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Mar, 7, 1907 



American T^ee Journal 



very sure that the stuff would not shrink any, 

 for less than '4 would be likely to induce the 

 bees to glue together the sections of 2 supers. 

 Generally there is no trouble, but sometimes 

 when bees are crowded they build comb in 

 my -Je-inch space. 



6. You wouldn't find all these questions an- 

 swered in the book, but I think you would 

 find answers to a number that it might be 

 profitable for you to ask. 



Bees Tearing Down Foundation 



I have had more or less trouble the past 

 season from the bees gnawing out part of the 

 comb foundation, both in brood-frames and 

 supers. 



1. What can I do to prevent bees from tear- 

 ing down foundation in brood-frames where 

 full sheets are used! 



2. I learn from your writings that you use 

 full sheets of thin super foundation in sec- 

 tions. Do you ever have any trouble from 

 having these full sheets torn down in whole 

 or in part? Indiana. 



Answers. — 1. I am not sure that I ever 

 bad bees gnaw away foundation in brood- 

 frames except at the bottom. Bees seem to 

 have a natural desire for a passage between 

 the comb and the bottom-bar, so much so that 

 even after a comb has been built in the frame 

 clear down to the bottom-bar, if it is not built 

 out very full they will gnaw it out again 

 when there comes a time of idleness. The 

 only secret of prevention that I know of is to 

 give frames of foundation at a time when 

 honey is coming in and when comb is being 

 built. Especially is giving foundation in the 

 fall to be avoided. Perhaps I ought to men- 

 tion that it foundation comes down to within 

 less than I4 inch of the bottom-bar the bees 

 will rarely build it down to the bottom-lmr. 

 Not only that, but they will gnaw it away 

 until there is a passage-way of '4 inch or 

 more. Some have succeeded in getting the 

 comb built down to the bottom-bar by revers- 

 ing the comb, and others have succeeded by 

 getting combs built in an upper story. My 

 way is to have the bottom-bar in two halves, 

 and have the foundation come down between 

 these two halves. 



2. Yes, I have had foundation gnawed in 

 sections when they were left on after the 

 bees quit work in them. They are worse 

 about gnawing extra-thin foundation than 

 thin. Not only do they gnaw the lower edge 

 in sections, but also the sides. The remedy 

 is not to leave sections on the hive when bees 

 stop work. Generally I put sections on sev- 

 eral days before the bees begin work in them, 

 but somehow the bees don't gnaw before the 

 harvest as they do afterward. 



Uniting Colonies for the Harvest 



1. How would it do to shake 2 colonies to- 

 gether at the beginning of the white honey- 

 flow, where each is not strong enough to do 

 good work in sections* Would they tight? 



2. It I take away one queen and put on 

 another hive with the beeless brood-frames, 

 and tier the two hives up, would not the 

 brood, when hatched out, make as strong a 

 colony as the one shaken, in a month's time 

 or less; ready to work in sections on the 

 buckwheat flow, which comes here the first 

 of August? 



3. I have wished increase. Could I not 

 make 2 colonies from the beeless brood instead 

 of one, by putting in another queen to one 

 hive of the brood? New York. 



Answers.— 1. It might work all right, tor 

 the strong colony would store where neither 

 weak colony would. If you contemplate such 

 management, it would be well to have the 2 

 colonies on the same stand, and then all the 

 field-force would remain on that stand when 

 one of the hives was removed. At the begin- 

 ning of the honey harvest there is little dan- 

 ger of any fighting when uniting. 



2. 1 am not sure whether I understood you, 



but as nearly as I can guess, you mean to 

 take away all the brood from the 2 colonies, 

 also the queen of one of the colonies, leaving 

 on the old stand one queen and nearly all of 

 the bees, and put the 2 stories of brood with 

 the other queen on a new stand, of course 

 having enough bees with the removed queen 

 to prevent the chilling of brood. That ought 

 to work all right; and the removed colony 

 ought to be in good trim tor buckwheat. 



3. Sure; but of course neither of the 2 

 would be so strong for buckwheat as it left 

 together. But there ought to be no trouble 

 about their being strong for winter. 



Moving Bees in the Pall 



Can bees be moved in the fall, say the last 

 of September or first of October? I want to 

 move them 75 or SO miles, either by rail or 

 wagon. Can it be done without damage? I 

 have never had any experience in moving 

 bees in the fall, and would like to know from 

 some one that has had. I have moved them 

 in the spring, but that is the only time. 



Wisconsin. 



Answer.— For more than 20 years I have 

 moved bees every fall, and never had any 

 trouble. But I moved them only 5 miles or 

 less. In the fall the combs are heavier with 

 honey than in the spring, and there are also 

 more bees. So you will see that there must 

 be a little more care against breaking combs, 

 as well as a little more care to have plenty of 

 ventilation. Aside from this you ought to 

 have no more trouble fall than spring. It 

 you can have your choice as to time, it will 

 be well to wait till as much after the first of 

 October as you can, for the cooler it is the 

 less danger of suffocation, although, of 

 course, it you wait for severe winter weather 

 there would be danger of the combs becoming 

 brittle with the cold, and breaking. 



ttueen-Cells and Swarming 



I started to keep bees last year. Reading 

 your " Forty Years .\niongthe Bees," I found 

 on page 186, the following passage: 



"Generally, however, when eggs are found 

 in cells, the next visit will find cells with 

 grubs well advanced. When grubs are found 

 in cells then the colony must be treated." 



Why must the colony be treated? Why is 

 it not sufficient simply to remove cells and 

 grubs the same way incipient cells are de- 

 stroyed, according to your instructions? 



New York. 



Answer. — Your question involves more or 

 less the whole matter of queen-cells as con- 

 nected with swarming. When bees begin to 

 think about swarming queen-cells are started. 

 If there comes a dearth so that the outlook is 

 rather discouraging for a new colony to set 

 up housekeeping, or even if there is an ap- 

 proach to a dearth, the cells are likely to be 

 destroyed, and swarming abandoned. The 

 less advanced the cells are, if I am not mis- 

 taken in my observations, the less the dis- 

 couragement needed to induce the bees to de- 

 stroy them. After the cells are sealed, or 

 near the sealing stage, it will take a good deal 

 of discouragement in the way of dearth or 

 bad weather to get the bees to destroy them. 



Generally, however, there is not sufficient 

 discouragement to make them abandon all 

 idea of swarming, and once cells are started 

 and have eggs in them, you may count on 

 swarming in the great majority of cases, (/' 

 the bees are let alone. Suppose now you open 

 a hive and find cells with eggs or very young 

 larv.T in them, and you destroy them. You 

 may find, on looking 10 days later, that there 

 are cells with eggs or very young larv;e in 

 them again. That shows that the bees were 

 not in desperate haste about swarming, and 

 if these cells are again destroyed they will 

 postpone swarming for another 10 days — 

 possibly give up swarming altogether. But 

 it larvae are well advanced, then that shows 

 that the bees were strongly set on swarming, 

 tor they had started cells and the queen had 



laid in them almost immediately after their 

 previous cells were destroyed. Now it we 

 destroy these well-advanced grubs, the bees 

 will not always — perhaps not generally —wait 

 to have another set of cells well advanced, 

 but will swarm with quite small larvie in the 

 cells; possibly with only eggs in them. Now 

 you get the answer to your question, after all 

 this talk, which is that when well-advanced 

 larvie are in cells, if we destroy them the 

 chances are that the bees will swarm before 

 we get around again. 



If I don't get the gist nf your question, try 

 again. 



Favorable Winter for Bees 



The winter here is very favorable for bees. 

 They have had flights about right for best 

 conditions. F. A. Snell. 



Milledgeville, 111., Feb. 25. 



CellaFed Bees All Right 



Bees are all right in the cellar so far. The 

 weather is fine, but no day so far that bees 

 outdoors would or could fly. 



Farwell, Mich., Feb. 28. T. F. Bingham. 



Good Prospect for a Crop 



The prospect tor the coming season is very 

 bright for a good crop of honey. Bees are 

 wintering very well in the cellar and out- 

 doors. Though little snow has fallen, yet 

 the ground has remained frozen for weeks at 

 a time, thus protecting the clovers of all 

 kinds. The many letters I receive every day 

 indicate the same conditions prevailing every- 

 where — "prospects good." However, I am 

 led to believe that in the case of even a fair 

 crop of honey the coming season, some bee- 

 keepers will find themselves not prepared. 

 Last season was very poor on the average, 

 and many bought supplies and had some left 

 on hand ; they were sorry they bought so 

 much, and will not get any more until they 

 have used up what they have on hand, which 

 will last until about the middle of the season, 

 or just the time when all factories and deal- 

 ers are in a rush and are short on just what 

 is wanted. Consequently, there will be much 

 worry, vexation and complaint. Cattle farm- 

 ers always are provided with enough teed and 

 a little extra for cases of emergency from one 

 season to another; but bee-keepers seldom 

 consider the question of extras, or emergen- 

 cies, until the last moment, and the loss oc- 

 casioned by the delay very often amounts to 

 a good deal. H. S. Dubt. 



St. Anne, III, Feb. 22. 



Oklahoma and Indian Territory as 

 a Bee-Country, Etc. 



On page 55, Dr. Miller makes an inquiry as 

 to the value of northern Oklahoma or Indian 

 Territory for keeping bees for profit. I have 

 lived within a tew rods of the north line of 

 the Osage, Indian Territory, for over 26 years, 

 and have kept bees for more than 5 years of 

 that time, and I do not consider this a good 

 country for bees — 



1st. Because of a lack of nectar-bearing 

 bloom. 



2d. Because of the extremes of this climate; 

 but by selecting a protected locality and rais- 

 ing plenty of nectar-bearing bloom, a fair 

 business might be attained. 



Poisoned by Bee-Sting. — Remedy : Put 

 oil on the part stung, then cover with com- 

 mon soda. Eat oil sardines, or take broken 

 doses of olive oil. This will fortify the sys- 



