624 



GENERAL 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



PONDENCE 



COMB - BUILDING ; SOME 



INTERESTING EXPERIMENTS 

 FROM COLORED WAX 



CONDENSED TRANSLATION BY J. A, HEBERLE, B. S. 



Some fifteen years ago Editor Bobm 

 began experiments with colored foundation. 

 He used non-poisonous aniline dyes (red, 

 yellow, green, and black), which he mixed 

 thoroughly in the liquid wax. For white 

 foundation he used bleached wax. All the 

 foundation by this and other experimenters 

 was made with the Rietsche foundation- 

 press, not with foundation-mills. Such 

 foundation is somewhat heavier, as it needs 

 more wax. Bohm made comparatively thin 

 sheets, and some of double the weight for 

 the same size. Variously colored strips of 

 foundation were neatly fitted together and 

 put in a frame. This frame was the last 

 one put in the brood-chamber, and after it 

 the window. (The hives in Germany, even 

 those which can be operated from above by 

 taking the cover off, have a door opposite 

 the entrance. To make a large hive — i. e., 

 a large brood-chamber — suit a small colony, 

 a frame with window glass is used as a 

 division-board, called " window " for short.) 

 This enabled the experimentei-, by just re- 

 moving or opening the door, to observe the 

 bees while drawing out the comb without 

 disturbing them. The frame was given as 

 the last one, because in that place the queen 

 was less likely to deposit eggs in it. The 

 bees accepted the foundation willingly. 



Bohm summarized the results as follows : 

 The bees gnawed off some of the wax from 

 the heavy (thick) foundation, and used the 

 wax thus obtained to draw out or lengthen 

 the cells. 



The differently colored strips of founda- 

 tion enabled him to observe that the bees 

 while building cells (drawing out the comb) 

 do not remain stationary, but move while 

 working to both sides, right and left, as 

 shown by the colored streaks in the center 

 where the bleached strip was used. 



By the use of the thin foundation he 

 found that the surplus wax was sufficient 

 for only about half of the depth of the cells. 

 These were finished with white wax that the 

 bees produced themselves. He concludes 

 from his experiments that heavy (thick) 

 foundation for the brood-chamber is pref- 

 erable, and asserts that the bees produce 

 ivax themselves only when that furnished 

 with the foundation is not sufficient in quan- 

 tity. 



The experiments. Bohm asserts, proved 

 that the bees are smart " critters," and are 



masters in adapting themselves to present 

 conditions. 



To see how far bees move while drawing 

 out combs, the following experiment was 

 made. A sheet of very thin tin was fitted 

 into a frame. The tin was made very warm, 

 and on one side three strips of foundation 

 - — red, black, and gi'een, and on the other 

 side a sheet of bleached foundation was laid. 

 The warm tin caused some wax to melt, and 

 made the foundation adhere firmly. 



It was found that the bees, if not disturb- 

 ed, did not, while building, go from one 

 side of the comb to the other; that they 

 moved only short distances, and confined 

 their moving to the side of the comb they 

 were at work on. If disturbed, the bees 

 carry wax particles in their mandibles con- 

 siderable distances. Bohm further asserts: 

 " If brood is allowed in these colored combs 

 the cajjpings will be of the same color, 

 because the bees take the wax for the cap- 

 l^ing always from the wax of the brood- 

 comb. Each finished comb shows on the 

 outer cell border a thickening of the cell- 

 edge, to strengfhen them. The rims are 

 somewhat T shaped. This strengthening or 

 protecting edge becomes superfluous when 

 the cells are capped, and this surplus wax is 

 used in capping the cells. This material 

 alone is insufficient. There is still another 

 source of wax for capping brood. The con- 

 tinued pressure which is exerted on brood- 

 combs from all directions on the wall of the 

 cells at a comparatively high temperature 

 causes the wax of the cell-walls to move 

 gradually from the center of the comb to- 

 ward the outer edge (rim), and is also used 

 by the bees to cap the brood. (Bohm adds 

 that in capping honey the process is some- 

 what modified.) The wax from the walls 

 of the cells is gradually replaced by the 

 cocoons. That explains why old brood-combs 

 when melted give so much less wax than 

 those in which brood has not been reared 

 often. [Old coiubs might give less wax 

 because the many cocoons become saturated 

 with wax when the combs ai'e melted, and 

 it is difficult to remove the last trace of it 

 from the cocoons. — J. A. H.] 



If bees have to rear brood in old comb in 

 which the wax of the cell-walls has been 

 replaced by cocoons, the capping becomes 

 whiter in color because the bees have to 



