GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



Jan. 1 



Conversations with 

 Doolittle 



At Borodino 



TIERING SECTION SUPERS. 



In one of the papers I see that some of our best 

 bee-keepers tier supers of sections by raising the 

 first super (on the hive) and putting the second 

 one under. Then, later, if more are needed, the 

 third is placed under the second, and so on to the 

 end of the season. Last summer I tried the plan, 

 being told that the bees would almost Invariably 

 flu the top super before commencing in the lower 

 one, and that the top one, when completed, could 

 be taken away, and a third put under the second, if 

 the season held out favorably. But the end of the 

 season proved that the bees had filled the second 

 super put on, doing very little more in the first. 

 Can you tell me wherein I failed? 



Undoubtedly you failed from not having 

 your colonies strong enough when you put 

 on the first super; for it is evident that the 

 bees never occupied that first one before you 

 raised it up and put the second super un- 

 der. Or, if strong enough, there was no 

 nectar coming in from the fields, or, at least, 

 not enough so that the bees were inclined 

 to draw the foundation and store their hon- 

 ey there. But your greatest failure came 

 from not knowing just what you "were at." 

 In other words, you did not work in the 

 right way to succeed in what you desired to 

 accomplish. Had your second super been 

 placed underneath at the proper time — that 

 is, when the sections in the hrst super were 

 about two-thirds completed, the bees, if the 

 colony was in suitable condition to receive 

 more room, would have taken to the lower 

 sections at once, and commenced to draw 

 out the foundation ; and if the yield of 

 nectar kept on, they would have continued 

 to work without interruption, storing and 

 finishing the sections in the first or upper 

 super the same as if the other had not been 

 placed under. 



Frequently it will be found that, where 

 the colony is strong and the season extra 

 good, from one-half to two-thirds of the sec- 

 tions in the lower or second super will be 

 also ready for removal. Now, if those not 

 fully completed at the sides are placed in 

 the center, and a third super put under, 

 the work will go forward in the same man- 

 ner as with the first, and so on to the end of 

 the season. It is natural for bees to build 

 comb downward, and to extend it gradually 

 in a lateral direction. For this reason they 

 almost always commence drawing out the 

 foundation in the center of the super, where 

 the hive below is filled with brood centrally; 

 and, as they progress, honey is stored in 

 these center combs, and at the tops of the 

 sections on either side; therefore the center 

 combs, and the tops of those further out, 

 are sealed first, and this is why it is well to 

 change the sections from the center to the 

 outside, and the outside sections to the cen- 

 ter, where there is plenty of time for such 

 work. However, if "bait" sections are 

 properly used in the first super ])ut on, with 

 a colony running over with bees when the 



harvest commences, there is little need of 

 this exchanging of sections till near the 

 close of the season, as, with bait sections 

 placed two-thirds of the way from the cen- 

 ter toward either side of the super, all sec- 

 tions will be sealed at so nearly the same 

 time that it will not pay any one whose 

 time is worth $2.00 a day to fuss with the 

 changing of sections in the early part of the 

 honey-flow. 



Some bee-keepers prefer to put the second 

 super on top of the first, and I myself am 

 quite inclined that way; but I shall have to 

 admit that the majority of section-honey 

 producers usually raise the partly filled su- 

 pers and place the empty one between these 

 and the hives. One of the reasons given 

 for this is that, in this way, swarming is 

 more readily delayed, if not entirely pre- 

 vented, as by this plan room is also given 

 for the bees, so that they do not become 

 overcrowded. 



Another reason why the supers are moved 

 up is that, when sections are finished close 

 to the brood, they become soiled, or what is 

 often called "travel-stained," by the bees 

 walking over the darker brood-combs be- 

 low, and from these immediately on the 

 nice white sealed sections above. But when 

 the supers are tiered, the white sealed sec- 

 tions are so far away from the brood-nest 

 that they remain in their beautiful condi- 

 tion until the whole super can be removed. 

 However, I find that the size of the hive or 

 brood-nest used has very much to do with 

 this matter. Where a small hive is used so 

 that the queen breeds clear to the top-bars 

 of the frames, and continues thus to the 

 end of the season, this reason will hold fair- 

 ly good with all colonies having old combs; 

 but where the hive is large enough to insure 

 a liberal allowance for winter stores, there is 

 generally an inch or more of sealed honey 

 along the tops of the combs below the su- 

 pers, in which case this travel-stain is large- 

 ly a myth. 



There is one part of this tiering-up process 

 (usually not spoken of) which I consider of 

 very great importance. The tiering should 

 be done with a view to the greatest success. 

 With such a view, no empty supers will be 

 placed underneath those partly full toward 

 the end of the season, for, if so done, the re- 

 sult will be, nine times out of ten, nothing 

 but a whole lot of lean and unfinished sec- 

 tions at the end of the season. When the 

 season is drawing toward the close, and yet 

 there is a possibility that the bees may need 

 more room, always place the empty super 

 over the one the bees are at work in, and in 

 this way catch the "overflow," should such 

 happen to come; and if it does not come, or | 

 the season stops more abruptly than usual, j 

 then the larger part of the sections the bees i 

 have commenced work in are salable. How \ 

 may we know just when the flow of nectar < 

 will stop? No one can foretell; and this is I 

 the reason that some prefer to be always i 

 prepared for a sudden stop in afi"airs by r 

 placing all empty supers over those in which 

 the bees are at work. 



