1921 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



365 



heat, and better protection from sud- 

 den changes in temperature. I was 

 on the watch for another thing in the 

 drone comb liner If the bees feel 

 that there is a shortage of drone comb 

 in the brood nest we are told that 

 they will tear down worker comb and 

 replace it with drone cells. I have 

 often told that story while airing my 

 knowledge to a beginner; but this 

 summer I have acquired some doubt 

 about it. 



Some writer also claimed that this 

 tearing out of worker comb was 

 mostly, if not altogether at the cold 

 end of the comb, that is, at the lower 

 corner, next the entrance, while 

 others claimed the bees tore cut the 

 lower corner without caring whether 

 it was the cold or warm end of the 

 hive. My 30 colonies are on .30 sets 

 of combs that are hard to beat for 

 all worker comb, and as I was using 

 some foundation in the brood nest 

 this would give the bees a chance to 

 do some easy tearing on new and ten- 

 der comb, and incidentally I could de- 

 termine which lower corner they pre- 

 ferred to tear out and insert drone 

 comb. 



They didn't tear out any. Out of a 

 hundred or more combs I examined I 

 found just one where the bees had 

 tucked a half dozen drone cells in 

 each lower corner. They built drone 

 cells next the bottom bar and along- 

 side it and between the bottom bar 

 and floor, but no tearing out worker 

 and inserting drone comb. 



I think this drone comb in the cor- 

 ners gets there in a perfectly natural 

 manner. Foundation is sometimes 

 given to the bees too late in the sea- 

 son to be fully drawn out, and they 

 gnaw it badly, especially at the two 

 lower corners, and when these corners 

 are filled out later they are almost 

 sure to be filled with drone comb, 

 which accounts for many of the cases 

 where bees are supposed to tear out 

 worker comb and replace it with 

 drone comb. 



Bees evidently work over old cap- 

 pings and use them again, tear down 

 and use old queen cells, will tear to 

 pieces and carry into the hive bits of 

 old comb dropped on the alighting 

 board, cut down deep honey cells to 

 the proper depth for brood and use 

 a large part of the material. They 

 gnaw the edges of the combs, and 

 especially the corners for material, 

 and I believe the main reason they 

 gnaw the corners of both combs and 

 foundation is simply that the angle 

 formed by the end bar and bottom 

 bar gives them a much better 

 chance to work. I believe most of 

 this gnawing of old combs is done 

 early in the season, when material 

 for capping and repairing is scarce, 

 the bees are mostly old, little or no 

 honey coming in, and wax production 

 at a low ebb. 



I would expect the lower corner 

 next the entrance to be gnawed the 

 most, as it is longest out of use and 

 more subject to damage by the 

 weather, and when the brood nest is 

 crowded down until it fills the hive 

 these damaged corners are filled with 

 drone comb, just as damaged combs 

 are in any other part of the hive. 



So I now have some doubt if bees 

 ever deliberately tear down good 

 worker comb for the express purpose 

 of building in drone comb. 



BEES BUILDING DRONE COMB 

 ON FOUNDATION 



By J. F. Diemer 

 Dear Mr. Dadant: You remember 

 that we have often talked about why, 

 and wondered how it happened, that 

 bees sometimes build drone comb on 

 one side, and worker comb on the 

 other side. 



Since you were here, I have been 

 investigating a little in regard to how 

 it happens so. I have concluded that 

 the lesser wax moth, the kind that 

 burrows under the young bees before 

 they emerge from the combs, tangle 

 the wings up so much that when they 

 finally try to emerge from the cells 

 they can't get out, because the web 

 which is fastened to the wings and the 

 base of the cells, holds them in. I 

 have seen a patch of young bees as 

 big as your hand struggling to get 

 out; but they never succeed in break- 

 ing the web that holds them prisoners 

 until the bees of the colony release 

 them by gnawing away the comb clear 

 down to the base of the cells. There 

 is no way the bees can get hold of the 

 little, quick rascals except by tearing 

 all the cells off the base. The big 

 fat common wax worm sometimes 

 tunnels along just under the capping 

 and over the heads of the brood; 

 these are easily removed by the bees 

 of the colony. But these wise little 

 princes of darkness cextainly believe 

 in safety first, therefore they bur- 

 row under the brood, but only on one 

 side of the midrib, never on both 

 sides. 



I presume that after the bee^ have 

 gnawed away the cells right down to 

 the midrib, and a honey flow starts, 

 and they have no other chance to 

 rear drones because full sheets have 

 been used in each frame, and you 

 know it is their nature to get a few 

 drones some way; they arrange a flat 

 place as large as the piece of comb I 

 am sending you under separate 

 cover. Now, Mr. Dadant, if you 

 were a colony of bees (which you are 

 not) and found a chance to rear 

 some good big drones on one .side of 

 the comb, would you do it? The bees 

 do, although I never caught them do- 

 ing it. The next time I find a weak 

 colony I will let them stay weak un- 

 til they get a good nest of these lit- 

 tle demons, then put the comb in a 

 strong colony and keep tab on it. 

 Missouri. 



MOVING BEES WITH ENTRANCE 

 OPEN 



By Jes Dalton 



Having occasion to move some 150 

 colonies in midsummer, down in 

 Louisiana, over swampy roads, I was 

 naturally puzzled. In size they ran 

 from 2-frame nuclei to 30 frame 

 "long idea" fellows with two supers in 

 them. 



I, with an assistant, picked up one 

 of the latter one night, boldly set it 

 on a box in the rear of a Ford and 

 set sail. Bees came out despite two 

 active Jumbo smokers. Crawled all 



over us, demoralized our guiding 

 senses and speed control. I ran over 

 a hog and killed it (cost $10). All 

 this about dusk. 



Next day, after working in yard 

 till a convenient time, I picked up a 

 small load, packed them in securely, 

 lashed them down with a 60-foot small 

 rope, threw a canvass 10x29 feet 

 over them, pulled to unloading- loca- 

 tion, uncovered them and next morn- 

 ing set them on stand. 



After the "Canvass kink" I had no 

 trouble at all. I hauled as many as 

 22 single stoi-y 8-frame colonies at 

 one time. There are three kinks. 

 Learn to lash, and there is a vast dif- 

 ference between lashing and winding 

 rope around load. Lash so every hive 

 will be tied, and then use a draw rope 

 to take up slack in the lash rope. Tuck 

 your canvass in good all around bot- 

 tom of box, stuff' it between fenders 

 and box, and put burlap sacks in to 

 hold it there, and be sure you ease 

 Lizzie down into the chuck holes and 

 over bumps, etc. And it is well to 

 have a flap of the canvass loose so it 

 can be opened and closed quickly. 

 This last for "road hogs" that hold 

 the entire road and make you slow 

 down and go out into the ditch. 



As you pull past them, loosen a 

 few dozen well shaken bees and pull 

 off and leave them together. Noxt day 

 that rig will not only go into the ditch, 

 but likely clear across it when they 

 see you coming. 



The bees crawl out and mix up 

 some, but I went through and evened 

 things up shortly afterward, and it 

 was next to the only thing I could do 

 in hot weather with hives full of 

 brood, bees and nectar. 



I combined moving with yard work. 

 Would work in yard till time to load, 

 and then load up and take a load to a 

 new location to finish up day's work. 

 I never smothered even a dozen bees 

 that I could tell; broke no. combs. I 

 did not nail down lids. Some even 

 had loose bottoms. I moved four 

 miles. Some of the "long idea" 

 queen-rearing and cell-building colo- 

 nies had bars of cells in them in all 

 stages, and these were not even mo- 

 lested, and all later hatched out 0. K. 



Louisiana. 



ALDRICH AS A HOST 



I returned from Smithland last 

 night, where I attended one of the 

 most largely-attended and successful 

 meetings of the year. There were 

 fully 100 persons in attendance, bee- 

 keepers and their wives. The weather 

 was ideal and the interest great. 



We met on the B. A. Aldrich farm, 

 and he was sure a fine host. 



I asked those present to put down 

 the price they expected to get for 

 honey in small quantities at retail, 

 5 and 10-pound pails. An analysis of 

 these figures showed the sentiment to 

 be a shade better than 20 cents a 

 pound. 



There is a great sentiment in 

 Woodbury County to peddle honey 

 from house to house, and no doubt 

 much will be disposed of in this way. 



As smai'tweed is just blooming, I 

 am almost certain to have a fall flow. 

 A. F. Bonney. 



