1900 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



529 



some of the richest, most luscious fall pippins 

 that mortal ever ate. This surely gives good 

 evidence of its good taste. 



It need hardly be said that a luscious Cravi?- 

 ford, Bartlett, or pippin is almost as good as 

 honey ; and if the other Euphoria will feast 

 on the best fruit, why not this one on the best 

 honey, which, I take it, is the kind that Mr. 

 M. produces ? 



We are not surprised, either, that the beetles 

 are safe against the bees except when they are 

 balled to suffocation. As all know, the bee- 

 tles, like all insects, wear their skeletons on 

 the outside ; and this armor, for such it is, is 

 very thick and tough, so that it is well nigh 

 impenetrable. We are not surprised that the 

 beetles are indifferent to stings. They are 

 safely guarded, in their chitinous covers, from 

 hurt, even against such javelins as the bees 

 possess. 



It is to be hoped that this habit will not be- 

 come common enough to work any considera- 

 ble harm. I hardly see how we could fence 

 against this little intruder. I think he could 

 go where a bee could, and so we could not bar 

 him out except we shut out the bees as well. 

 The beetles, unlike the most of their family, 

 fliy in the hot sunshine, and so we can take 

 advantage of the night hour to keep them out. 

 The beetles are half an inch long, a dark olive 

 in color, and are specked above with dots or 

 splashes of white. 



These beetles were put in the letter, and so 

 were smashed as flat as a pancake. Insects 

 ought always to be sent in a strong box, and 

 with a little cotton or soft paper, so that they 

 can not rattle to their hurt. They can be sent 

 for a cent postage, and then they come safely. 



Claremont, Cal. A. J. Cook. 



VIRGIN-QUEEN I.OSS. 



We notice that a large per cent of your vir- 

 gin queens are or have been turning up miss- 

 ing. You think the probable cause is the 

 king-bird. Undoubtedly it caught some of 

 the queens, as they are very active during the 

 early spring or breeding season. But say, 

 friend R., 1 would be willing to wager you a 

 cookey that, if the truth were known, the bees 

 themselves killed nine queens for every one 

 which was caught by the birds. Remember, I 

 am not pleading for the birds — in fact, I shoot 

 all I get a chance to. We think there are 

 more bees killed by the bees themselves than 

 are lost by the queens flying out and not re- 

 turning. Next spring you examine the nuclei 

 on a nice warm day along in the afternoon, 

 about the time when the queens ought to be 

 flying, and see what per cent of the virgin 

 queens you will find balled. H. G. QuiRiN. 



Parkertown, O., June 11. 



[I will explain that friend Ouirin is an ex- 

 tensive queen breeder, having in operation 

 something like 500 nuclei ; and it should be 

 assumed, of course, that he knows what he is 

 talking about. 



Yes, friend Q., while we always expect a 

 large loss of young queens in the spring of the 

 year, yet last spring we were having a larger 

 loss, and the fact that king-birds and other 



birds were quite in evidence at that time, led 

 us to believe that they were responsible for the 

 increase in loss. I do not know why the bees 

 should ball their own queen, and the only one 

 they have ; but when honey is not coming in, 

 and it is a little chilly outside, bees, like hu- 

 man beings, feel like blaming somebody. 

 Perhaps they think their young mother ought 

 to lay. — Ed.] 



END-SPACING STAPI.ES IN THE ENDS OF THE 

 TOP-BARS. 



Tell Mrs. A. J. Barber, and all others who 

 have trouble with your short top-bars in ill- 

 made hives to drive the end-space staple in 

 the top-bar on the lower edge instead of the 

 end-bar. Years ago I ran an apiary of home- 

 made hives on shares for a neighbor, and had 

 a great deal of trouble with the frames drop- 

 ping off the rabbet, but remedied it by driving 

 nails in the top-bars. S. R. Ahrens. 



Fayetteville, Ark. 



[Your suggestion is a very good one, and 

 will remedy the trouble with poorly made 

 hives. But why should one purchase cheap 

 hives when the very best cost but a trifle 

 more? Cheap things are often very dear at 

 any price. — Ed.] 



Please inform me why my young swarms, 

 as they leave the parent hive, go direct to the 

 woods. They do not alight and cluster. 



Descanso, Cal. E. P. ST. John. 



[It is the rule, that all swarms alight shortly 

 after leaving the hive ; yet there are many ex- 

 ceptions. Swarms will sometimes go directly 

 from the hive in a bee-line for the woods. No 

 reason can be assigned for it other than that 

 the scouts have been out before, and, having 

 learned the exact location of a hollow in a 

 tree, they lead the bees directly to their new 

 home. You speak as though all your swarms 

 abscond in this way. I should hardly think 

 that possible, although it would not be im- 

 probable that three or four might go off so. — 

 Ed.] 



how to carry swarms on a BICYCLE. 



That is a very pretty and useful method, no 

 doubt, Mr. Editor, as detailed by you, but it 

 isn't in it with the exploits of the bees of 

 " Auld lang syne." I don't know just how 

 "lang," but away back in the days of Tam 

 O'Shanter bees were in the habit of carrying 

 great loads of honey on bicycles. Didn't be- 

 lieve it? Just listen to what the poet Burns 

 has to say on the subject : 



A,s bees bizz out wis angry fyke. 



When plundering hordes assail their byke. 



Bradford, N. Y. A. J. Wright. 



lots of section honey. 

 Bees have had a great time the past ten days 

 — lots of section honey. But bees hereabout 

 had a hard time from March to May 15. It 

 was the worst spring I ever knew for bees. 

 The cold winds caused the colonies to dwindle 

 badly. All my colonies are in fine condition 

 now, and solid full of honey and bees. I 



