466 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



June 15. 



Langstroth hives winter all right with honey- 

 boards sealed down, I think the reason is 

 because the Dovetailed-hive covers are painted 

 two or more coats, which renders them non- 

 porous, while the Langstroth honey -boards 

 are not painted. The experience of the past 

 has taught me that it is bad practice to put 

 into winter quarters any weak colonies or 

 those not having the proper amount of stores, 

 as they are most sure to die after using up 

 what honey they have and leave the combs in 

 a miserable condition, if not entirely ruined. 

 I think it is best to unite such colonies to oth- 

 ers, or destroy them, and put the clean combs 

 away in a safe dry place, and in the spring 

 they will be found in the same condition as 

 when put away. If I had not tritd the past 

 season to winter a number of such light colo- 

 nies my percentage of loss would not have 

 been over half what it was, and I should have 

 avoided a lot of nasty work in cleaning up 

 combs and hives. 



Now that the bees are on their summer 

 stands I am reminded that I do not like the 

 Dovetailed hive covers for the spring period. 

 They do not make the hive tight and warm, 

 and there is no chance to use a cushion or 

 quilt under them. I have been thinking of 

 making some sort of rim, with a lap joint, to 

 place on the brood chamber. You will say, 

 "Place an empty super on." Yes, but that 

 does not make a tight water proof joint. With 

 a deep cover having a lap joint, two sheets of 

 newspaper can be laid on the brood-chamber 

 and the cover crowded down over them, mak- 

 ing every thing tight and warm. If newspa- 

 pers or quilts are used under the flat covers it 

 leaves no bee-space above the frames; and the 

 quilt or paper will absorb moisture from the 

 outside, and become wet and cold. I should 

 like to know how others manage this during 

 the cool weather of spring. 



Browntown, Wis., April 21. 



[Dr. Mason always winters his bees in the 

 cellar with a cushion on top, and he brings 

 them through the winter successfully every 

 winter, if I mistake not. Yet the majority 

 use and recommend sealed covers — painted 

 covers at that. We do not winter enough in 

 the cellar to form a correct opinion on the 

 matter. — Ed.] 



APIS DORSATA. 



Caught, and Gone Again; the Giant Bees not Will- 

 ing to be Confined to Hives; their General Ap- 

 pearance much like that of Italians, only 

 Larger. 



BY W. E. RAMBO. 



I am sending you to-day by express a bottle 

 of Apis dorsata in alcohol. I believe you will 

 find both drones and workers, but no queen. 

 I have done my utmost to get you a queen, 

 spending the best part of two nights up in 

 trees for that purpose. I wrote of catching 

 one swarm. The queen did not appear to be 

 in the bunch I got, although a fine lot. If she 

 had, I have hopes that all that could have 

 been accomplished in any way would have 



been done with that swarm, for there was 

 brood that hatched out several hundred healthy 

 bees ; but having no queen, and coming 

 out too late to make one, they all dwindled 

 and perished. 



One week later I found another colony, hiv- 

 ed them, getting all ; but the next day they 

 left the hive and brood comb, and settled in 

 the roof of the building, apparently as if to 

 build a comb. I watched the result; and one 

 morning about two days later they had ab- 

 sconded. Before hiving them I tried my ut- 

 most to find the queen. But the bees were 

 several thick, and she was not to be seen. So 

 I am nowhere in particular. I know of two 

 more swarms, but I fear I shall not just now 

 be able to inspect them. May 1 1 go to the 

 mountains for a month, and have hopes of 

 reaching something definite there. 



I have read the letter in Mar. 15th Glean- 

 ings from Mr. John C. Uglow. If I have 

 Apis dorsata he has something else, judging 

 from his description. I have not seen an Ital- 

 ian for a long time; but from what I remem- 

 ber I should say the Apis dorsata worker is as 

 much like an Italian as possible. It ma}' be 

 somewhat larger; but it is not black, glitter- 

 ing, irridescent, nor wasp-like. I think if 

 some of you queen-breeders were to find an 

 Apis dorsata worker crawling in among your 

 hive bees, you would catch it up and send it 

 off with the next order on your file for a fine 

 three or five banded queen. That is my im- 

 pression as I sit with a brood-comb on my ta- 

 ble, with the remnant of my catch forlornly 

 crawling about it. 



The bees act very much like Italians. I do 

 not think them more fierce. Of course, they 

 will fight if fought. But they would not be 

 much if they did not. I have now no more 

 time. Please send several queen -cages. None 

 were in my outfit. 



Damoh, India. 



[There is no question but, from your de- 

 scription, you have found the genuine Apis 

 dorsata. Those that I have seen in alcohol 

 tally almost exactly with what you say of 

 them. In fact, if we could have typical three- 

 banded queens, a whole colony of them, we 

 should have, as you say, what would look very 

 much like Italians. 



Indications so far seem to point to the prob- 

 able fact that Apis dorsata can not be success- 

 fully domesticated. If this should prove tree, 

 it would render a government expedition after 

 them almost a fruitless venture. Even if the 

 bees are once secured and brought to this 

 country, what can we do with them if they 

 have the wilds of the forests in the South ? I 

 can not think they would do any harm, even 

 then, and might possibly be worth something, 

 even if they were forty feet in the air, on an 

 overhanging limb. 



From all accounts that have so far been ren- 

 dered, it appears that the giant bees are 

 very gentle, and easily handled — as much so 

 as Italians; and the fact that Mr. Rambo, al- 

 most an inexperienced bee-keeper, has been 

 able to do with them what he has, shows they 

 can not be so very vicious. 



