846 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



CONVERSATIONS with DOOLITTLE 



At Borodino, New York. 



VATUATION IN COLONIES OP BEES. 



8" Is it a fact that colonies of 

 bees differ in their individual char- 

 acteristics ? I supposed that they 

 were as near- alike as two peas." 

 With domestic animals we find 



much variation. No two dogs or 

 horses are exactly alike. There is a differ- 

 ence in size, disposition, temperament, etc., 

 and why should there not be with colonies 

 of bees? Any one who has had even a little 

 experience with bees will readily admit that 

 some colonies are more vicious than others. 

 Some colonies will allow you to stand di- 

 rectly in line of their flight for an hour at 

 a time, patiently going around you to get to 

 and from their hive, while with others two 

 minutes will be sufficient for making you 

 stand out of tlie way. 



The hives of some colonies can be opened 

 with no fear from stings. Others resent all 

 such interference. I remember one such col- 

 ony. It was with the greatest difficulty that 

 the hive could be opened, even in a good 

 honey-flow, and this trait remained per- 

 manently until a new queen was given. 



Then I had one colony that persisted in 

 not attaching their combs to the sides of the 

 sections, even in a very profuse yield of 

 nectar, while other colonies with fewer bees 

 and during a light yield of nectar, would 

 occupy every available bit of space, even 

 filling the corners so that there would be no 

 passageways there. 



Some colonies will gather pollen to an 

 extent suffleient to crowd out the honey and 

 brood, (apparently leaving the more labor- 

 ious employment of gathering nectar, thus 

 filling their brood-combs and crowding the 

 mother-bee for room. ) The work of one col- 

 ony was very noticeable this year along this 

 line. 



Before the advent of comb foundation 

 the difference in comb-building was very 

 marked. Some colonies would build their 

 combs as straight as a board, and all within 

 the frames, while others would build them 

 crooked or across the frames, even where 

 starters were used. 



The business thrift of some colonies is 

 very marked. With a small number of bees 

 they make the most of their conditions ; and 

 at the end of the season they will have 

 much more to show than will colonies that 

 were more populous in early spring. Some 

 will work extra early in the morning; others 

 late in the evening. 



The swarming impulse is very strong in 



some colonies — so much so that, unless you 

 let them have their way, or do something to 

 satisfy them, they will sulk and do little or 

 nothing. Other colonies will work with a 

 \im without any swarming, nor is any ma- 

 nipulation from the beekeeper for its pre- 

 vention needed. Such colonies will roll up 

 a large surplus. 



Some colonies will gather much more 

 propolis than others, daubing the inside of 

 their hive with it until it runs down the 

 sides. They will even leave the legitimate 

 pursuit of nectar-gathering to daub the in- 

 sides of their sections and half-finished 

 combs with a liquid coat of bee-glue. 



I had a hive this season in which numer- 

 ous bees seemed to spend much of their 

 time standing with their heads down over 

 the front of the hive, moving up and down 

 with their mandibles rubbing against the 

 hive as if trying to scrape something of- 

 fensive off on the upward movement. No 

 other colony in the apiary showed any sign 

 of doing such a thing. 



A few years ago I had one colony the 

 bees of which seemed possessed with the 

 idea that it was necessary to tear down all 

 the foundation placed in the sections before 

 they would do any work in them, while at 

 the same time the rest of the apiary would 

 have their sections nearly full of drawn-out 

 comb and ready for the honey-flow. When 

 the flow comes on, then this colony would go 

 to work building comb, only to have its su- 

 pers fairly commenced when the flow of 

 nectar ceased. 



Most persons will admit that different va- 

 rieties of bees are quite different; but if^ 

 these same persons are close observers they 

 will find that there is nearly as much differ- 

 ence between colonies of the same variety as 

 there is between different varieties. The ob- 

 serving apiarist understands that all of 

 these various traits of character are repre- 

 sented in the queen of the colony, and that 

 the character of the colony depends upon 

 the queen and the drone with which she is 

 mated. Aside from the characteristics of 

 her offspring, the queen has traits peculiar 

 to herself ; as her size, her willingness to re- 

 main in sight on the comb and continue her 

 egg-laying when the comb is removed from 

 the hive, and, more important than all 

 others, her ability to lay eggs. Therefore 

 the most successful apiarist will have an eye 

 to having his hives stocked witli the best 

 queens that have mated with the best 

 drones. 



