404 THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW 



Buying Bees South. 



G. W. BULLAMORE, F. R. M. S. 



ON page 66 of the Review the Editor calls attention to the 

 buying of bees in the south to move north in the spring, and 

 says the field is practically unexplored. The plan looks all 

 right, but in actual practice when bees are bought from all sorts of 

 places and then assembled in one apiary the result is likely to be 

 an undesirable one. 



In the south of England many bees are kept on the old-fash- 

 ioned plan. They are domiciled in dome-shaped hives of straw 

 (skeps) and are worked for swarms. At the end of the season 

 certain skeps are retained for stock and the remainder are "con- 

 demned." Formerly these bees were sulphured^ but for many years 

 it has been usual for dealers to visit the cottagers and drive the 

 bees. The skep is inverted and by drumming its sides the bees 

 are induced to forsake the combs and to take refuge in an empty 

 skep placed above. These driven bees are sent to the north of 

 England and to Scotland, where they arrive in tirae to assist at the 

 gathering of the harvest from the heather. 



The investigations which have been made as to the cause and 

 progress of the Isle of Wight disease show that driven bees have 

 been the means of introducing disease to an apiary and effecting its 

 ruin. Affected bees during a fine season will act normally and will 

 store surplus. Such stocks usually die after they are packed down 

 for the winter. In one case which came under notice nine skeps 

 were driven and the bees were despatched to various parts of the 

 country. Their subsequent history is unknown. The six skeps of 

 bees which were reserved for stock were all found dead during the 

 winter. 



I think that much loss has been occasioned through the non- 

 recognition of chronic diseases in the adult bee, and the general 

 acceptance of the view that foul brood combs only are dangerous 

 to use again. The consequence is that an organism such as nosema 

 (believed to be the parasite responsible for Isle of Wight disease) 

 spreads until it is to be found in every bee-keeping country. The 

 affected bees, with careful nursing and ideal conditions, will live 

 long enough to infect the other stocks and it is only when wet 

 weather and other factors come into play that heavy losses occur. 



In man we know that an apparently healthy individual may 

 carry a deadly disease to a community and the possibility that a 

 similar phenomenon may occur among stock of bees should put 

 us on our guard against indiscriminate buying and mixing of col- 

 onies. In stocks which are a success from the standpoint of the 

 bee-keeper an equilibrium has been established between the bee and 



