236 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



cause of drifting. As a rule, the most det- 

 rimental drifting takes place when bees are 

 moved from the cellar to their summer 

 stands, and it does not make much differ- 

 ence if any whether they are placed on the 

 same stands they occupied before they were 

 moved into the cellar or not. The usual 

 way of moving bees from the cellar to their 

 stands outdoors is the most enticing induce- 

 ment to cause drifting. After a long con- 

 finement of four, five, or even more months, 

 which has been forced upon them against 

 their wishes they long for the time to have 

 an open-air fly they so much need for their 

 future welfare. 



To prevent bees leaving their hives, the 

 moving is done some cool night; and it is 

 done when there is a fairly certain prospect 

 of a fair day folloAving, that bees may not 

 venture out on an inclement day and be 

 lost. Next morning, as soon as the climatic 

 conditions will permit a bee to fly, a few 

 of those suffering most begin the rush for 

 this long-wished-for cleansing flight, and, 

 without paying much attention to the exact 

 location of their home, the whole swarm is 

 in the air in a very short time. But it does 

 not end here. The roar and commotion of 

 the first few colonies soon attract the atten- 

 tion of the others. They, too, in the excite- 

 ment of the occasion, leave their liives Avith- 

 out taking the precaution of marking their 

 location; and before many minutes the 

 whole apiary is in the air, a confused mix- 

 ed-up multitude that knows not where to go 

 or whence they came. When they finally 

 quiet down and begin to look for their 

 home they are a lost and ungnided set. There 

 happens then what the editor describes on 

 page 922, with the closing sentence : " The 

 result is, the stronger gTow stronger at the 

 expense of the weaker." 



We may take it then for granted that 

 drifting is the result of the undue excite- 

 ment, when bees take their cleansing flight 

 at the same time, especially when hived close 

 to one another. To prevent it would be a 

 simple affair. By setting out one colony 

 at a time and waiting until it had its first 

 cleansing flight, a second one might be set 

 out; and after this has had its first flight a 

 third one could follow, and so on until the 

 cellar is emptied. I hardly think drifting 

 would occur if managed in this way. But 

 this Avould not be practical. It would take 

 all summer to empty a cellar of a few hun- 

 dred colonies. When the times comes that 

 bees need this much-desired flight, and at- 

 mospheric conditions favor the change, they 

 must all, or nearly all, go into the open 

 ;vv — the sooner the better. 



Now, suppose we compromise, and try to 



produce conditions more like the flight of 

 bees wintered outdoors. If a part, say one- 

 half or one-third of a cellar's colonies were 

 moved outdoors at a time, scattered over a 

 beeyard, and placed at reasonable distances 

 from one another until they have their first 

 flight — then at the next opportunity an- 

 other portion moved out and distributed 

 between the first lot until they have their 

 flight, and the same operation repeated with ' 

 the remainder, I believe, aJtho I cannot 

 speak from experience, the unpleasantness 

 of drifting would be reduced to a minimum. 

 In a way this would resemble the condition 

 of bees wintered on the summer stand. It 

 hardly ever happens that adjoining neigh- 

 bors are out at the same time. Even after 

 a longer confinement we generally see one 

 flying here, another a little further down 

 the line, a third one still further, and so 

 on ; and when these are quieting down, the 

 intermediates follow suit. Being at some 

 distances from one another, and thoroly 

 knowing their location, little drifting oc- 

 curs. 



If it is not caused by the beekeeper Mm- 

 self bees will drift very little when wintered 

 in long straight rows or quadruple sheds 

 outdoors. The main point to be observed 

 is, bees must be thoroly acquainted with the 

 location of their own hives. To insure this 

 it is necessary that bees should fly a couple 

 of weeks (the longer the better) from the 

 location they are to occupy after they are 

 placed and packed in their sheds. If mov- 

 ed any distance at all, even if only a few 

 feet from their accustomed place to the 

 sheds when being packed, drifting is sure 

 to result. It requires quite a little strategy 

 and systematic manipulation to wean a 

 colony of bees from one place and teach 

 them to find another with unfailing certain- 

 ty unless they are moved miles away. 



To illustrate the certainty with which 

 bees know and find their home by location 

 I present to the readers the accompanying 

 drawing made to represent one of those 

 roaring bee days in September Avhen it seems 

 as tho bees are bringing honey, honey- 

 plants, soil, and all. If an instantaneous 

 photo could be taken the drawing would not 

 resemble it very much ; but it demonstrates 

 fairly well the point I wish to make. The 

 roar and multitude of flj'ing bees resembles 

 an absconding swarm coming toward you, 

 with the exception that they are flying in 

 a straight line while an absconding swarm 

 moves m,ore like a rolling ball. 



The hives face the east, and the direction 

 fiom which bees are supposed to be bring- 

 ing honey is northwest. When coming home 

 they have to pass over pear and apple 



