302 



April 11, 1907 



American Hee Journal 



The doctor also says in his answers 

 to "Iowa's" questions that it would have 

 been as well to have hung the West 

 cell-protectors and spiral cages contain- 

 ing queen-cells between the brood- 

 frames of any colony. Perhaps so with 

 his bees, but not with mine, as I will 

 show further on. 



On May 29, 1906. colony No. 1 1 had 

 a 2-story hive containing 20 good comos, 

 II of which were well filled with 

 worl^er-brood. On that date 3 frames 

 of brood and bees, together with the 

 queen, were taken out and placed in a 

 new hive to form a nucleus for increase. 

 The 8 frames of brood remaining and 



2 frames of honey were then put in the 

 lower story, and the upper story re- 

 moved. 



On June 7th, 6 frames of brood and 

 bees were taken from No. 11 to form 

 the 4 nuclei having only one frame each. 

 To this one frame was added one comb 

 of honey from No. 11, the same being 

 well covered with bees. Each nucleus 

 had several queen-cells now nearly 

 ready to hatch. A laying queen was se- 

 cured in each nucleus from these cells, 



3 of them being excellent, the other 

 worthless. The 3 good queens were 

 taken away and used where needed, the 

 poor one being killed. So far all right 

 according to program, but these 3 lay- 

 ing queens were both the first and last, 

 obtained for many weeks. 



When I restocked the 4 nuclei with 

 ripe queen-cells, I put one or 2 cells in 

 the West protectors and spiral cages 

 combined, in each nucleus. I put honey 

 in the cup which fits in the lower end 

 of the cage, so that the virgin queen 

 could have it to eat in case the bees 

 did not feed her. At first I put only 

 liquid honey in the cup, and some of 

 the queens went into it head first and 

 drowned. Then I mixed a little comb 

 with the liquid, which made it safe. 

 Some of the virgins were left in the 

 cages a number of days and consumed 

 nearly all the honey. Now note the re- 

 sults. 



If I secured a nice lot of virgins in a 

 nucleus, then there was no laying queen 

 to be found. On the other hand, if 

 there was a laying queen, then the vir- 

 gins in the cages were so neglected as 

 to die or become chilled and worthless. 

 It took me some time to understand 

 this. I kept the nuclei all stocked with 

 bees and got all the virgin queens from 

 them that I needed. I am well aware 

 that as a rule queens should be fer- 

 tilized in nuclei, and then introduced 

 to full colonies, but I did not have 

 enough nuclei, and the virgins answered 

 my purpose about as well. Most of 

 them were given to full colonies from 

 which the queens had been removed 

 to prevent swarming. These colonies 

 were filled to overflowing with bees, 

 and had from 6 to 10 frames of brood 

 to hatch. A caged virgin was given 

 8 to 10 days after removing the old 

 queen. Two days later the virgin was 

 released. By the time she got to lay- 

 ing the bees were over the swarming 

 fever. In case the first virgin given 

 was lost, no great harm was done, for 

 the colony had bees enough to carry 

 it through the honey season, which 



usually ends here from the ist to the 

 loth 01 August. 



.\fter robbing colony No. 1 1 so se- 

 verely, it might be supposed it would 

 not amoimt to much, but it built up 

 strong and gave me about 60 pounds of 

 surplus honey besides being heavy with 

 stores for winter. 



Detroit, Minn. 



N0.2— Things to Do, and Why 



Spring Management Continued— Get- 

 ting Brood Stimulative Feed- 

 ing-Retarding Swarming— 

 Making Nuclei 



BY R. C. AIKIN. 



In the last article I closed with the 

 question of clipping, this work being 

 done with the first spring work when 

 bur-combs are being cut off and all 

 made slick and so the combs can be 

 easily and quickly handled. But as it 

 is not necessary that queens be clipped 

 until the swarming season is almost on, 

 I never spend any great length of time 

 hunting if a queen evades me; still, the 

 "longer it is delayed when the colony 

 is getting strong the harder the job. 



In order to get somewhat of an ap- 

 proximate date or time when things 

 should be done, I will suppose the 

 honey-flow when surplus and super- 

 work is to begin, June 15th ; each reader 

 varying the times to suit location when 

 applying the principles. And let me 

 repeat that what I describe will be true 

 of any location where the conditions are 

 the same, but, if you have other fac- 

 tors, remember that just so surely as 

 a mathematical problem is changed by 

 bringing in a new factor or changing 

 the relations of the same factors, so the 

 change of order or number of factors 

 with the bees will change results. The 

 bee is not a reasoning creature as man, 

 but follows instinct. The apiarist is ever 

 a varying quantity — does things because 

 of some whim or notion growing out 

 of his reasoning faculties, and his action 

 may be wise or otherwise — you do not 

 not know where to find him ; but the 

 bee you know where to find, and what it 

 will do, if you know its nature and can 

 correctly reason and analyze the prob- 

 lem. 



Throughout this spring management 

 the object sought after is the largest 

 possible force of workers. I know there 

 will be a few who will take issue with 

 me and say it is possible to get too 

 many bees in a hive before the honey- 

 flow arrives. Well, suppose we admit 

 that in a given hive we may possibly 

 get too many bees; the remedy is to 

 use thein elsewhere — there are always 

 places where they can be added to 

 strengthen weak colonies, or they may 

 be made into new colonies, or in some 

 way kept awaiting the flow. The cost 

 of a bee is in its maturing or producing, 

 and not in its maintenance after grown. 

 For a June flow in temperate-zone lati- 

 tudes you cannot possibly get too many 

 workers produced prior to the flow, so 

 get as many as possible. 



The question of well-bred stock as 



against poorly-bred, needs no argument ; 

 there is such a vast difference between 

 a stunted, skim-milk calf and a new- 

 milk, well-fed one ; the same principle 

 in horses, pigs, chickens and all our do- 

 mestic stock. Same thing also of poor- 

 ly-bred farm crops of all kinds, and 

 just as true of bees. A stunted, skim- 

 milk queen cannot be the equal of a 

 well-nourished one, both in the making 

 of the queen in the first place and in 

 her care while in service of egg-laying. 

 But if you have the poor ones in the 

 spring you must put up with them un- 

 til you can remedy the defect — make the 

 best of all queens in preparing for the 

 coming crop season. 



How TO Get the L.\rgest Amount of 

 Brood. 



I Iiave previously spoken of the fact 

 that queens will start brood in January, 

 more in February, and all should have 

 some brood by about March 1st in out- 

 door wintering, in latitudes of Den- 

 ver, Omaha, St. Joseph, Mo., Chicago 

 and Indianapolis. In the early spring, 

 and until the colony can begin to cover 

 several combs, not very much can be 

 done except to have the colony as warm 

 as possible, plenty of stores within easy 

 reach, but yet as much empt.v comb 

 close in about the brood as the queen 

 may be induced to lay in. How much 

 she lays depends upon her vigor as 

 a well-bred, strong individual ; upon 

 whether she be in her natural, youthful 

 vigor or failing with age, how well she 

 is fed and coaxed as it were by the 

 workers; upon the supply of pollen and 

 nectar both in the hive and in the fields; 

 and upon the bees' ability to forage and 

 lead an active life. While the stores 

 within the hive are good, yet they are 

 not nearly so good as that which is 

 being daily gathered from the fields. 



I have seen many a colony with 

 plenty of stores — yes. too much of them. 

 Remember that brood is reared in combs 

 where there is neither honey nor pol- 

 len, and when a colony has to uncap 

 and move honey to give the queen room 

 to breed, they are honey-bound. At 

 times it is well, yes one of the best pos- 

 sible things to do to have them move 

 honey; the more honey a colony handles, 

 either strictly within the hive' or from 

 without, the more brood will be pro- 

 duced, provided the queen is allowed 

 plenty of cells in the right place as 

 fast as she can and will use them. Right 

 temperature, new pollen and nectar 

 coming in just fast enough so the col- 

 ony never gets much ahead (say 2 or 

 3 days' supply), yet are kept busy all 

 day and every day, is the ideal condi- 

 tion which will give the greatest amount 

 of brood. Approach such condition as 

 nearly as possible, and you will see 

 much brood, which means much work- 

 ing force. 



But some localities do not furnish 

 nectar and pollen early, or continuouslv, 

 when we want the best results in breed- 

 ing, and we may stimulate by artificial 

 means. Just how far what "is known 

 as stimulative feeding can be profitably 

 used I am not prepared to sav. This 

 kind of feeding is to give a limited sup- 

 ply daily or each alternate day; but this 

 takes considerable time and' care, and 



