May 23, 1907 



437 



Amc^rican T^ee Journal 



ucsfion-Box 



Send Questions either to the oflice of the American Beo Journal, or to 

 Dr. C. C. Miller, IMarengo, IK. 

 ■ Dr. Miller does 7wt answer Questions by mail. 



Section Supers with Empty Comb 



My bees did not store any honey In the su- 

 pers last year, but put some comb in the sec- 

 tions. Will it be all right to put the supers 

 on (as I took them oil last fall), or do I have 

 to clean the comb out and put in foundation 

 or starters again' Iowa. 



Answer. — If there's nothing but comb in 

 the sections, and that comb is nice and clean, 

 by all means give them back just as they are. 

 If the bees have plastered bee-glue all over 

 the comb, as they sometimes do when sec- 

 tions are left on late in the fall, such comb 

 must not be used. The bees are very loth to 

 accept it. 



Strength of Colonies-Bee-Glue 



I started with 2 colonies of bees 4 years 

 ago, and I now have 25 colonies, all in good 

 shape, I think. 



1. My bees cover from 5 to 7 combs in an 8- 

 frame hive. Do you call that strong, fair, or 

 weak? I use Hoffman frames. 



3. Can I feed sugar syrup so that the bees 

 will put honey from fruit-bloom into 

 sections i 



3. Is there any wax in bee-glue? Iowa. 



Answers.— 1. For April 22, especially this 

 year, you may call them strong. 



2. Not at all likely, and hardly advisable to 

 try it. 



3. No and yes. In pure propolis of course 

 there is no wax ; but in propolis scraped from 

 sections or frames — indeed as bees use it in 

 general — there is more or less wax, as you 

 will find out if you melt it. 



Would It Prevent Swarming ? 



Why not at the time of opening the hive 

 and removing the old queen, save one of the 

 best cells that will hatch in a few days — say 

 5? Would not this queen, upon arriving 

 home from her mating trip, destroy all queen- 

 cells in the colony' Would it prevent 

 swarming! Michigan. 



Answer. — This question appeared on page 

 ars, and by what means it happened that it 

 wasn't answered I do not know. I am not sure 

 that I understand just what is meant, unless 

 it be that when queen cells are found in a 

 hive the old queen is removed to prevent 

 swarming, all queen-cells being removed at 

 the same time except one, and from that one 

 a virgin is expected in about 5 days. The 

 bees would be sure to start other queen-cells, 

 and the question is whether the young queen 

 would not destroy them on returning from 

 her mating-trip, and whether it would pre- 

 vent swarming. I must frankly say I don't 

 know, and I wish some one who has actually 

 tried it would tell us. If the cells were old 

 enough it would be practically certain that 

 the oldest virgin would issue with a swarm. 

 But if no cell is left but one, and that one is 

 old enough to send out a virgin in 5 days, 

 then no subsequently started cells will allow 



other virgins to emerge until a week later — 

 posBibly i; days later. The question is: Would 

 the young queen swarm without waiting for 

 any uf ihe later queens to mature? Would 

 she swarm as soon as one or more of them 

 had matured f Or, would she remain with- 

 out swarming, the later cells being destroyed? 

 Who will tell us! 



Wood Strips or Splints for Fastening 

 Brood-Foundation 



I have been interested in wood-strips as 

 foundation-supports, and would like to have 

 you tell me just the size of wood you would 

 use for this purpose. I should think that 

 strips 'n-inch wide and quite a little less than 

 1-10 inch thick would do better than thicker 

 ones. I suppose you have tried different 

 sizes. What would you advise! 



Michigan. 



Answer.— You are quite right that the size 

 of splints you mention will be better than 

 larger. And it is equally true that something 

 still smaller is better. The size I use alto- 

 gether is 1-16x1-16. I am not sure that I ever 

 tried any different size, and as this size gives 

 entire satisfaction, I hardly think it worth 

 while to try other sizes. This size holds the 

 foundation perfectly straight, so there is no 

 object in trying a larger size ; and as a splint 

 of this size appears not the least bit in the 

 way, there is no object in having a smaller 

 size. I never knew a single cell that was not 

 occupied by the queen on account of the 

 splint being in the way, and generally you 

 can not tell by the surface of the comb where 

 a splint is. 



What Caused the Commotion ? 



On April 9 I hived a swarm in a 10-frame 

 hive and contracted the entrance to about 

 half its usual size. On the 27ih, in the morn- 

 ing, I noticed quite a commotion at this hive. 

 The air in front was full of bees, around the 

 entrance it was black with them, and some 

 boards I have laid in front to keep the grass 

 down also had a lot of bees on them. I 

 thought they were swarming. Some time 

 later thej' quieted down (they did not swarm) 

 and I noticed the bees on the boards in front 

 were dead. There must have been 300 of 

 them. There were also a good many drones 

 among them. The day before I had put a 

 super on this hive. When I found there had 

 been trouble I closed the entrance more. 

 What was the trouble? California. 



Answer. — No telling for certain. It might 

 have been that a weak swarm tried to enter 

 and was killed. 



A Troublesome Neighbor 



I live in a town of about 100 inhabitants, 

 and have TO colonies of bees on the back of 

 my lot, where they molest no one. One 

 neighbor, however, claims that the bees are 

 a nuisance, and told me to take care of them 



or he wouM kill them all. All the rest of my 

 neighbors stand by me, and tay Ihey are not 

 bothered by the bees. What would you ad- 

 vise me to do. for the oppotiug neighbor ia a 

 very bad man! I treat him as well as I can, 

 but It seems to do no good. WiscoNsiJj. 



-Vnswek.- There is nothing in the case 

 specially dillcrent from what It would be If 

 your unkind neighbor should threaten to in- 

 jure any other property. 8o long as there are 

 only threats, it is hardly worth while to pay 

 any attention to them, although it is well to 

 keep in mind always the saying of the wise 

 man: " A soft answer turneth away wrath." 

 If the threats should materialize into action, 

 there is the same remedy at law that there 

 would be if he should injure your horse or 

 cow. In any case, if you are not already a 

 member of the National Bee-Keepers' Asso- 

 ciation, you would be wise to send at once a 

 dollar either to the clllee of the American Bee 

 lournal, or to General Manager N. E. France, 

 Platteville, Wis., to become a member. The 

 very fact that you were a member of such a 

 powerful organization would have its effect 

 in deterrintr from a conflict. 



Fastening Brood Foundation — 

 trance-Guards and Swarming 

 Number of Colonies to 

 Average $600 



En- 



1. What is the best way to fasten founda- 

 tion in Danzenbaker brood-frames! 



2. Why couldn't 1 use bee-entrance guards 

 to keep down swarming when running for 

 comb honey! 



3. How many colonies would it take to 

 average i^flOO a year, if run properly? 



Minnesota. 



Answers.— 1. By means of the saw-kerf 

 and wedge that are sent with most top-bars 

 nowadays. A saw-kerf receives the founda- 

 tion, and the wedge is pushed into the other 

 saw-kerf by its side. Be sure to drive the 

 wedge down as deep as you can. 



3. How do you suppose that would keep 

 down swarming? Likely you will say the 

 queen can not get out. Yes, but the bees will 

 swarm just the same, and after they have 

 swarmed often enough the queen will be 

 killed and a young queen will take her place, 

 and the bees will swarm worse than ever with 

 the young queen, and if you don't take away 

 the guard the queen will be a drone-layer. 



3. It varies so much that it's hard to give 

 any Kind of an answer. In some localities it 

 would take twice as many colonies as others. 

 In some years it would take 10 times as many 

 as in others. It might be any where from 100 

 to 250 colonies. 



Moldy Combs with Sour Honey- 

 Spacing Combs, Etc. 



I put 5 colonies of bees, one little better 

 than a nucleus, into a good bee-cellar of a 

 neighbor who has the habit of running things 

 to extremes. The two previous winters his 

 bees wintered on 7 or S pounds of honey, 

 weighed in and out of the cellar. Last win- 

 ter was so very mild that many of his bees 

 were lost in the cellar and so this winter he 

 often opened the windows and doors from an- 

 other room and kept the place so cold that 

 they ate 17 pounds of honey per colony. That 

 is, they averaged that. Many mice also got 

 among them and worked in the planer-shav- 

 ings with which they were packed. They 

 were set on 4-inch scantling without bottom- 

 boards, 3 tiers high. 



I put my hives on bottoms 5 inches deep, 

 with strips of perforated 's-inch zinc, about 

 2}.,' inches wide and nearly as long as the 

 hives on two opposite sides. The bees were 

 entirehj closed in, something on the Hershiser 

 plan, but I doubt if I shall do it again. The 

 nucleus had, I think, nearly 3 frames of bee 

 and a young vigorous queen put in very late. 

 She was laying Nov. 3, and 3 days ago (May 



