944 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



SUMMERING PROBLEM IN SOUTH AFRICA 



Amltg, and How lo Comlbal; Thenra ; the Mavagea ®f Bee-pirales and Bee-birds 



BY F. H. COOPER 



While never a number of Gleanings 

 goes by but we South African beekeei^ers 

 can learn something of value from it, yet 

 there is one topic — an exceedingly impor- 

 tant one to you of North America and 

 Europe — which we of the tropics and sub- 

 tropics do not find of any great interest to 

 ourselves. The problem of wintering is 

 comparatively simple for us here. Snow 

 and ice are almost unknown in the Cape 

 Province; and though we have heavy rains 

 extending over a period of four or five 

 months, there is always a goodly proportion 

 of warm and sunny weather, and the days 

 when bees cannot fly are the exception. All 

 through the winter we revel in a profusion 

 of blossom, including scoi'es of acres of the 

 well-known " sugar-bush " {Protea mellif- 

 era), and a sequence of two or three weeks 

 of settled warm weather will often enable 

 the apiarist to harvest considerable surplus 

 in mid-winter. 



Most of us experience a certain amount 

 of trouble in the excessive moisture which 

 condenses on the inside of hive-covers; and, 

 apart from the bad effect of the wet and 

 cold on the bees, it becomes almost hopeless 

 trying to produce fancy sections, on account 

 of the discoloration. Colonies in double- 

 walled packed hives are far less troubled 

 with this condensed moisture, and I am in- 

 clined to think this is the hive that meets 

 most of our requirements. 



With the exception of this difficulty from 

 dampness and a few minor worries, however, 

 our wintering question is a fairly simple 

 one, providing colonies are strong. 



Now, I dare say you of the bee-cellars 

 and winter-oases will be thinking what a 

 fortunate people are these brothers in South 

 Africa; and when I tell you that foul brood 

 (American or European) is at present quite 

 vniknown out here, and that there is a mar- 

 ket which pays as much for dark honey in 

 bulk as a good many of your largest pro- 

 ducers can get for water-white in fiint 

 bottles, some of you may be thinking of 

 selling and coming over to share the spoils.' 

 Just a few minutes, though, till I have 

 shown you the other side of the picture, and 

 you will 23ossibly think better of pulling i;p 

 stakes, and may be you will stay where you 

 are. 



To begin with, our supplies cost just 

 about double what you have to pay. All my 

 hives and fittings are of American manufac- 

 ture, and one cannot get goods carried from 



the United States to Cape Town and then 

 further without paying for the privilege. 

 However, I have found from experience 

 that it is far more satisfactory to go to the 

 expense of purchasing imported hives than 

 to try to make one's own, or even to employ 

 a skilled carpenter. 



No great wintering problem for us; but 

 wait till summer comes, and then our trou- 

 bles begin. The weather on the whole is not 

 bad. Occasionally the heat will melt down 

 a few combs in single-walled hives where 

 shade-boards are not used; but there is gen- 

 erally a little rain each month, and the 

 nights are, as a rule, pleasantly cool. The 

 worst meteorological features in the climate 

 of this corner of the Continent are the 

 winds. From October to April the Cape 

 '' southeaster " rages intermittently, some- 

 times for over a week at a time. These 

 winds blow with tremendous force; and 

 when living in a house unprotected from 

 the southeaster, one is continually question- 

 ing whether any structure ever built can 

 withstand such power. When I mention 

 that carts have been overturned, and even 

 the train service held up for a few hours by 

 this wind, you will understand that a bee 

 cannot range far in such a gale, however 

 alluring the flowers may prove. No doubt 

 there is a large loss of life among those bees 

 which have traveled down the wind some 

 distance and then attempted to return home 

 heavily laden with nectar or pollen. 



After a southeaster there is usually a 

 calm spell for a day or two, when the bees 

 do finely ; but from noon to sunset a strong 

 westerly wind blows almost invariably on 

 every non-southeaster day tlu'oughout sum- 

 mer. In consequence one notices most of 

 the foraging work is done early in the 

 morning or toward evening, and at midday 

 th.e flight of bees is small. 



Small worries are often the worst worries ; 

 and from the giant "southeaster" I descend 

 to the tiny though no less wonderfully un- 

 tiring (and most tiresome) insect, the ant. 

 We have been given a splendid assortment 

 of these models of industry out here. There 

 is the large white ant that will chew up 

 almost any wood available, and that dearly 

 loves a white-pine beehive. I am glad to 

 say we are spared this fellow in the South, 

 but we have several smaller varieties that 

 are a great nuisance. There is a minute 

 black ant, a lover of sweets; and where he 

 abounds the housewife knows no peace. 



