1920 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



315 



man with small brood-chambers, though the 

 methods for swarm prevention are numberless, 

 and often useless. 



2, 3, 4 and 5. The nurse-bees stay below be- 

 cause that is where they are needed. When 

 the brood is capped, there is nothing needed 

 but warmth and, since heat ascends, it is sure 

 to get it. The freshly hatched larvae need at- 

 tention until they are sealed. The nurse-bees 

 must stay below. 



6. From the spinning of cocoon the cell is 

 scaled. Cheshire writes: "At this time (after 

 four days' feeding), its weight (the larva) is 

 scarcely less than double that of the bee into 

 which its natural transformations will by and 

 by convert it. No more food is supplied and 

 the period for cocoon spinning approaches. 

 . . . Before the cocoon can be built, a 

 cover, technically called sealing, is put over 

 the larva by its nurses, that now bid it fare- 

 well." 



7. Probably the fault was not with the 

 Demaree treatment but with the season. But 

 when there is plenty of room for honey above 

 and lots of brood below, it is natural for the 

 bees to put very little honey near the urood. 

 especially if the weather is warm. 



Metal Combs, Extracting Super Divis- 

 ion Board 



1, There are so many discussions going on 

 in the bee journals of late about wiring brood 

 frames. We hear about the "money comb," 

 (aluminum combj, which is much advertised 

 and is praised by some beekeepers. The ques- 

 tion arises with me as to whether bees will 

 build queen-cells on or in a metal comb. I 

 think not. An idea struck me why our wax 

 foundation manufacturers are not trying to 

 make foundation, not jull comb, out of alum- 

 inum. If this metal foundation is coated with 

 hot wax I do not see why bees should not be- 

 gin to draw out cells of wax on them. ' This 

 foundation could be wedged to the top bars 

 just a easily as wax foundation. The bottom- 

 bars will need a slit in them to suspend the 

 foundation between the two strips of the bar. 

 The metal must come also in contact with the 

 end bars so bees can wax same to the bars. So 

 we would have a rigid septum for our wax 

 combs, and if they should become old or dam- 

 aged the wax can be scraped off on either side 

 and the aluminum again coated with hot wax. 

 I painted a piece of bright tin with hot wax 

 and then exposed it to a temperature below 

 zero and found no trace of cracking in the 

 wax. If this was never tried before, will some 

 foundation manufacturer give it a good trial ? 

 The contraction of cold and expansion of heat 

 will have very little effect. 



2. In a case of shortage an extracting super 

 can quickly be arranged to a section super and 

 placed between sections if three or four strips 

 of wood are laid across the beeways to serve 

 as bridges, and bees will not build combs in 

 the space, but will climb up on the strips to the 

 next super. 



3.1s it advisable to put a division-board in a 

 hive and put two weaklings, one on each side, 

 with both queens to lay, and when they build 

 up put a queen e.xcluder on top of hive and 

 a super over the excluder for both parties to 

 meet? Before honey crop, remove one queen, 

 the poorer one, and let the bees unite. Will 

 the bees fight? Of course, I want to make a 

 wire cloth frame division. MINNESOTA. 



Answers. — 1. The metal comb needs to be 

 tested for 2 or 3 years before positive state- 

 ments can be made concerning it. In reply to 

 a number of inquiries we had prepared a 

 statement giving the pro and con, the qualities 

 and dtfects, presumed, of this metal comb. 

 Among the qualities we had placed its being 

 proof against mice. But to our great astonish- 

 ment a comb was brought to us which had been 

 filled with honey by the bees and had been en- 

 tirely cut up by mice, to get at the honey. So 

 it is useless to try to give the qualities and de- 

 fects of these combs until we know them our- 

 selves, positively. 



As to the foundation of metal, it was tried 

 years ago and abandoned. If you think you 

 have an idea, try it yourself. Similarly, why 



not try a hive full of those metal combs? You 

 will then be in a position to give the arguments 

 on both sides. But do not be hasty in decid- 

 ing. Take time to make sure. 



2. Your suggestion may work. 



3. If the two colonies become strong, 1 would 

 much prefer separating them and keeping both 

 queens going. But if one of the queens is in- 

 ferior, remove her at the opening of the crop. 

 The bees will not fight if there is honey in the 

 fields. 



Swarms — Drones 



What makes a swarm come out and settle 

 and when hived go on back to the old hive ? 

 Are the big ulack bees the drones? What 

 kind of a looking bee is the queen? 



SOUTH DAKOTA. 



Answer. — If anything is wrong with the 

 queen's wings so she cannot fly, the swarm 

 will return to the hive when they find the 

 queen is not with them. They may continue 

 this daily (provided the queen finds her way 

 back each time) until the first virgin emerges, 

 when the swarm will take French leave with 

 her, if not properly hived. 



The great majority of the bees in a hive are 

 workers, and the drones are easily recognized 

 by being so much larger. The queen, when in 

 full laying, looks very much larger than a 

 worker, the greater size, however, being chiefly 

 caused by the larger abdomen. 



Foundation 



1. Does it require any honey for bees to 

 draw out comb from full sheets of foundation, 

 as much as it does to make their own comb 

 from beginning, or is the loss of time the only 

 loss when bees have to draw their comb from 

 foundation? 



2. If a colony of bees produces 100 pounds 

 of surplus extracted honey in one season 

 when furnished only full sheets of foundation 

 in the surplus apartment, what should the 

 same colony produce if given combs fully 

 drawn out? ALABAMA. 



Answers. — 1. Yes, there is a loss of material 

 as well as time when the bees are obliged to 

 furnish the septum themselves; and every 

 pound of wax the bees have to furnish means 

 five to twenty times as many pounds of honey. 



2. I don't know. It varies, no doubt, greatly. 

 In a very slow yield the difference between 

 foundation and full combs may not be great, 

 but in a heavy flow many pounds of honey 

 may be lost while the foundation is being made 

 into full combs. 



Moving 



In moving bees in summer a mile or two by 

 truck, would be sufficient to tack a screen 

 over the top of the hive and nail a board over 

 the entrance? The entrances to my hives are 2 

 inches, and somewhat diflicult to close. Would 

 this be sufficient, also, moving them in October, 

 by truck, 60 miles or more? INDIANA. 



Auswer. — Yes to both questions, provided the 

 screen be the full size of the top of the hive; 

 only, if the moving be in the htat of the day, 

 and the weather be very hot, it will be safer to 

 have a frame for the screen to be tacked on. 

 so as to leave a space of two inches or so 

 over topbars for the bees to cluster in. 



Queens 



1 . Sometimes queen-cells are formed at the 

 bottom rim of the comb, in such a way that 

 growth, as it were, against the upper rim of 

 the top-bar makes them curved, especially when 

 they happen to be ntar a corner. If otherwise 

 such cells appear well developed will they fur- 

 nish as good queens as cells so situated as to 

 grow without any such obstructions? 



2. To what extent is it essential (if at all 

 necessary) that when queen-ceils are given from 

 another colony (sealed ones), this should be 

 done in a protector? In giving such cells my 

 practice has always been to give the whole 

 frame with whatever brood there is on it. I 

 can scarcely see how, as j ust stated, in most 

 cases a protector could be applied.. By pro- 



tector I mean a West queen-cell protector. Or 

 is there another sort of protector meant? 



3. I feel tempted to apply the "put-up" plan, 

 with the modification of placing the hive with 

 the queen, one frame of brood and foundation 

 quite a distance away from the hive site, and 

 after the lapse of ten days do as it seems best 

 to me — either give the quet-n back or not. 1 

 might favor letting the bees on the old stand 

 have a chance of rearing a new queen. How- 

 ever, if one chooses to go at returning the old 

 queen, with her bees with htr, could she be 

 put back, or would one have to proceed the 

 same as when introducing a new queen? 



4. When a hive of brood without queen and 

 with a ripe or nearly ripe queen-cell is left to 

 itself, there not being more than that one 

 queen-cell, to what extent is there danger that 

 there be swarming with first flight of the 

 emerging virgin? PENNSYLVANIA. 



Answers. — 1. I should expect just as good a 

 queen from a cell forced into a horizontal po- 

 sition, provided there is ]jlenty of room for 

 horizontal extension. If room were lacking to 

 allow the cell to be extended horizontally 

 tnough for the queen to grow to full size, the 

 queen might not be so good. However, I 

 never saw such a cell, although Tve seen a 

 good many horizontal cells. 



2. If a cell is given to a colony just de- 

 queened, or at any time before it has discoveien 

 its queenlessness, especially in a time of dearth, 

 unless a protector is given (I don't know of 

 any protector but the West) the _ees are likely 

 to destroy the cell. You say you always give 

 "the whole frame with whatever brood there 

 is on it." I don't know that that would make 

 the cell any safer. I half suspect that you 

 mean with whatever bees are on it. That 

 would make a difference, and perhaps if a 

 goodly number of bees were adhering there 

 might be no need of a protector. 



3. Yes, the old queen may be returned ju.t 

 as safely at the end of ten days after being 

 several rods away. I've tried it a good many 

 times. 



i. I don't know to what extent, but I think 

 there is more likelihood that bees will swarm 

 out with a virgin on her wedding flight in case 

 of a nucleus than in case of a full colony, but 

 they will generally return. 



Moving Bees 



1. I am contemplating buying about five 

 colonies of bees from a man thrte-quarters of 

 a mile from here. How would you move these 

 bees? Would the move hinder the gathering 

 of honey? 



2. He has the bees in 10-frame dovetailed 

 hives, with shallow extracting super on each. 

 If I wish to run for coml) honey will I have 

 to buy other supers? I want to use the ^%'x. 

 il^xlj/^ two beeway sections. 



MISSISSIPPI. 



Answers. — 1. You can move them either by 

 horse power or with an automobile. Close 

 the entrances with wire-cloth in the evening, 

 after the bees have stopped flying, or else in 

 the morning before they have begun flying. 

 After setting on the new stands, and imme- 

 diately after removing the screen from the en- 

 trances, set a board in front of the hive for 

 the bees to bump against when they first fly 

 out. This will help to make them mark their 

 new location, so as not to return to the old 

 one. Better not optn the entrance too early 

 in the morning. Wait till the sun is well up. 

 or till 9 or 10 o'clock (I am supposing this in 

 warm weather), and if the bees are quiet pounu 

 on the hive and set the bees roaring before 

 opening the entrance. The moving will not 

 hinder the bees from gathering afterward. 



2. You can use other supers, or you can use 

 the extracting supers by using ''wide frames." 



Poisonous Nectar 



I moved 26 hives near the jungles and they 

 were getting along fine until about May 5th. 

 At this time I noticed a peculiar action of the 

 bees; they would stand up on their hind legs 



