May 30, 1907 



American Hee Jonrnal 



or 

 %esfion-B(pc 



Send Questions either to tlie office of the American Bee Journal, or to 



Dr. C. C. Miller, Marengo, III. 



B^"" Dr. Miller does 7wt answer Questions by mail. 



ComD Probably Not Diseased 



The pieces of comb I am sending you were 

 taken from a colony of bees that died during 

 the warm spring weather that we had here in 

 March. Three out of five colonies died within 

 a few days of each other. All had an abun- 

 dance of stores. The frame frem which this 

 was cut had considerable honey. Any infor- 

 mation you can give me will be appreciated. 



Nebraska. 



Answer. — I'm not an expert in brood-dis- 

 eases, and I'm not the one to whom to send 

 samples, but I think there is no disease in 

 your case. The number of dead bees in the 

 comb makes it pretty certainly a simple case 

 of starvation, even although there may have 

 been plenty of honey in the hive. See an- 

 swer to " New York." If you want to make 

 sure in any case of suspected disease, send 

 sample to General Manager N. E. France, 

 Platteville, Wis., provided you are a member 

 of the National Association. If not, it will 

 cost only a dollar to become a member. 



Transferring Bees- 

 Bees 



Baiting Wild 



1. I have subscribed for the American Bee 

 Journal and like it very much. I am think- 

 ing of going into the bee-business on a small 

 scale at first. I have 2 colonies in box-hives. 

 They have not swarmed yet. I bought 3 pat- 

 ent hives quite awhile ago, but never have 

 been able to get them home. I wanted to 

 transfer my bees into the patent hives. Is it 

 too late now? I have been trying to buy a 

 few colonies here, but can not. As there are 

 a good many wild bees here, I thought proba- 

 bly I might find some trees and save the bees. 

 That is the way I got those I have. 



2. Is there any kind of bait for wild bees? 

 I have tried honey, but they will not touch it. 



Texas. 



Answers. — 1. It is perhaps just as well, 

 and many prefer, to do no transferring before 

 swarming. When a colony swarms, hive the 

 swarm in a movable-frame hive, and 21 days 

 later transfer the contents of the old hive. 



2. Some scent the thinned honey with es- 

 sence or oil of anise; others make a smudge 

 by burning old comb, the smell of which at- 

 tracts the bees, and helps them to find the 

 honey present. 



No need to send stamp for reply. As a sub- 

 scriber to this paper you are entitled to have 

 answered in this department all the questions 

 you like, free of all charge; and questions are 

 not answered by mail. 



Keeping Bees Out of the House 



I am a subscriber to the American Bee 

 Journal and appreciate it very highly. I 

 have 20 colonies of bees, and I wish an an- 

 swer to a question which, to my mind, is a 

 " corker." 



For 2 years my bees have insisted on com- 

 ing into the house, hovering over the roof 

 day after day, and working themselves into 



the house in different parts. The windows 

 are well screened, but that does not stop 

 them. Last year I reshingled, thinking there 

 might be some crevices in the root through 

 which they might come. I carefully puttied 

 np every crack where I thought a bee could 

 come in, but all to no purpose. To-day is the 

 lirst day that has been warm since I brought 

 them from winter quarters, and the roof is 

 covered like a swarm. They tried to get into 

 the chimneys, but a little lire stopped that. 

 Now, if you can tell me any way to stop that 

 I will be happy, because my wife ftas rhatied 

 house! Iowa. 



Answer. — Well, that is a "corker," for 

 sure. Makes me feel discouraged. Just when 

 I begin to think I do know a little something 

 about bees, along comes some one like you 

 with a question to which I can find no answer 

 in the whole pile of answers I've been laying 

 up for years. What under the sun should in- 

 duce your bees to take on that particular form 

 of insanity is beyond me. If it were later in 

 the season, I might make a bluff at an an- 

 swer by saying the bees on the roof were 

 scouts finding a place for a swarm to enter; 

 but that answer won't fit when they first 

 leave winter quarters. If any one else wants 

 to answer he may ; I'm not going to. Won't 

 even try to puzzle over it, for I don't want to 

 go as crazy as your bees. Sorry for your wife, 

 though. 



Starved Bees-Foul Brood 



I bought 2 colonies of bees about the mid- 

 dle of March. During peach-bloom in this 

 section I set them in the north edge of a 75- 

 acre peach-orchard. They began to work to 

 "beat the Dutch," They were rather light 

 of stores when I bought them, but as fruit- 

 bloom was plentiful, I thought they would 

 make it all right. Then with the disappear- 

 ance of fruit-bloom came cool, rainy weather 

 which lasted about 3 weeks. In the mean- 

 time a great deal of brood had been hatched 

 out, consuming all the stores. They began 

 to dwindle and the bees died by the hundred. 

 As soon as I discovered what the trouble was, 

 I lifted the frames and brushed the bees away, 

 and poured warm sugar syrup along next to 

 the top-bar of every frame. Before 1 did this, 

 the bees were crawling around all over the 

 ground and could not fly (like " Indiana," 

 page 395). Perhaps if "Indiana" had fed 

 1% barrels more of sugar during the warm 

 spell in March, he would not have lost 13 col- 

 onies of his bees. 



My bees are doinj:: fine now, and storing in 

 the super from white clover in one colony. 

 The other I have divided for increase, having 

 ordered one tested golden queen, and I think 

 I got a 3-band. I make my own hives with 

 dovetailed corners, which makes the most 

 substantial hive I ever saw. One bee-keeper 

 who saw my hives, said: "They are nice; 

 but that is work." So it is, but I think it is 

 the best in the long rnn. 



Where can I get the book, "Foul Brood 

 and Its Causes:' I have seen many ques- 

 tions in regard to cause of foul brood, but 

 have never seen a iniisfactory answer. 



Arkansas. 



Answers.— 1. You were wise in looking 

 out for starvation. There is many a case of 

 starvation that is not suspected. Beginners 

 do not realize how rapidly stores disappear 

 when brood-rearing Is going on rapidly. 

 There's probably many a case of starving 

 even when white clover is in full bloom. 

 Plenty of bloom, but the bees are getting 

 nothing from it; first the beginner notices Is 

 that the bees are dragging out the sucked- 

 out skins of the larvii-, and he wonders what 

 disease has attacked his bees, when it's a 

 plain case of starvation. ^ 



2. I think the V. 8. Department of Agricul- 

 ture has issued the pamphlet about foul brood 

 you inquire about. As to the cause of foul 

 brood, for years the answer has been that it 

 is Bacillus alvei, but of late that is disputed 

 by some and asserted by others. Let us hope 

 the question will be definitely settled before 

 long. In actual practise, however, exact 

 knowledge as to the real culprit will hardly 

 make any difference. The McEvoy treatment 

 is the same whatever the cause. 



Wonderful Spring-Early Drones- 

 Killing Off Drones 



1. This has been a wonderful spring. The 

 weather during March was so warm that bees 

 were out and hard at work nearly every day. 

 Fruit-bloom of all kinds came out and bees 

 were almost frantic in their effort to gather 

 the rich harvest contained therein. But 

 spring had not really come, as about April 1 

 the weather changed, and kept steadily cold 

 all through the month; only an occasional 

 warm day when the bees could come out. But 

 the bloom and blossoms were all killed as it 

 had been as cold as 36 degrees above zero, and 

 froze ice regularly nearly every night, and is 

 still cold at night; froze some 2 nights ago. 

 I have been feeding my bees of late, and they 

 appear unusually strong in numbers, and are 

 working some on dandelion blossoms. Is it 

 not unusual for drones to appear this early in 

 the season >. Some of my colonies have had 

 as many as at any time in July or August, 

 and have had for 2 or 3 weeks. Every warm 

 day they are out flying thick and the bees 

 have been killing them. 



2. Is it necessary to kill them off? How 

 should I go about it? Kansas. 



Answers. — 1. A drone may be seen here 

 and there occasionally at any time of the 

 year, but it is unusual to see them in appre- 

 ciable numbers as early as during dandelion 

 blossoms. The same thing occurs here this 

 year. Is it not because the unusual warm 

 weather in March caused the queens to lay 

 in drone-cells? 



2. Unless in very great numbers, it's hardly 

 worth while to do anything about killing 

 them. If you think best you can put drone- 

 traps at the entrances. 



No Disease— Probably Starvation " 



To learn apiculture evidently takes time 

 and experience. Some time ago I found one 

 hive robbed of all the honey. The bees had 

 also departed. An examination of all the 

 frames revealed no sign of eggs or brood. On 

 one comb I found cells with what I call "dead 

 brood." I send you a sample. What do you 

 think of it \ Do you think it was a queenless 

 colony! I have read about foul brood and 

 pickled brood, but never saw a case of the 

 disease. To a beginner it is very confusing 

 to read so many different opinions, theories 

 and practices in bee-culture. But I suppose 

 after a few years' experience, even the timid 

 novice will get the necessary confidence in 

 this pleasant hobby. What shall I do with 

 the combs? New Y'ork. 



Answer. — My good friend, your eyes or 

 your spectacles are not so good as mine. You 

 say no eggs were present. In the sample of 

 comb you sent me there were at least 2 dozen. 

 You are quite right in saying there was dead 

 brood, and all oi it was sealed. No appear- 



