112 



THE GENESEE FARMER. 



MANAGEMENT OF HONEY BEES. 



April is the month, in this climate, to remove bees 

 confined in buildings, cellars, etc., to their summer stands. 

 Let it be done just as soon as the weather becomes mild, 

 and the ground free from snow. 



If it is convenient to set each hive where it stood last 

 season, it is well to do so; but it is not u' nil necessary, 

 as the bees take a new survey and marking of the posi- 

 tions of their hives after a winter's confinement, and anew 

 position appears to be just as good as an old one. But be 

 careful to set the hives where no change of position will 

 be necessary, till again removed to winter quarters. 

 When cases do occur in which it is necessary to remove 

 hives a few feet, after being placed in position for the sea- 

 son, it should be done by degrees, a few inches at a time. 

 If a hive stands by itself, or five to ten feet from any 

 ^ther hive,* it maybe removed several feet at once with 

 safety ; but when hives are placed in rows, side by side, 

 with about a foot of space between them, as is frequently 

 the case, it would produce great confusion and loss of 

 bees, to move the hives laterally, so as to trench on the 

 original position of each other. In such a case, the bees 

 of the different hives would become badly mixed, and 

 many would be killed in the battle that would ensue. In 

 a few days they would become regulated again, but with 

 greatly diminished numbers. 



If I were under the necessity hi removing bees in such 

 a case, I should do it by moving the hives a few inches 

 daily, till I gained the desired position. 



Hives may be moved back and front a foot or two daily, 

 without derangement to the bees; and where no other 

 hives exist in close proximity, they may perhaps be moved 

 ten or fifteen feet at once, and alt the bees will find them 

 readily. 



When bees are removed from their place of wintering 

 to their stands, the first operation performed by them on 

 their sallying out, is to mark the position of their hives. 

 This is done by a series of circular flights, with which all 

 bee keepers, I presume, are familiar. On these occasions 

 the position of the hive is marked with such accuracy, 

 especially the entrance of it, that if removed only six 

 inches, the bees, on their return from the fields laden with 

 pollen or honey, alight exactly where the entrance tvas, 

 not where it is on their return, From this circumstance, 

 it is shown that the color, size or shape of the hive has 

 nothing to do with the correct return of the bees to their 

 ;>wn tenements. A row of hives may be so alike that no 

 man can discern the least difference between them, and 

 , hey may stand within a few inches <$ each other, yet the 

 "oees will seldom make a mistake and enter the wrong 

 liive. Even if a white hive be substituted for a black 



ne, or vice versa, the bees in the fields while such change 

 .s made, would return with the same unerring exactness 

 .to their hives as if no such change had taken place. 



It appears that the transposition of hives, or their re- 

 moval to new localities, is not attended with much loss of 

 bees at any time after cold weather sets in, while the bees 

 ire confined to their hives by the severity of the weather. 

 Last fall, the last of November, on protecting my bees for 



he winter, I moved the hives to a new location, mixing 



iem without any regard to their previous position, suppos- 

 in w that cold weather had sot in for the season, and that 



my bees would not leave their hives again till spring. But 

 unfortunately in a few days after the hives were arranged, 

 and protected with a packing of straw, a warm spell of 

 weather set in, and the bees became uneasy, and began to- 

 escape through the straw in such numbers that I was 

 compelled to uncover the hives in front, and allow the 

 bees to sally out. They had previously been confined to 

 their hives by cold weather about ten days, which led me 

 to think that they would mark the positions of their new 

 stands, and a less number of bees would be lost by fight- 

 ing, in consequence of getting mixed, than would occur 

 if they had not been thus confined to their hives. In this 

 opinion I was not mistaken. I noticed but very little con- 

 fusion in the bees by not entering their respective domi- 

 cils ; perhaps a quart of bees were killed only in fifty 

 hives, and after the second day of issuing they had be- 

 come perfectly " at home," and no further loss was sus- 

 tained. In this case, the hives were placed as close to- 

 gether as they could be set, and were mostly removed 

 several rods from where they stood during the summer. 



The result of this operation is of some interest to bee 

 keepers, as it shows that bees may be removed with safety 

 and the hives placed in any position, without much loss, 

 after cold weather has set in, and the bees have been con- 

 fined a week or two to their hives by the severity of the 

 atmosphere, even if they sally forth in large numbers as 

 soon as removed. 



In this month, the stands or bottom boards of the hives 

 should be cleaned of all the foul accumulations of winter, 

 and the combs examined for the purpose of removing any 

 dead bees between them, which is best done by the feather 

 end of a quill. Mouldy combs should be cut out, and such 

 families as are short of honey should be supplied with 

 honey in the comb, strained honey, or a syrup made of 

 sugar. This should all be done on removing bees from 

 their winter quarters, when they are wintered in a sepa- 

 rate location from their summer stands. 



The hives should rest closely upon the bottom boards 

 till very warm weather sets in, about June 1st in this cli- 

 mate and earlier in more southern latitudes, when they 

 should be raised three-eighths of an iuch all round. 



The moth worms that occasionally appear in April and 

 May need not create the least alarm in the mind of the in- 

 experienced bee keeper, as these pest are found more or 

 less in all families of bees. They should be destroyed 

 when seen, and a watch kept for their cocoons, in which 

 they wind up as silkworms do, and come forth a winged 

 miller, which is far more dangerous than the original 

 worm. 



While I do not advise bee keepers to spend much time 

 in ferreting out the hiding places of moth-worms, it is not 

 amiss to lay split elders, or anything having a hollow 

 groove or cavity on the under side, upon the floor boards 

 of the hive, under which the worms will take refuge, and 

 may thus be easily destroyed. It is also advisable to 

 raise the hives about once a week from April to June, and 

 destroy such worms as may be found under the edges of 

 them. 



There is no necessity to place the boxes or caps for sur- 

 plus honey iu their positions till next month ; but be sure 

 and get them on early in May, and attach a small piece 

 of empty comb in the corner of each box, which causes 



