1911 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



51 



Heads of Grain 



from Different Fields 



A Scheme for Strengthening Nuclei and Intro- 

 ducing Queens; Reversing to Get Solid 

 Combs and to Destroy Cells. 



1. Could a queen be introduced to a full colony by 

 this method? Leaving the undesirable queen un- 

 disturbed, place a queen-excluder upon the hive, 

 and on top of this queen-excluder place an extra 

 hive-body containing a three-frame nucleus and 

 the queen which you wish to introduce (a little la- 

 ter) to the colony below. This method of strength- 

 ening the nuclei is all right so far according to 

 the late Mr. Alexander. After leaving the three- 

 frame nucleus over the colony for some few days, 

 kill the queen below. Cut out all queen-cells that 

 are started by the bees below, and take off the ex- 

 cluder, permitting the queen to go below. 



2. Bees generally place their queen-cells on the 

 bottoms of the combs, do they not? If that is so, 

 why wouldn't such a scheme as this be efficacious 

 Inhuntiug for queen-cells in reversible-frame hives? 

 Supply full sheets of foundation; and after the bees 

 have drawn it out, reverse all the frames but one. 

 In this way you have nine solid combs, and one 

 frame with space between the bottom of the comb 

 and the bottom .strip of the frame. Wouldn't they 

 be most likely to draw out their queen-cells on this 

 frame where they have plenty of room? This frame 

 could be marked on the upper side of the top-bar 

 for easy ident iflcation. so that, in looking for swarm- 

 ing preparations, this need be the only comb re- 

 moved. 



Strafford, Pa. A. M. Parker. 



[1. We see no reason why you could not introduce 

 a queen by the plan you propose. If we are not mis- 

 taken. Mr. Alexander himself introduced queens 

 in this manner when he worked the plan for 

 strengthening weak nuclei. 



2. In the early "SO's. many bee-keepers were excit- 

 ed over the possibilities that might be accomplish- 

 ed by reversing. One of the strongest arguments 

 put up at that time in favor of inverting combs was 

 to get them built up solid to the end-bars and bot- 

 tom-bars; and there is no denying the fact that this 

 can be accomplished. Another claim was made, 

 that the process of Inversion would destroy swarm- 

 ing-cells; that the most of the cells would be along 

 the bottom edge of the comb: and when the hives 

 or combs were inverted the cells would be de.stroy- 

 ed — that is to say. the young baby queens would die 

 because they could not live " fother side up." But, 

 unfortunately for the advocates of this scheme, the 

 idea did not work as well in practice. While It is 

 possible and i^robably true that some cells were de- 

 stroyed by inverting, if we remember correctly too 

 many queens would hatch to make this plan for the 

 prevention of swarming at all feasible. 



You will, therefore, see that the idea that you 

 propose could not be relied on. — Ed.] 



How to Produce Both Comb and Extracted 

 Honey at the Same Time. 



I have been thinking of using the ten-frame hive 

 for extracting with Hoffman frames: but I should 

 like a hive that I can run for extracted and comb 

 honey at the same time if I wish to do so. I have 

 seen in Gleanings where some bee-keepers do. I 

 wish you would tell me all about it. I certainly 

 should be pleased to read up on the subject from 

 different bee-men under " Heads of Grain." When 

 I use sections I wish to use 1/^ x 4 x 5. Can I use 

 them in connection with extract in g-f ram es? 



Converse, Ind.. Dec. 23. J. F. Miller. 



[Your decision in favor of the ten-frame extract- 

 ing-hive is entirely correct. When one runs for 

 comb and extracted honey both, you may use about 

 75 per cent of comb-honey supers and 25 per cent of 

 shal}ow extracting-supers. If the season, however, 

 is very short, and there is danger of unfinished 

 sections at the close of the flow, the proportions 

 may be exactly reversed. Perhaps it would be safe 

 to say that those who produce both comb and ex- 

 tracted honey use about half and half of each style 



of super. At the beginning of the flow, extracting- 

 supers are put on first. When they are about half 

 filled they are lifted up. and comb-honey supers are 

 placed beneath, one lor each hive. When the bees 

 are well started in the sections the extracting-supers 

 may or may not be removed. In some cases they 

 are given to sulky colonies that show a disinclina- 

 tion to go into the supers. Such colonies can often 

 be induced to go above when extracting-combs are 

 partly filled with freshly stored honey. Other ex- 

 tracting-supers may be tiered up on a hive or hives, 

 the bees of which do not make white cappings suit- 

 able for sections. It very often i appens that some 

 cf the best workers in the apiary will store a large 

 amount of honey, but the cappings of the combs 

 will be so close on to the honey that it will have a 

 water-soaked appearance. Such colonies as these 

 should be run entirely for extracted. They also 

 answer the excellent purpose of starting work in 

 extracting-supers. and these partly filled supers 

 may then be used to good advantage to place on 

 sulky colonies. 



When the season is pretty well advanced, the 

 sections, as fast as they are sealed, are taken off the 

 hive, and extracting-combs are put in their place to 

 catch the tapering-off of the flow. You thus avoid 

 unfinished sections. You are wise in deciding in. 

 favor of 4 X 5 sections.— Ed.] 



Two Strong Colonies Desert Hives in the Fall, 

 Leaving Honey in the Combs. 



I had three colonies, and took off extracting- 

 supers in September. At that time every hive had 

 what seemed to me a good stock of vigorous bees, 

 and the upper parts of frames in the brood-cham- 

 bers were filled with capped honey. After extract- 

 ing, the empty frames were put out to be cleaned 

 by the bees. This work they were very busy at 

 while it lasted. Other work kept my attention 

 from the bees until the beginning of November, 

 when 1 took the hives to the cellar, and it was then 

 I got my surprise. My two parent hives (eight- 

 frame Langstroth). the ones I wintered over in 

 1909-"10, had not a single bee nor any brood — not a 

 vestige of any thing in the comb but some capped 

 honey in the upper half of each frame. The only 

 hive with bees was the one swarm I secured, and 

 they seem strong enough. Xow, what went wrong 

 in the two hives? Where could the bees go, and 

 what made them go? 



O'Connell, Ont., Dec. 6. W. M. Shields. 



[We are as much at sea In regard to this as you 

 are. It seems very strange, to say the least. It 

 only one colony disappeared in this way we could 

 explain it better, for in that case it might be that 

 that one had been robbed out considerably by the 

 others, being weak, and that the few bees that were 

 left simply left the hive on account of being an ab- 

 normally small cluster. It is possible, but not 

 prijbable, that this was the ca.se with both of the 

 colonies. What makes us think this is not the 

 case is that there was capped honey left in both 

 hives. It would hardly look as if any robbing had 

 been going on. You say that both of these colo- 

 nies were comparatively strong when you removed 

 the honey. Perhaps in the process of cleaning up 

 the combs afterward the bees of the.se two colonies, 

 being rather old any way. perhaps, literally wore 

 themselves out fighting for the honey in those 

 combs that you placed outside to be cleaned. We 

 know that it is very hard on Vices to fight for honey 

 in this way. and perhaps this is an explanation of 

 the trouble. However, we can not be at all sure. — 

 Ed.] 



Proper Size of Entrance for Wintering. 



I am trying to winter four colonies of bees in a 

 shed, closed, except at the hive-entrances, with 

 about four inches of planer-shavings above, below, 

 and all around the hives. One colony is on eight 

 Danzenbaker frames. The others are in iM-siory 

 Danzenbaker hives with six brood-frames and six 

 extracting-frames each. The covers are sealed; the 

 bottom-boards, ys-inch side up: entrances. % x 5 for 

 small colony; Ji x 6 for two other.s; 78 x 7 for strong- 

 est. For about three weeks the temperature has 

 rarely gone above 32". with a range of from 5 to 15 

 at night; yet there is a constant gentle murmur 

 from all of the hives, and from one hive bees will 

 emerge if approached quite closely. I don't find 

 much discussion as to handling bees wintered out- 

 doors after they have been prepared for the win- 



