1888 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



139 



for I had plenty of space between hives, and other 

 " landmarks," such as trees, etc. 



O. O. POPPLKTON. 



I think there can be no doubt of it. The admirii- 

 ble experiments of Sir John Lubbock prove it. (See 

 Lubbock's" Ants, Bees, and Wasps "—a most inter- 

 esting and valuable work.) I ha\e not painted 

 hives differently. I hardly think it necessary or 

 desirable. T have not done it, and have lost very 

 few queens. A. J. Cook. 



Yes, I am sure that bees distinguish color. We 

 paint our bives ditt'erent colors, for that reason. 

 We paint white, blue, red, yellow, and brown, and 

 mix some of the colors to make shades; then mi.\ 

 the hives up as much as we can; have one hive 

 white all over; another white body and some other 

 color for top; uo two hives need to look alike near 

 each other. E. France. 



I have heard and read that bees distinguish colors, 

 but my own experience has not convinced me of 

 the fact. It was not for the bees but the queens 

 that different-colored hives seemed advisable. 

 Many of our friends are most positive that young 

 queens, returning from their bridal trips, are in 

 greater danger of entering the wrong hive when 

 these are of the same color, and stand close togeth- 

 er, than when otherwise. It is my experience, that 

 queens and bees return to the spot from which they 

 emerge. Their landmark is to me as incomprehen- 

 sible as the landmark of the birds in dense woods. 

 I had for years 40 colonies or more as close to- 

 gether as the hives would permit; raised queens 

 every summer in almost every one of them, and 

 my young queens made no more mistakes than 

 those of any one of my neighbors. 



Chas. F. Muth. 



I have experimented several times to arrive at 

 some conclusion; but so far I am still at a loss to 

 pronounce myself jiositively. I have placed a lot 

 of nuclei as close as 6 inches apart. Some on one 

 stand would be all alike, and on other stands 

 painted different colors, and the loss of queens 

 would be as great in one as the other, and at other 

 times it would be greater in one than the other, 

 and vice versa. I have also had some in the yard 

 at a distance of four and five feet, and still at times 

 the loss would be as great. I have taken queens 

 from those nuclei that were all alike, that had been 

 laying for a day or two, throw them in the air, 

 and, after circling in the air, they would make no 

 mistake and go right to their nucleus. I have done 

 the same thing with the others, and the results 

 were the same. They sometimes made mistakes, 

 and that as well with one as with the other. 



Paul L. Viai,lon. 

 Well, I believe, friends, you have collect- 

 ively hit the nail about on the head. A 

 good many experiments seem to indicate 

 that bees can distinguish colors ; and 1 have 

 sometimes thought that the gorgeous hues 

 of the floral kingdom were, many of them, 

 put on on purpose to attract the bees. Is it 

 not likely the bee recognizes a clover-field a 

 long distance away by the color as well as 

 odor y and may not the same be said of gold- 

 enrod, aster, buckwheat, etc.? Notwith- 

 standing this, I have for years been pretty 

 well satisfied that painting hives different 

 colors did not seem to help matters very 

 much. Locality, as the testimony seems to 

 indicate, seejjis to have most to do with the 



matter, in finding their homes. I remember 

 one spring, when we lost bees so badly there 

 was only one colony in a low of several 

 hives. Tills colony stood next to the end of 

 the row — that is, there was one empty hive 

 beyond them. This empty hive was wanted 

 for something, and it was taken away when 

 the bees were working vigorously. What 

 do you suppose happened ? A small swarm 

 of bees piled right into the one next to where 

 they belonged— the one, in fact, that stood 

 next to the end of the row. This seemed to 

 indicate to me that the bees had been in the 

 habit of locating their home by remembering 

 that it was next to the last one in the row, 

 or that there was one hive beyond it. When 

 this one hive was removed, every bee, in re- 

 turning, struck the empty hive because it 

 stood next to the end of the row, and they 

 did not know that one had been removed. 

 It occurred to me then, that there was a 

 trick by which we might get an artificial 

 colony or a strong nucleus, without remov- 

 ing the parent hive at all ; hut the inven- 

 tion has never l)een developed that I know of. 



Question No. 36.— 7.s- it more ec(tn<>mir((l in the hmg 

 run to keep hivea irell painted, <iv dn you tliink an un- 

 tainted liicr will lii!<t l(i)i{i rnaiiiih for all jirartical pur- 

 poses:' If ijoii thiiil; it adviKahIr to paint, what kind 

 have you f(ntnd the most durable/ 



Yes, I think it yiays well, aside from the looks, to 

 keep them painted. J. A. Guken. 



Keep painted. It is neater and better. LTsewhite 

 lead, or light colors. We use Tascott's enamel 

 paint. Dadant & Son. 



Paint white inside and outside. I have had hives 

 so treated in use fifteen years or more, and find 

 them almost as good as new to-day. 



Geo. Grimm. 

 Yes; a hive kept well painted ought to last as long 

 as a house, provided it is kept off the ground. 

 Mineral paint; Venetian red. 



Mrs. L. Harrison. 

 I think it is better to paint. For color, I prefer 

 white or some very light shade; but I have not suc- 

 ceeded in finding any one kind that seems to excel 

 all others. O. O. Poppleton. 



If for economy only, it is doubtful if painting 

 hives pays; but when we add appearance to econo- 

 my, then it maj' do so. In painting hives I use two 

 coats of lead and oil, and one (the last one) of the 

 Avcrill mixed paint. G. M. Doolittle. 



I think, if economy alone is considered, we would 

 not paint our hives; but when we include looks, 

 and freedom from checks, etc., it pays well to paint. 

 The same may be said of our houses and other 

 buildings. Man does not live by bread alone. 



A. J. Cook. 



I think unpainted hives will last long enough for 

 practical jinrposes; V)ut in many instiinoos it is ad- 

 vantageous to have all hives exactly alike in ap- 

 pearance, find this can bo secured only by painting. 

 I prefer the lead-and-zinc mixture. 



W. Z. Hutchinson. 



I think best to paint. We use a variety of colors. 

 White is not a durable paint, but it hag other qual- 

 ities in its favor. It doesn't heat like dark colors; 

 bees keep more quiet in them. I don't like to paint 

 hives too dark— it makes them too hot. 



E. France. 



