless 

 or heard humming loudly, it should be taken 

 out separately and examined, to be fed if in 

 need of stores, or otherwise disposed of, if 

 queenless. 



If stocks in movable comb-hives need sup- 

 plies at this time, these can be most advan- 

 tageously furnished bj'' inserting frames con- 

 taining honey in the comb. ButTif such frames 

 are not at hand, rock-candy may be placed on 

 the tops of the frames, the honey-board taken 

 away, and its place supplied by a piece of thin 

 blanket or strips of stout flannel. This will 

 enable the bees to supply themselves as their 

 wants require. Where rock candy cannot be 

 obtained, sticks of common sugar candy may 

 be pushed down among the bees, between the 

 combs, and the honey-board then replaced, or 

 apiece of blanket used as a substitute. 



Where brooding commences early, the bees 

 need large supplies of water, and many are lost 

 from exposure to cold or wind, when leaving 

 their hives to procure it. Damage from this 

 cause can be prevented by pouring water in a 

 piece of old comb, and inserting it in the hive, 

 that the bees may help themselves without going 

 abroad. Afterwards, when the weather becomes 

 milder, and the bees can safely leave home, 

 water should be placed for them in a shallow 

 dish, in some sheltered nook near the apiary. 



Cracks or crevices in common box-hives 

 should be closed by means of mixture of clay 

 and chatf, to prevent the escape of heat, and 

 keep out marauders. 



The amputation of one of the antennae of a 

 queen-bee appears not to affect her perceptibly; 

 but cutting off both these important organs pro- 

 duces a very striking derangement in all her 

 proceedings. She seems in a species of deli- 

 rium, and deprived of all her instincts. Every- 

 thing is done at random, yet 'the respect and 

 homage of the Avorkers towards her, though 

 they are received by her with indifference, con- 

 tinue undiminished. If another in the same 

 condition be put in the hive, the bees do not ap- 

 pear to discover the difference, and treat them 

 both alike. But if a perfect one be introduced, 

 even though fertile, they seize her, keep her in 

 confinement, and treat her verj' unhandsomely. 

 If two mutilated queens meet, they show not 

 the slightest symptoms of animositJ^ While 

 one of these continues in the hive, the workers 

 never think of choosing another; but if she 

 leaves it, they do not accompany her. 



It is a saying of bee-keepers in Holland that 

 the fii'st swallow and the first bee foretell each 

 other. This, perhaps, may be correct there; 

 but with us the appearance of bees considerably 

 precedes that of the swallow; for when the early 

 crocuses open, if the weather be warm, bees 

 may always be found busy in the blossom. 



m * ^^t ^ — ■ 



Water is a thing of the first necessity to 

 bees; but they are not very delicate as to its 

 quality, but rather the reverse, often prefering 

 that which is stagnant and putrescent to that of 

 a running stream. 



