1921 



AMl'.RICAN BFE JOURNAL 



349 



The original plan was to prevent 

 swarming during the clover flow and 

 get the two young queens raised and 

 established in the hive in two opera- 

 tions only, (1) the removal of the old 

 queen — early in the clover flow, and 

 (2) not more than ten days later the 

 destruction of all the queen-celb ex- 

 cept two left or given as ripe cells 

 raised from selected parentage, one 

 on each side of the division board 

 then inserted. Fixed in front of the 

 hive was a special portico which sep- 

 arated the outer entrance for each 

 queen by about ten inches. The re- 

 sult was that a considerable propor- 

 tion of the colonies had both queens 

 safely mated. 



A large number of young bees for 

 the winter were raised by the two 

 young queens and the number of the 

 colonies was increased from year to 

 year. There was no swarming before 

 the clover flow, because the colonies 

 were not then strong enough to 

 swarm. 



In 1920 an improvement was intro- 

 duced which consisted of treating 

 only those colonies that showed that 

 they were preparing to swarm by hav- 

 ing larvas in the queen-cells. In this 

 way honey production was increased 

 further, but the number of hives hav- 

 ing two queens for the winter was re- 

 duced. This made the system appli- 

 cable to places that have less favor- 

 able sipring conditions for the colonies 

 to build up because the weaker colo- 

 nies were strengthened with brood 

 from the stronger. The colonies were 

 examined every eight or nine days for 

 queen-cells, but it is believed, as a 

 result of the 1920 experiments, that a 

 10-day period would be better, both 

 for repeating the examinations and 

 for the destruction of the queen-cells 

 after removal of the queen, especially 

 if, as a precaution against swarming. 

 the queen's wings have been clipped. 

 As ten days is also the time it takes 

 for a batch of queen-cells to become 

 ripe from the time of starting, the 

 apiary need be visited only once in 

 every ten days during the swarming 

 season, which is satisfactory for out- 

 apiary work. 



1920 was a poor year for honey at 

 Ottawa. From eight hives, in which 

 two queens were wintered, in four of 

 them an average of 75 pounds of 

 honey were taken, against 68 pounds 

 from si.K regular colonies. 



The above experiments were carried 

 out with hives containing ten Lang- 

 stroth-sized frames. Much better re- 

 sults were obtained in 1920 from two 

 10-frame Jumbo hives, strong in bees. 

 wintered outside in a 4-colony case 

 with two queens each. They each 

 produced an average of 147 pounds. 

 This was more than double the pro- 

 duction from the regular colonies in 

 10-frame Langstroth hives. 



Further developments foreshad- 

 owed are (1) the introduction of two 

 young queens mated in nuclei in place 

 of the two queen-cells in treating 

 some of the colonies, including all 

 those that are trea'tfed late, and (2) 

 not inserting the divition board until 

 fall, when five of the combs are re- 

 moved, and another colony, reduced 



to five combs, is placed on the other 

 side of the division board. This latter 

 plan reduces the system to a method 

 of halving the space occupied by colo- 

 nies in winter, so that, in wintering 

 outside, each 4-coIony case will hold 

 eight colonies, and in cellar wintering 

 only half the number of hives arc 

 brought into the cellar. This is a 

 good plan where no increase is de- 

 sired. The advantages of wintering 

 two colonies in one hive in the cellar 

 have been discussed at length by the 

 late Dr. C. C. Miller in his book. 

 "Fifty Years Among the Bees." This 

 author says that if he "had not 

 changed from 10-frame to 8-frame 

 hives" he "would have continued the 

 practice." 



Wintering two queens in one hive 

 as a regular system can hardly be 

 recommended to beginners, nor for 

 localities in which the main honey 

 flow follows soon after the commence- 

 ment of swarming, but the success of 

 the experiments at Ottawa indicate 

 its possibilities in the hands of ex 

 perts where the spring conditions are 

 favorable. 



The experiments show that there is 

 no difficulty in wintering two queens 

 in one hive when the bees accompany- 

 ing each queen cover four or five 

 combs. Not one of the double colo- 

 nies was lost, even including two 10- 

 frame Langstroth hives wintered out- 

 side in a 4-colony case. The great 

 value of a few spare young queens in 

 spring and the difliculty there is in 

 procuring them when required and in 

 good condition, and in introducing 

 them safely, makes it very desirable 

 that moderately weak colonies con- 

 taining young queens, instead of being 

 united in the fall, should be placed, 

 in pairs, in hives separated by a close 



fitting division board, so that both 

 queens may be saved. Every bee- 

 keeper should have a few of these di- 

 vision boards for this 'piirpose. 

 Canada. 



WORKER BEES IN DRONE CELLS 



By Edwai-d A. Winkler 



Question. — Some time ago I neg- 

 lected to put enough frames in a col- 

 ony of bees and they filled the space 

 with a comb of their own, but it hap- 

 pened to please them better to build 

 drone-comb. 



I ran across it several days ago and 

 cut it out and threw it in the honey 

 house. I was surprised to find it cov- 

 ered Vidth young worker bees this 

 morning, when I thought it was 

 drones. 



If you examine it you will find 

 worker bees in drone cells. This is 

 something I have never seen before 

 and may explode some of Danvin's 

 theories. Illinois. 



Answer. — No. This will not dam- 

 age any of either Darwin's of Dzier- 

 zon's theories. We have seen queens 

 lay worker eggs in drone cells when 

 they had no other cells at their dis- 

 posal. This experiment was made by 

 supplying a hive of bees with all 

 drone-comb. But, in that case, the 

 bees narrowed the mouth of the cells 

 to worker size. It was perhaps done 

 in this instance also. However, it 

 would indicate a young queen, for old 

 queens do not have so much repug- 

 nance to laying in drone-cells as do 

 young queens. 



Huber, who lived before the Dzier- 

 zon theory was advanced, and won- 

 dered how it was that an unimpreg- 

 nated queen or a worker could lay 

 eggs that would hatch, had noticed 

 that a young queen rarely lays any 

 drone eggs before .she is at least 11 

 months old. He thought that the 

 male and female eggs came in turn, 

 and often wondered how a queen 

 could tell when the eggs that she was 

 about to lay would be drone eggs. 

 All that was explained by the Dzier- 

 zon theory of parthenogenesis, to the 

 satisfaction of the scientists. 



However, your experience, in this 

 matter, is quite interesting. — Editor.) 



BillerwcciJ 



PEOPLE IMMUNE TO STINGS 



• By J. H. Tichenor 

 I have just finished "eating" the 

 book, "The Dadant System of Bee- 

 keeping." It is practical common 

 sense. No one can read it and think 

 just the same as before. It will 

 change his ways for the better. There 

 is just one thought presented in it 

 with which I differ, and I deem it of 

 so much importance that I feel in 

 duty bound to mention it. The writer 

 seems to convey the idea that there 

 are persons immune to bee stings. 



During my lifetime of 58 years, I 

 have known at least four or five of 

 those sting-proof people who came 

 near losing their lives by stings. I 

 have, therefore, concluded that it is 

 not best to get anything in print that 

 might lead to carelessness in handling 

 bees. 



Wisconsin, 



