THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW 



EXXRT^OXE D. 



MANAGING SWARMS FOR COMB HONEY 



Some Comments on the Golden Method. 



In this issue of the Review appears an 

 article from Mr. J. A. Golden on his meth- 

 od of managing .swarms so as to secure a 

 large crop of comb honey and at the same 

 time prevent any increase. In the Amer- 

 ican Bee Journal, for February 3, appears 

 a criticism on that plan. It is written by 

 Mr. W. W. McNeal of Ohio, and reads as 

 follows: — 



How do you manage to keep pollen out 

 of this double super <lnring the first five 

 days after the swarm is hived? Just why 

 the bees should fill these sections with 

 such choice honey and leave no pollen is 

 decidedly a wrinkle I fail to see. My ex- 

 perience is that bees are inclined to place 

 themselves and their brood between the 

 entrance and the stores. Now, pollen be- 

 ing something that cannot be so easily 

 carried awa}', is often given a place close 

 to the entrance. This is more noticeable 

 in early .spring, and especially so if the 

 frames run parallel with the entrance. 

 The rimways provided at the .sides of the 

 super may have something to do with it; 

 but why the field-bees, upon their return 

 It) the hive, would run up through these 

 to the brood-combs above, and there 

 leave the pollen, returning to the sections 

 Ijelow with the honey, is the query with 

 me. 



Of the two evils, honey stored in comb 

 built the previous season, and that which 

 is stored in combs built the present sea- 

 .son, but containing more or less pollen, 

 I would choose the former for two rea- 

 sons : 1st. The average consumer of hon- 

 ey would hardly detect the harshness of 

 tile comb at all if the precaution had been 

 taken to break away the varnished face 

 of the combs before giving them to the 

 bees. 2nd. Biit they would detect pollen 

 were it there, and so would the little wax 

 weevil. It is a rare thing to find pollen 

 in sections placed over the brood-combs, 

 save in hives where such room is lim- 

 ited, and when a ca.se of partly filled 

 sections has been given to a swarm newly 

 hived on frames with only starters in 

 them. 



I have tried to get a swarm to build 

 comb under nearly the same conditions 



that Mr. Golden outlines, but failed in 

 every instance. My hives were prepared 

 thus : If a colony run for extracted honey 

 cast a swarm, I took its surplus cases and 

 placed them over an empty brood-chamber 

 — with starters — with a queen-excluder be- 

 tween the two apartments. Now, if there 

 chanced to be any uncapped brood in 

 these upper cases the bees would sulk 

 until they could cap over .some kind of a 

 cell and call it a queen, when the swarm 

 would absond. Should there be nothing 

 but honey in the combs, they will contin- 

 ue to sulk until something happens. The 

 queen being caged, and the excluder re- 

 moved, may cause the bees to behave in 

 a vasth- different manner, though like a 

 great many other things it does look that 

 way. 



Still, I can not see why a colony that 

 does not swarm shouldn't store as much 

 honej^ as though it did. Of course, if the 

 swarm issues early, and the .season be 

 prolonged, then the two may exceed what 

 the one would have done. If we can gain 

 for the colony without its having to 

 swatm, that which is gained by swarming, 

 then wherein does Mr. Golden 's method 

 method have any advantage.-' I mean the 

 desire and ability to build comb. Noth- 

 ing so incites a colon}- to good work as 

 does the presence of newly-built comb in 

 the hive. To obtain this vantage ground, 

 a fraiTie of comb foundation can be hung 

 in the brood-chamber some little time 

 previous to the giving of the supers, pro- 

 viding the strength of the colony and the 

 state of the weather will permit. Place 

 the frame of foundation between two 

 combs of brood, and in due time follow 

 this up with a super alternated with 

 frames of comb and frames of foundation 

 or starters. A half-depth case is always 

 preferable for the fir.st one given. Some- 

 times it works better to give a complete 

 case of combs until they been coaxed 

 al)ove, when this can be lifted and a sec- 

 tion super placed between. It is always 

 well to look to it that the queen be not in 

 the upper case when raising it, for her 

 presence there would work disastrously; 

 in that the capacity of the small frames 

 would not be equal to the ability of the 

 queen; which would tend to dissatisfac- 

 tion; and her absence from the combs be- 

 low would cause queen-cells to be started, 

 and swarming would result. Arranged 

 in this way, a colony can be run for both 

 comb and extracted honey with the in- 

 cumbrance of a queen-excluding honey- 

 board. 



The queen will not pass the section- 

 super to again occupy the upper one, al- 

 though the queen-cells in this upper case 



