316 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



September 



and would quiver, the tail would cramp up to 

 the body, and on thorough inspection I found 

 them trying to get into a close place where 

 they could straighten out. At first I thought 

 it was a disease, but after inspecting the bal- 

 ance of the hives I found them all acting the 

 same. It appeared that they were cramping 

 severely, and they would quiver to the edge 

 of the landing board and drop on the ground, 

 which was covered with dead and alive bees. 

 The above lasted for two weeks, and I lost al- 

 most half of my bees, and three queens during 

 this period. Another thing, it did not aflfect 

 the old bees only ; the newly hatched seemed 

 more numerous than the old ones. I have 

 talked to some of the other beekeepers here 

 and they say they have had the same thing 

 happen to them almost every year, and they 

 believed it to be a poisonous nectar. Have 

 you ever heard of this before? The bees at 

 this time were gathering a very light flow of 

 reddish nectar and plenty of pollen. 



BALBOA, CANAL ZONE. 

 Answer. — It is possible that it may be 

 poisonous nectar, but I doubt it. It looks a 

 good deal like bee paialysis, only you do not 

 mention the peculiar trembling of the wings, 

 which is quite conspicuous. Sorry I cannot 

 give you a more definite answer. 



Age of Queens 



1. Can you tell by the general appearance 

 of a queen how old she is, and how? 



2. I have my bees in 10-frame hives (Hoff- 

 man) and 20 frames per colony at present and 

 use both extracting frames and 4x5 inch sec- 

 tions in the supers ; gave one the third hive 

 body a few da ■ ago and they were crowded 

 for room. It has 30 brood-frames and 10 

 extracting (shallow) frames; no queen-cells 

 even started. What else could 1 do to prevent 

 swarming? Run in that way in 1919, I had 

 but one swarm in 13 colonies and took 100 to 

 180 pounds surplus from the best ones. Was 

 that sufficient surplus, or would I have had 

 more if I allowed one swarm? 



3. Some three days ago we had one colony 

 that seemed to be trying to swarm, but didn't. 

 The next day there was a dead queen in front 

 of the hive. Was it a superseding of the 

 queen caused the uproar? Five days after that 

 they swarmed. I looked in the old hive and 



found several queen-cells started with grubs, 

 3 sealed up and 1 just hatched, and saw a new 

 queen just coming out of a queen-cell. I de- 

 stroyed all the grubs and sealed-over cells ex- 

 cept 2 and took the queen away. No worker 

 tggs in the hive. Would it have been oetter 

 to let the queen go and take out all the cells? 

 The reason I took the queen away was be- 

 cause I thought perhaps the one from the 

 other cell was in the hive, although I did not 

 see her. This hive had 20 brood-frames, but 

 no super. 



4. I have noticed the articles in American 

 Bee Journal regarding wiring of frames. Will 

 enclose sample of wire 1 use and have no 

 trouble with sagging when four are put in; also 

 two diagonal ones. The diagonal wires are 

 on one side of the foundation and the parallel 

 on the other and the foundation is fastened in 

 pood at the top-bar. This takes considerable 

 time, but it pays. The enclosed sample of wire 

 is waste with me, being secured in my dyna- 

 mite blasting work. I figure it costs nothing. 

 I do not know what gauge it is, but if your 

 other correspondent is right in saying use 

 heavier wire, I find it a success, also. 



S. DAKOTA. 



Answers. — 1. Usually an old queen has less 

 hair than a young one; so, like an old worker 

 bee, she is more shiny. She is also less ac- 

 tive. But for all that, we have mistaken a 

 young queen for an old one and vice versa. 

 Better have your queens marked by clipping or 

 otherwise. Then you will know their age. 



2. Yes, that would be very fine, even if you 

 could not average more than half of that, one 

 year after another. There are two or three 

 additional points to help keep your bees from 

 swarming: shade, ample ventilation, few 

 drones, and young queens. You would prob- 

 ably get less honey if you allowed them to 

 swarm. 



3. It is very difficult to tell whether they 

 were superseding their queen or whether she 

 died from accident. But it is evident that the 

 old queen died. You would have gained a lit- 

 tle time by leaving one live queen in and de- 



stroying queen-cells But the difference is 

 almost unimportant. 



4. The wire of which you send sample is 

 copper wire, No. 22. Such wire as that 

 would be exceedingly expensive for a bee- 

 keeper to use. But the size is an advantage. 

 When it is imbedded by electricity it does not 

 matter whether it is put on one side or on both, 

 as it sinks well into the foundation. 



Molasses for Feed 



Would molasses, such as is fed to cattle, be 

 a good substitute for sugar for winter feeding, 

 and how much should it be diluted? 



DELAWARE. 



Answer. — Molasses may do to feed bees in 

 the summer, if they will take it. But it would 

 not do to have any quantity of it in the 

 combs, as it would be very objectionable if 

 it were mixed with honey. Usually bees re- 

 fuse to take it, unless they are starving. 



For winter, molasses is deadly to the bees, 

 owing to the large amount of foreign undiges- 

 tible matter which it contains. The bees need 

 the purest honey for winter, or in lieu of it, 

 a syrup made of the very best sugar. 



Unripe Honey 



When shoiild a fellow extract honey? Will 

 honey sour if extracted about the 10th of July? 

 What does one do to keep honey from souring? 



INDIANA. 



Answer. — Extract honey when it is ripe, that 

 is when the bees seal it and its consistency is 

 thick enough to show that it does not contain 

 much water. If it is ripe, it will not sour in 

 the hottest weather. If it is not ripe, it will 

 sour at some time or other. To keep it from 

 gathering moisture and becoming thin again, 

 as it was when gathered by the bees, keep it 

 in a warm, dry place. A cellar is the worst 

 possible place to keep honey. Better have it 

 in the attic, or in a warm, dry room. 



HONEY 



WANTED 



HONEY 



Send us a sample of your honey if extracted, state how put up and your price. We 

 are also buyers of comb, can use unlimited quantities if quality and price are right. 



f 



*? 

 ?■ 



'4 



t 



We remit the same day goods are received 



C. H. W. WEBER & CO., Cincinnati, Oliio 



The Diamond Match Go. 



( APIARY DEPT. ) 



MANUFACTURERS OF 



Beekeepers' Supplies 



CHICO.CAL, U.S.A. 



Dadant't incomparable Foundation ii 

 always kept in stock. Western Bee- 

 keepers can be supplied advantag- 

 eously. 



DEEKEEPERS, wherever they may be located, before deciding where 

 ■'-' to obtain supplies, should write to The Diamond Match Co. for 

 prices, and for their Beekeepers' Supply Catalogue. 



This Company are the largest manufacturers in the world who make 

 Bee Supplies. They own their own timber lands, mills and factories, 

 and supply goods direct from the tree to the beekeeper. 



Full advantage of this low cost of production is given to the purchaser. 



The Apiary Department (which is in charge of experienced supply men, 

 whu are also practical beekeepers) maintains a constant excellence of 

 product and offers unsurpassed service. 



The Diamond IVIatch Co. 



Apiary Department 



CHICO, CAL., U.S.A. 



it«iiiittt 



■•■■•■■■•■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■•■■■■t 



■ ■ t ■ ■ • I 



