JULY 1, 1916 



Are Moldy Combs where Bees have Died Fit 

 to Use Again? 



Of 30 hives' from last fall I have at pres- 

 ent only 11, all in good order. The 20 that 

 are dead I cleaned out today and both hives 

 and combs are very moldy, due to the mois- 

 ture of the adhering bees. The frames are 

 nearly all of the old V shape, and I wish to 

 discard them. Is the moldy comb still fit to 

 be used to make into new foundation? 



Some of the frames are Hoffman, with 

 wires and good comb. What can I do to get 

 the bees out of the cells? Do you think that 

 these frames could be used again, even tho 

 thev are somewhat moldy? 



R. A. Dehmel, M.D. 



South Germantown, Wis. 



[The combs you refer to can be used over 

 again. The fact that they are a little moldy, 

 or contain dead bees in the cells, will do no 

 harm. The bees will clean them out, dead 

 bees and all, very readilj^, and use them 

 over a»''ain. Of cou-se. any combs that are 

 crooked and otherwise undesirable should be 

 melted up. — Ed.] 



How to Trcnsfer from a Log. 



While cutting logs in the woods we cut a 

 bee-tree. They were in a limb about two 

 feet in diameter, and about 50 ft. from the 

 ground. We cut a block off about 6 ft. long; 

 stopped up the hole with mud, and hauled it 

 home. Now the puzzle is to get the bees into 

 a hive. We were in hopes of getting a 

 swarm; but as none has left so far we should 

 like to hive the bees that are in the log. If 

 you could suggest any way it would be 

 greatly appreciated. 



Youngstown, O. Paul Walters. 



[We should treat this log gum exactly as 

 tho it were a box hive, and transfer by the 

 Heddon method. You will have to pound a 

 little longer and a little harder because the 

 trunk of the tree, being thicker, is a little 

 harder to get the bees out of; but if you 

 persist we think you can do it without much 

 trouble. It will not be profitable, at any 

 rate, to keep the bees in the log. for you will 

 not be able to get any honey from them — 

 that is, fit for table use. — Ed.] 



How to Handle Combs after Extracting, 



E. S. Miles' article, p. 721, Sept. 1, touches 

 on a very interesting and important subject. 

 How would it suit Mr. Miles to bore, say, an 

 inch hole in his escape-boards and fit it with 

 a tin slide which could be operated from 

 ni.tside the hive, and then, when extracting, 

 leave the escape-boards in place and in the 

 evfning return the wet supers and open the 

 slide? When the bees have cleaned up, close 

 the slide and remove when the super is 

 empty. Of course it does not do to leave 

 escapes too long on hives or they may be 

 stuck up by the bees. Personally I don't 

 favor any plan which involves a general 

 mix-up of the wet combs for fear of spread- 



ing disease if such should get a footing un- 

 known to the apiarist. By this plan the bees 

 clean their own combs. It may be a bit 

 slow, and mean having a lot of escape- 

 boards; but is not that better than risking 

 spreading foul brood all thru the apiary be- 

 fore one is aware of its presence? 



J. H. Todd. 

 Eenwlck, Blenheim, Marlborough, N. Z. 



Two and Three Eggs to the Cell; "What is 

 the Trouble? 



I hived two swarms of hybrids on their 

 old stands, moved both hives (parent colo- 

 nies) away yesterday several hundred feet. 

 One swarm had issued Thursday, the other 

 last Monday. This morning both queens 

 were dead, and one hive had over 150 dead 

 bees before it. 



I purchased three untested Italian queens 

 late last summer, one being O. K., very pro- 

 lific, and swarmed. The second one was also 

 very prolific, and I ha^e now two supers 

 on and no sign of swarming, but I now find 

 two or three eggs in a cell. The third one 

 did poorly after I put her in, altho she had 

 quite a few bees at the opening of spring. 

 But they dwindled down so till there wasn't 

 a pint in the hive, and then I discovered 

 many cells with two or three eggs and quite 

 a few with four or five. There were no lay- 

 ing workers, for I found both queens and 

 killed the one in the weak colony, and then 

 found no more eggs. But then I found the 

 other one doing the same thing. 



C. A. Colell. 



Lincoln City, Del., June 5. 



[In the case of the two hybrid swarms it 

 is evident that the bees became more or less 

 mixed, with the result that there was some 

 fighting in the uniting. The fact that there 

 were so many dead bees in front of one of 

 the hives would indicate that there was 

 something of this trouble. Why both queens 

 should be dead we can't understand, unless 

 one or more of the virgins went forth with 

 the swarms. In that case the virgins would 

 destroy the old queen. Virgins are usually 

 not hatched when the swarm issues. The 

 probabilities are that you would find young 

 virgin queens in both the hybrid colonies, 

 and laying by this time. 



We assume that the three untested Italian 

 queens referred to in the next paragraph 

 have nothing to do with the two hybrid 

 swarms. 



The fact that their colonies are not swarm- 

 ing may be a good indication, but the fur- 

 ther fact that you 'find two and three eg<rs 

 in a cell indicates perhaps that the old 

 queens have turned drone layers, or it may 

 indicate that honey has been coming in, and 

 the queens cramped for room so they are 

 laying two and three eggs in a cell. This 

 does not very often happen, however. The 

 intimation that all three of the colonies have 

 two and three eggs in a x'ell rather indicates 

 either laying workers or drone-laying queens, 

 but it is a little remarkable that all three 



