Auff. 14, 1902. 



i\MERICAN BEE JOURiNAL 



521 



and I have tine success wintering them, by placing them 

 toffcther in a low shed and packin^j with chafl. 



5. Is the Danzenbaker comb-honey super as easy to 

 handle and operate as the dovetailed super with slotted sec- 

 tion-holders, with old-style sections havinjf bee-ways. 



6. Can the dovetailed super, with slotted section-hoklcrs 

 for old-style sections, be used on a Danzcnbaker brood-cham- 

 ber ? Ohio. 



Answkks. — 1. Yes, provi<linjf the entrance is large 

 enough or the weather cool enough. It will be safer in the 

 evening when it is cooler. If it is hot and the entrance is 

 not more than six square inches, better have a screen to 

 cover the top. Kor so short a distance two thicknesses of 

 mosquito-netting might do. Sprinkling with water will 

 help keep the bees cool. 



2. That's a matter on which there are differences of 

 opinion. 



3. It can be used for one as well as the other, but is not 

 very generally used for extracting. 



4. Your safe plan may be to try a few of each side by 

 side, so as to see which does best for you, and that will be 

 better than the opinion of some one else. 



5. That depends somewhat on what kind of supers you 

 mean in the latter, and also upon the facility one has in 

 handling the different kinds. I can handle the T super 

 easier than either of them, while others would not have T 

 supers. 



6. With some little adaptation they can be used inter- 

 changeably. 



■*-"* 



Winter Repository— Sugar vs. Honey. 



1. I have a shop lb by 36, 7-foot studding, shingled on 

 the outside ; now I intend to partition it off to make it lb by 

 16, board it up inside of the studdings, fill with sawdust, 

 ceil it, and have a stove in the adjoining room, with a pipe 

 running into the room described. Will that do to keep bees 

 in during winter ? 



2. Which is the cheaper for cooking and general use, 

 honey at 12'2 cents per pound or sugar at 19 pounds for a 

 dollar? Wisconsin. 



Answers. — 1. You will probably find it not so success- 

 ful as an underground cellar, although some are successful 

 with a house-apiary. 



2. Sugar. 



* ■ » 



Comb Foundation in Sections. 



How large a piece of foundation should be put in a sec- 

 tion ? Wisconsin. 



Answer. — I fill my sections, using all the foundation I 

 can get in without having it sag. Some prefer to use small 

 starters. " You pay your money and take your choice." 



Colony with Laying Workers— Uniting Bees. 



1. I have one colony of bees that is queenless. I have 

 put frames with larva> and eggs in three times, and they 

 would not start a queen-cell. On July 11 I looked them over 

 and found evidence of laying workers, so I took all of the 

 frames and scattered them among three colonies, and took 

 unsealed brood from those colonies that were the strongest, 

 and put in place of the ones I took out. So on the ISth I 

 looked them over and saw they still had not started a queen- 

 cell. What is the reason they do not start a queen-cell ? 

 and what am I to do to save them ? 



2. When I exchanged the frames they fought like mad ; 

 smoking would not pacify them, and they killed each other 

 frightfully. Do they always fight so when exchanging the 

 frames with adhering bees? I am a beginner and do not un- 

 derstand much about these things yet. Washington. 



Answers. — 1. A colony with laying workers is gener- 

 ally so perverse that the best thing is to break it up entirely, 

 for it is cheaper to make a new colony than to doctor up a 

 colony of laying workers, in which, as a rule, all the bees 



have lived so long aa to be set in their ways and unwillingf 

 to do what the bee-keeper wants. 



2. The fighting was probably made worse by the fact 

 that little honey was coming in at the time, for the bees are 

 likely to be good to each other when there is no scarcity, A 

 plentiful sprinkling with thin sugar syrup might have been 

 a help. As already said, the best thing is to break up the 

 colony. If, however, you have a special affection for that 

 colony, and want to preserve its identity, give it sealed 

 brood from other colonies (not taking bees with the brood if 

 they still keep up their ill temper), and after young bees 

 hatch out from the brood you will find them ready to rear 

 a queen from brood, or to accept a queen or cell offered them. 



Queenless Colony Oiuit Robbing. 



I had just one colony queenless, and that for a great 

 while, as it seemed. It was a strange case — I never had 

 such a one. One day in June a new swarm issued, and 

 everything seemed all right. The hives were about two 

 rods apart. The second day both colonies commenced fly- 

 ing to and fro from early morning until late at night, in 

 and out of their respective hives ; that is, one to the other. 

 That lasted over a week, and at last they gave it up. Now 

 I see the old colony has lost its queen. I gave a queen to- 

 the new colony at that time, but the bees killed her. Does 

 that happen often ? Michigan. 



Answer. — The case is an unusual one, but such cases 

 have been reported under the head of quiet robbing, the 

 swarm quietly carrying off the stores of the mother colony. 

 The swarm having their old queen would naturally kill any 

 other queen given them. 



Bees Eating Wired Comb Foundation. 



My bees have done well. I run 12 colonies for extracted 

 honey, of which I took SS gallons. They did not do as well 

 in the sections. I divided the strongest colonies and used 

 wired frames with whole sheets of comb foundation : they 

 ate the most of them oif at the lower and second lower wire. 

 What causes the bees to eat comb foundation along the 

 wire ? Above that they build out very nicely. 



Pennsylvania. 



Answer. — Perhaps the lower wire was too close to the 

 bottom-bar. Bees are quite inclined to leave a passage-way 

 between the comb and the bottom-bar, and if the wire was. 

 less than half an inch from the bottom-bar they would be 

 likely to cut up to the wire. If the wire was not imbedded 

 they would be more likely to gnaw away the foundation i 

 and they will do more gnawing if no honey is coming in. 



A Swarming and Queen Experience— Painting Hives. 



1. As I hived a swarm of bees j'esterday, when nearly 

 all the workers were in the hive, the queen left them with- 

 out going into the hive at all, and did not comeback as long 

 as I was watching. What could be the reason ? 



2. How can I find out whether there is a queen in the 

 hive? 



3. What would I better do if there is no queen in the 

 hive? 



4. How would it do to take a frame with a queen-cell 

 and place it in the hive ? 



5. Would it do the bees any harm to paint the hivea 

 while they are working in them ? 



6. Is there any way by which I can get what bees are 

 flying around in the air after a swarm is taken down and 

 hived from a high tree ? Minnesota. 



Answers. — 1. It is possible it was a virgin queen tak- 

 ing her bridal trip. 



2. You may be able to see the queen by looking over the 

 frames. Not always, however. Give a frame of brood, 

 some of the brood at least being quite young. If you find 

 no queen-cells started on the brood a day or so later, you 

 may count on the presence of a queen. But you hardly need. 



