1904 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



1015 



troubles. They must be made properly, 

 though. I never got any springs before the 

 present season that would have been satis- 

 factory. 



LOSS OF BEES ON SNOW. 

 "Good evening, Mr. Doolittle. " 

 "Good evening, Mr. Smith." 

 "Evenings are getting quite long again." 

 "Yes, and I am reminded that winter will 

 soon be upon us again. Have you your bees 

 ready for winter ? ' ' 



"Very nearly so; and as I was fixing sev- 

 eral colonies to-day for leaving over winter 

 on their summer stands, I said to myself 

 that I would come over and see you to- 

 night, and ask you if there was any thing I 

 could do at this time of the year to prevent 

 the bees from coming out and dying on the 

 snow as they did last winter." 



"Do you think you lost many in that 

 way ? ' ' 



" I certainly do. Some days it seemed as 

 though the ground was fairly covered with 

 bees about the hives. Last spring many of 

 my colonies came out weak in numbers, and 

 I thought the cause was their dying so on 

 the snow. Is there any way to prevent 

 their coming out of their hives during cold 

 days in winter in this way ? " 



" I will give you my plan to prevent such 

 loss. But before I do this I wish to say 

 that there are two causes for bees acting 

 thus, one of which is bee-diarrhea, and the 

 other the direct rays of the sun in and about 

 the entrance." 



"Is it bee-diarrhea that ails them when 

 they come out and di'op their excrement on 

 the front of the hive, and all about on the 

 snow as soon as they take wing ? " 



"Yes, that is the trouble where you see 

 such a state as you mention; and where a 

 colony has this disease the bees might as 

 well die on the snow as anywhere, for die 

 they will if the disease takes hold of them 

 early in the winter, or before there is any 

 prospect of warm weather coming to stay." 

 " Is there no way of helping them ? " 

 "Not that I know of while it is cold 

 weather, for all the fussing that I have ever 

 done with them seems to be of no avail, but, 

 on the contrary, as a rule it seems to hasten 

 their death, if any thing, unless there comes 

 a prolonged spell when they can fly freely 

 to void their excrement, and then, four 

 chances out of five, they will dwindle down 

 to such an extent before many young bees 

 emerge from their cells that such a colony 

 will be nearly or quite worthless." 



"Well, that must have been the trouble 



with a part of mine last winter, for several 

 of the colonies that came out so weak had 

 the front of their hives all spotted over, while 

 some of the combs were badly befouled near 

 the entrance also. But what about the sun- 

 shine ? ' ' 



"If the trouble is caused by the sun en- 

 ticing them out when it is too cool in the air 

 for them to fly, the cause should be removed 

 by shading the hive." 



"How is this done?" 



"As the sunshine of February and March 

 is apt to entice out all bees, more or less, by 

 making the front of the hive and alighting- 

 board near the entrance quite warm by the 

 heat thereof, while the air just outside of 

 this sunny nook is too cold for them to ex- 

 ist in, should they believe from this warm 

 place that the air is warm enough for a fly; 

 and as the winds of winter are apt to blow 

 cold air and snow in at the entrance of the 

 hives, thus making the bees uncomfortable, 

 I prepare a board nearly as wide and as long 

 as the front of the hive, and put it in place 

 at the beginning of winter." 



"Please tell me how you fix it to the 

 hive." 



' ' I set the foot of it out away from the 

 hive some four or five inches, and then lean 

 the top up against the hive just under the 

 cover. Fixed in this way it not only shades 

 the hive, but it keeps out wind and snow as 

 well." 



' ' Do you leave the vv^ide board thus all 

 winter?" 



"Should a day warm enough for the bees 

 to fly occur, and I am at home, I take the 

 boards down, laying them immediately in 

 front of the alighting-board, thus forming a 

 nice spot, free from snow, for them to alight 

 on, and very many take advantage of this 

 board, let me assure you." 



" When do you put the board back again?" 



"At night I go out with a broom, and 

 sweep all dead bees which may have been 

 dragged from the hive away from the en- 

 trance and off the alighting-board, when the 

 wide board is put in place again, ready for 

 any sun, snow, or cold wind that may come 

 in the future." 



' ' But suppose you are not at home on any 

 warm day." 



" If I am not at home, no harm is done, as 

 the bees will fly out around the ends of the 

 board, and come back the same way, if the 

 weather is really warm enough for them to 

 have a reasonably good flight." 



" The shade-boards will make some extra 

 work." 



" Yes, that is right. Some seem to think 

 that this winter care of bees is too much 

 work, but unless any bee-keeper's time is 

 worth $5.00 a day during the winter at some- 

 thing else, I think he will be the loser by 

 not taking the small amount of time requir- 

 ed to do these things properly." 



"Well, I think I will try a part of mine, 

 at least, that way this winter and see how 

 I like it." 



' ' There is one point wherein some are de- 

 ceived regarding dead bees on the snow. 



