1040 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



GLEANINGS FROM QUESTIONINGS 



G. W. H., California. — I have seen several 

 toads hanging around the hives in my api- 

 ary. I killed one and found sixteen bees in 

 its stomach. I then killed another and found 

 forty-one bees. Is there any remedy, aside 

 from killing the toads? 



A. In a good many places toads eat many 

 bees by sitting at the hive entrance and 

 licking them up as they do flies. If you find 

 a number of them about your apiary you 

 will probably find it necessary to place your 

 hives on stands high enough so that the 

 toads cannot reach the entrance. 



J. F. A., Cleveland, O. — What makes comb 

 in the lower part of the hive turn dark in 

 the center? 



A. The dark color is caused by stain from 

 the various layers of cocoons left after the 

 bees have been rearing brood. A comb will 

 remain light-colored except for the deposit 

 of propolis as long as no brood-rearing is 

 going on; but the part of the comb contain- 

 ing brood always turns dark and finally the 

 whole comb will be practically black. This 

 does no harm, however, and the comb may 

 be used year after year with absolutely no 

 bad effects. 



F. B., Bensenville, 111. — Which is better 

 for wintering bees — a cellar or a woodshed? 



A. A building above ground is not suit- 

 able for wintering bees in confinement, ow- 

 ing to the fact that the temperature changes 

 considerably. In a cellar the temperature is 

 more uniform ; but for best results it should 

 not go below 40 nor above 50, for any length 

 of time, and there should be good ventilation 

 without excessive moisture. 



The shed would answer all right provided 

 you had openings cut in the side so that the 

 bees could have an open entrance to the out- 

 side at all times. It would be well to pro- 

 vide packing around the hives inside the 

 shed in order to confine the heat. 



W. F. M., Glenwood, Mo. — What makes 

 the bees attach the combs in my sections to 

 the separators? When I remove the sections 

 from the super it tears a hole in the cap- 

 pings where I separate them from the 

 separator. 



A. Certain strains of bees are worse in 

 this respect than others, but the building of 

 brace-combs is quite apt to be indicative of 

 an overcrowded condition of the hive. It 

 is true that you cannot always supply extra 

 room by way of comb-honey supers at exact- 

 ly the right time; but at the same time, by 

 being careful to supply additional room 

 before the first super is entirely finished, 

 you can overcome at least some of this 

 nuisance. 



If full sheets of foundation are used and 

 the hive is not absolutely level from left to 

 right, sometimes a sheet will sag over until 



it touches the separator. Under such cir- 

 cumstances the bees will always attach the 

 comb to the separator. 



J. S., Bandon, Oregon. — In order to have 

 less wax in a section of comb honey, and just 

 that much more honey, why not use drone 

 foundation instead of worker? 



A. A few beekeepers use this in sections; 

 but it produces a rather peculiar effect, mak- 

 ing the honey look coarse. It is for this rea- 

 son that so few use it. 



As a matter of fact, it is a question wheth- 

 er any one would notice the difference in the 

 amount of wax in the comb when eating the 

 honey, for counting the midrib and the cap- 

 pings there is nearly the same amount of 

 wax in a section of drone comb as in a 

 section of worker comb. 



H. B. Y., Buffalo, N. Y.— What would be a 

 fair price for a full ten-frame colony in first- 

 class condition in a double-walled hive well 

 supplied with winter stores — good combs 

 built from full sheets of wired foundation? 



A. It is difficult to give a definite answer 

 to this question, for the price that the seller 

 gets is not so much what the equipment is 

 actually worth but what the buyer will pay. 

 In the fall of the year one has to consider 

 that the buyer runs some risk in losing the 

 colony thru the winter. 



A good deal depends also on the queen. 

 With a good young queen of a vigorous 

 strain the colony ought to be worth around 

 $10.00 or $11.00, or possibly even more. 

 Whether a buyer would pay this is another 

 proposition. 



Good straight combs built from full sheets 

 of wired foundation ought to be worth from 

 25 to 35 cts. apiece, sold separately. 



O. C. E., Steubenville, Ohio.— What is the 

 best way to move an apiary fifty yards? 



A. A very safe way to accomplish the 

 move that you refer to is to carry the bees 

 a couple of miles into the country, leave 

 them for a week or so, and then bring them 

 back, placing them wherever you desire. 

 There is then very little danger that the bees 

 will mix up badly or get into the wrong hive. 



Another plan, which is somewhat less 

 work, but which is a little more risky, is to 

 move the whole apiary in the late evening, 

 placing the hives wherever you want them. 

 Take away everything that looks like a hive 

 on the old location. Stand boards in front 

 of each hive in the new location; and the 

 next morning, before the bees begin to fly, 

 pound on each hive vigorously and smoke the 

 bees considerably so they will flll up with 

 honey. Then when they come out to fly 

 they will be more likely to notice that a 

 change has been made, and they will mark 

 their location. We have moved apiaries 

 short distances in this way with very little 

 loss. 



