284 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Ai'itii. 1.".. 



the bees. It would also cost more, tbongb it 

 would be easier to apply. 



USING KEKOSKXE TO STOP ROBBING. 



Some one has advised the use of vaseline, 

 rubbing it on the alighting-board of the colony 

 being robbed. A handier and cheaper thing to 

 use for this purpose is kerosene. In robbing, as 

 with all other evils, prevention is better than 

 cure: but it will sometimes happen in all api- 

 aries that the bees get to robbing. If the rob- 

 bed colony is at all inclined to defend its hive. 

 a simple contraction of the entrance, or almost 

 any of the ordinary methods, may be sufficient: 

 but often the robbed colony gives up complete- 

 ly, and makes no effort to keep the I'obbers 

 from entering. In such cases, something must 

 be done to take the place of their lost courage 

 for a time. For this I have found kerosene very 

 effectual, pouring a little of it on the alighting- 

 board and ai'ound the entrance. Through this 

 the robbers inside will pass out. but those le- 

 tuniing will seldom make any attempt to enU'i'. 

 If any of the bees of the colony are out, they 

 will usually go in all right after a little time, 

 because it is their home: but the robbers do not. 



It is best to conti'act the entrance, and in bad 

 cases it may be well to renew the application 

 after a time'. Generally this is not necessary, 

 and this feature makes the plan particularly 

 valuable at an out-apiary, where one has not 

 time to wait to see how a case of robbing is 

 coming out. and does not wish to leave a colony 

 with a too contracted entrance. At such a 

 time the entrance may be somewhat obstructed 

 with fresh grass, and kerosene sprinkled on 

 this, and the colony left with contidence that it 

 will come out all right, if it is not ([ueeiiless or 

 too weak to hold its own. 



THE I'ORTKK BEK-ES< Al'E. 



Those Canadians who are rumored to have 

 decided against the Portei- bee-escape on the 

 ground that it tore the wings of the bees must 

 certainly be mistaken. Some one has probably 

 seen the old I'agged-winged workers, which are 

 to l)e found in all hives during the working 

 season, and jumped at the conclu^ion that their 

 wings had been torn by the springs of the 

 escape. I have used a number of these escapes, 

 and I never saw any thing of the kind, and I do 

 not believe it jtosslble. 



PHOI'OIJZIXG PEKKOIiATKD /.INf . 



1 see that somi' of your correspondents have 

 been troubled by the" bees closing the perfora- 

 tions in queen-excluding zinc with piopolis. 

 Without knowing more of the facts it is impos- 

 sible to say certainly why this should be so: 

 but in all" probability too much ventilation 

 through the top of the hive is the cause. I have 

 frequently known bees to close in this way the 

 holes in the top of box hives that were inttrnded 

 to give entrance to the surplus apartment. I 

 have also often known bees to use much labor 

 and propolis in contracting an entrance that 

 was too large to suit them. They would not 

 use this at the entrance, though, wiiere a com- 

 paratively small quantity would have sutticed. 

 but attempted to bfiild a wall with it some dis- 

 tance back, usually between the lower corneis 

 of the fran\es. It is generally only small colo- 

 nies that do this, and theii' evident purpose is 

 to shut out the drafts in order to better preserve 

 the heat of the hive. 



As long as the perforated zinc is used for its 

 legitimate purpose as a division between the 

 brood -chatn her and the suri)lus apartment, the 

 holes are not likely to be propolized: but when 

 the bees are not occupying the supers, and the 

 honey-board becomes practically the cover to 

 the brood -cliamber. their instinct leads them to 

 .close the openings in it if possible, especially if 



there is a large open space above, thiough 

 which the air can circulate freely. 



When the bees are not occupying the supers, 

 the honey-board should be covered with a tight 

 Woard. held a bee-space above the zinc, or it 

 should be removed, and a board or cloth put in 

 its place. .1. A. Grp:ex. 



Dayton. 111. 



RAISING QUEENS IN HIVES ALREADY CON- 

 TAINING A QUEEN. 



mi. MILLEl! ANSWERS C^rESTIONS. 



This letter is anonymous: but there is no 

 evidence that it is meant in any but good faith, 

 and the subject is an interesting one and luay 

 be useful to others. 



Dr. C. C. Miller: V)\[\ you pk'ase answer the fol- 

 lowing questions tliroug-li Gleanings > 



On page 333, 1890, you uif nlion a way to have ceils 

 built by the bees, and have tlie queen fertilized 

 when hatched. You saj', " Let there be an entrance 

 on top." Now, what I want to know is, if I do not 

 make ati entrance on top, but only the original en- 

 trance at bottom, CHU I raise cells, the cells to he 

 cut out a few days before they hatch, and given 

 to full colonies, as I wisii to requeen all my hives? 

 My bees are black, and sliow some trace of Italian 

 stock, whicli 1 wish to get rid of and come back to 

 the original hla<'k stock that I had years ago when I 

 used to get iioiiey. 1 used to raise what queens I 

 wanted, by the nucleus system; but if I can raise 

 tliem in full colonies without having the hives 

 (lueenless. I think it would be better. The system 

 you reeonmiend seems to me to he really two dis- 

 tinct colonies. If I do not let tlieni have two en- 

 trances, will the bees below go above and raise 

 cells and really act as one colony ? 



A Subscriber to Gleanings. 



Yes, you can raise cells just as well without 

 any entrance above, if yon want to cut out the 

 cells before they hatch. I think you may find 

 the plan to succeed well sometimes and some- 

 times to fail. The first time I raised any celLs 

 in the way mentioned was in a hive over which 

 I had placed three stories of empty combs to be 

 taken care of by the bees. In order to make 

 sure that the bees would traverse the entire lot. 

 I put a frame of brood in the upper story. 

 There was no queen-excluder, and nothing to 

 hinder the two queens coming togithei' except 

 the fact that they were so fai' apart that it was 

 easier for the young queen to use as an entrance 

 the hole she found accidentally left above. 

 This case was reported in ( Jleaxings at the 

 time, and 1 think it was the first case of the 

 kind ever published. 



No. there are not two colonies. I don't know 

 just how much separation is needed, but it 

 seems that, whenever there is young brood to 

 be taken cai'e of. and the queen does not have 

 ready access to it, a certain amount of isolation 

 will induce the bees to rear queen-cells, even if 

 there is constant communication between the 

 bees of the two parts. 



I have not always succeeded in getting the 

 bees to rais(^ cells in a second story with an ex- 

 cluder between. But Til give you a plan for 

 raising cells that may almost always be de- 

 pended upon, and you need no queen-excluder. 

 Instead of a queen-excluder, put between the 

 upper and lower story a quilt or sheet; if holes- 

 are torn in it, no matter. But there luust be 

 sonu- place, at back, front, or side, for the bees 

 to pass up through, and I don't know that it 

 luake.s much difference whether a squaie inch 

 is left for a passage, or ten inches. The point 

 seems to be. that the cloth cuts oft" direct com- 

 munication between the two stories better than 

 the queen-excluder. If very much of an open- 

 ing be left, the queen will sometimes go up into 

 the upper story, especially if she hasn't all the 

 room she wants below. Of course, when she 



