1920 



AMERICAN BEE JOURxNAL 



133 



crease, in the same way. Special conditions 

 may require different arrangements. These 

 matters should be agreed upon by the contract- 

 ing parties themselves. 



Uniting — Transferring 



1. I wintered my four stands of bees on a 

 porch. The porch is closed on the north and 

 west. It was a good dry place. I did not 

 wrap them, as two were in old-fashioned bee- 

 gums and two in 10- frame hives. They all 

 seem to lose a good many bees, but lost more 

 in the lO-frame than in the old bee-gums. 

 They were covered with frost on the inside of 

 the 10-frame ones. Only a few are left in 

 the lO-frame. Will you tell me how I can 

 unite the two 10-frame ones without their kill- 

 ing one another, as they did last year when I 

 tried to unite them? In about a half hour the 

 ones I put in were carried out dead. 



2. Can I transfer the bees from the old 

 straight gums to a 10-frame hive without tak- 

 ing the old hive to pieces, and how? 



ILLINOIS. 

 Answers. — 1. To unite bees do it in April, 

 when they can fly once in a while. Then open 

 the stronger of the two hives, so as to uncover 

 the frames. Put a newspaper spread over the 

 top of the hive, then put the body of the other 

 hive over the newspaper and cover the pile 

 with cover as usual. Smoke them a little when 

 doing this. Usually they unite in this way 

 without fighting. But it would be still better 

 to kill the queen of one of the colonies first. 



2. For transferring you will find directions 

 in both the January and February question de- 

 partment of the American Bee Journal. But 

 you ought to have a book of "First Lessons," 

 in which you will find the transferring of bees 

 and many other things in detail. 



would it be safe to requeen that the queens 

 may not lose their efficiency? 



2. To prevent swarming in comb-honey pro- 

 duction, instead of cutting out queen cells will 

 it be better to remove the queen and leave two 

 cells of the same age? Would the bees destroy 

 ione of the virgins? Would it be safe to wait 

 till the cells were capped? INDIANA. 



Answers. — 1. Just as early as you can se- 

 cure queens from the South it will do to 

 change your queens. But do not order them to 

 come before May 10. There is more loss ana 

 disappointment in early mailing of queens. Do 

 not remove the old queens until the new 

 queens are on hand. 



2. Cutting out queen-cells does not always 

 prevent swarming. If you leave two cells of 

 the same age and the bees have a tendency to 

 swarm, it will be sure to cause swarming, for 

 the first one hatched will go to the bees. The 

 bees would destroy one of them, if they did not 

 want to swarm. In that case it would be of no 

 benefit to have killed or removed the old 

 queen. Of course, if you remove her with 

 some brood and bees and make a division, you 

 will very probably succeed in preventing 

 swarming by leaving one queen-cell only. 



Requeening — Swarm Prevention 



1. I have a number of colonies of black bees 

 which I desire to requeen as early as safe. In 

 ordering queens from the South how soon 



Foundation 



1. I read an article in the American Bee 

 Journal saying never to place foundation in the 

 brood chamber. Where shall it be placed in 

 order to be drawn out, and what should be 

 placed in the empty space in the brood cham- 

 ber? 



2. Is it advisable to put full sheets into all 

 the frames in a super? MINNESOTA. 



Answers. — 1. That must be a misprint, or 

 you misremember the advice. What was said 

 was not to give full sheets of foundation to 

 new swarms. But you can give them some 

 full sheets of foundation if you give them some 

 empty combs with the foundation, so that they 

 will not put all the weight of the swarm at 



once on the foundation. It is a good plan to 

 take a couple or three combs from some good 

 colony, when hiving the swarm, to exchange 

 for sheets of foundation. We aim to have 

 some built combs on hand at the time of 

 swarming. Foundation put into the brood 

 chamber of a strong colony will be built out 

 promptly and efficiently. Try it. 



2. Yes, full sheets are always profitable to 

 use, as they help secure straight worker comb 

 and save a great deal of time to the bees. 



Increase — Swarming 



l.I have two swarms of Ltcs and would like 

 to make an increase. How can I get an in- 

 crease in colonies? 



2. When is the best time to make an in- 

 crease? 



3. When is the best time to put them out- 

 doors in spring? My bees are wintering good 

 so far as 1 can see. 



4. What time do bees swarm 



5. How can I prevent them from swarming? 

 If I clip the old queen's wings when I get 

 them out, does that prevent swarming? 



0. Will there be young queens in the hive in 

 spring, besides the old queens? 



WISCONSIN. 



Answers. — 1. Either by natural swarming or 

 by dividing the colonies. 



2. During the honey harvest, which comes 

 in June-July in Wisconsin. 



3. When the soft maple buds bloom, during 

 a pleasant day of sunshine. 



4. Same answer as No. 2. 



5. It will not prevent them from swarming, 

 but it will prevent the swarm from getting 

 away. Swarm prevention is quite a problem 

 and requires special management. 



6. No, the bees do not raise young queens 

 until they need them. You should read some 

 beginner's bee book so as to inform yourself. 

 It is impossible to give a whole treatise in the 

 question and answer department. 



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