Oct. 15, 1911 



the end a. The bees of the nucleus have 

 marked the end d as their place of entrance, 

 and use it freely, while there is nothing to 

 attract the robbers there, for the air rises in 

 the tube, and all the odor passes out through 

 the wire cloth, at which place the robbers 

 vainly try to enter. 



As an experiment, Mr. Eisner encouraged 

 robbing last fall in a nucleus separately lo- 

 cated. He daubed the front of the hive 



with honey, and also placed there \}4. pounds 

 of comb honey. In a short time it looked 

 as if a swarm had settled there. Soon the 

 honey was gone, but not the robbers. For 

 nearly a week they kept up their attack 

 upon the wire cloth, where the odor from 

 within was perceived, while the little com- 

 munity quietly kept on its way without 

 hindrance. 



Although Mr. Eisner says nothing about 

 it, it would seem possible that such an ar- 

 rangement might work to stop robbing after 

 it has begun. Have the tube ready to fas- 

 ten upon the entrance of any hive, always 

 with the outer end lower than the entrance, 

 and then, when a case of robbing is found, 

 apply the device and let the robbers fight 

 away at the wire cloth. "But then," you 

 ask, "would not the robbers that were al- 

 ready in the hive mark the outer entrance 

 as they escape, as well as the bees of the 

 hive?" Like enough. But it might work 

 if put on the hive in the evening after flight 

 has ceased for the day. 



Marengo, 111. 



MAKING SURE OF PLENTY OF WINTER STORES 

 IN THE DANZENBAKER HIVES. 



BY E. D. TOWNSEND. 



Mr. E. I). Townsend: — I want you to tell nie how 

 to manipulate ray hives so that the bees will best 

 prepare their winter nest. They are now in three- 

 story Danzenbaker hives, each story the brood size 

 (ten frames. 17x7!4J, and I run them for extracted 

 honey. The upper story is now full and ripe: but it 

 is so difficult to store empty combs until cool weath- 

 er, on account of moth, that I should lll<e to let all 

 three stories remain on until Oct. 10, if I can do this 

 and have bees properly fix the winter nest. I want 

 them to winter in the lower story; but they will 

 store nothing: in the lower story as long as one or 

 more stories remain above. 



I have not tried carbon bisulphide with stored 

 combs. Would you take off the upper story now, 

 leaving two stories on, and put the bottom one- the 

 one I wish to winter in— on top, and then later re- 

 move the bottom one? Please t.ell me just how you 



631 



would do it. From now on, bees here usually gath- 

 er enough to winter on from peas, fall asters, gold- 

 enrod, etc. 

 Hollis, N. C. C. C. Gettys. 



[Mr. Townsend replies:] 



The Danzenbaker hive is not the only one 

 that may have an empty brood-nest at the 

 end of the season. Bees naturally go to the 

 top of their hive to begin storing honey; and 

 the queen, if unrestricted, will gradually 

 move the brood-nest along near the lower 

 edge of the honey, vacating the original 

 brood-nest for the inviting place above. 

 Now, if no more room is given, and the hon- 

 ey-flow continues, the bees will finally crowd 

 the queen out of the top stories back into 

 the lower story, or brood-nest, with honey. 

 On the other hand, if more combs are given 

 a colony than the bees can possibly use, the 

 lower hive is likely to be entirely deserted, 

 except a considerable amount of bee-bread, 

 and to be in no shape for winter unless the 

 upper stories are removed (after the brood 

 hatches out) and the colony fed for winter. 



This fall feeding we have abandoned, as 

 it is too late in the season where a fall flow 

 of honey is secured, as with you. Both the 

 size and shape of the brood-ne.5t cut some 

 figure in the amount of honey left in the 

 hive at the close of the season for winter 

 stores. A deep hive is more likely to have 

 more honey left for winter stores than a shal- 

 low one. Then there is a difference in the 

 strain of bees about carrying and storing hon- 

 ey. Pure Italians store their honey nearer 

 the brood-nest, while the blacks orhybrids 

 store their honey freely at a considerable 

 distance from their brood. 



You want to winter your colonies in the 

 lower story of your three-story Danzenbaker 

 hive; but as the lower story has no honey, 

 the colony will need at least 80 lbs. in your 

 location, to winter and spring, and an up- 

 per story of honey should be left on for this 

 purpose. A Danzenbaker body, when seal- 

 ed full, will likely hold 40 lbs. of honey and 

 bee-bread; so if the story were three-fourths 

 full of honey it would be about right in this 

 location. It will not take less in your loca- 

 tion, and may take more. A little watch- 

 ing along this line will help you to deter- 

 mine for yourself the stores you will need. 

 You say that the tup story is now full of 

 honey, and a fall flow in sight. It is quite 

 likely that the second story will be filled 

 during the fall flow, and the'queen and her 

 brood-nest in the lower story, as you want 

 them. In this case all you will have to do 

 the 10th of October will be to extract the top 

 story, leaving the two lower stories and the 

 honey they contain for the bees during win- 

 ter. 



This aster honey will not be quite as good 

 as the early honey for winter stores; but 

 with you, bees ought not to be confined to 

 their hives more than sixty days during 

 winter without a fly. If bees have an op- 

 portunity to fly each six weeks or two months 

 during winter, the quality of winter stores 

 need not be considered. The only requisite 

 is to see that they have plenty. 



