630 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



August, 1917 



harm is done except that all but one queen 

 will be sacrificed. Unless one has a virgin or 

 a laying queen to supply the others, they 

 will be queenless. Usually at such times 

 there will be plenty of cells or virgins avail- 

 able to give to each swarm. 



K. L. F., Pennsylvania. — Which has the finer 

 flavor — comb or extracted honey, both from the 

 same source and from the same hive ? 



A. The difference is not great, but slightly 

 in favor of the honey in the comb. During 

 the process of extracting, a very slight 

 amount of the delicate aroma of the honey 

 is lost. The flavor of honey is said to reside 

 in a minute quantity of ethyl alcohol. When 

 honey is exposed to the air, or broken into 

 fine particles as it is during the process of 

 extracting, a very minute portion of this 

 flavor is carried off; but the average con- 

 sumer will scarcely notice the difference. 

 There are some consumers, however, who say 

 they like comb better than extracted. 

 Whether this preference is due to the desire 

 to chew something, or to an actual difference, 

 we do not know. Under normal conditions 

 comb honey will command a higher price 

 than extracted; but during this year of 1917 

 it is a question whether extracted will not 

 come pretty near the price of comb at retail. 

 But conditions now are abnormal. 



C. L. W., Missouri. — Is there any difference be- 

 tween supersedure cells and svtfarming cells ? 



A. The impulse is different, altho one 

 set of cells looks about the same as the 

 other. Supersedure cellsi can be distin- 

 guished, however, from swarming cells 

 usually by the season. The swarming cells 

 will appear during the swarming season only, 

 while the supersedure may show up at 

 any time of the year when bees are raising 

 brood. If the queen is furnishing a small 

 amount of brood, and queen-cells are found 

 in the hive, it may be concluded the bees are 

 about to supersede her, and will, therefore, 

 raise supersedure cells. Of course, it is pos- 

 sible to have cells raised under both im- 

 pulses — swarming and supersedure. If the 

 queen is beginning to fail at the beginning 

 of the honey-flow, supersedure cells would be 

 started. They would doubtless be hastened 

 on by the swarming impulse. 



A. J. C, Kentucky. — I have 100 very stron» colo- 

 nies, most of them two story, and I desire to move 

 them to fall pasture. The weather has been very 

 warm. How would you do it ? 



A. Nail wire screens over the entrances. 

 Put an empty story on top of each of the 

 two-story colonies. Secure them in place 

 with some crate staples. Two at diago- 

 nally opposite corners may be enough, but 

 four are safer. The bottom-boards should 

 be secured in the same way. On top of the 

 whole put a wire screen with full opening. 



It is usually not safe to move a two-story 

 colony in hot weather unless it is fully 

 screened at top and bottom. The putting on 

 of an empty story with screen will not make 

 it necessary to screen the bottom. Bees 

 should be moved either at night or on a 



cool rainy day. With good hard roads a 

 rainy day is a good time to move bees, as 

 they will all be in the hives before shutting 

 them in. 



It is our practice to choose such days in 

 the spring when we are setting out our out- 

 yards. One must be prepared with rubber 

 boots and a 'raincoat for loading and un- 

 loading the bees. Rain on top of the wire 

 screens will do no harm. It is more bene- 

 ficial than otherwise. 



In loading bees on to a truck, self-propelled 

 or horse-drawn, do not pile the hives one on 

 top of the other unless 2x4 's are placed be- 

 tween to provide ventilation between the 

 tiers. If the bees have to go on a long drive, 

 taking four or five hours in the hot sun, too 

 much ventilation cannot be provided. 



It may be advisable to carry along a can 

 of water and wet down the screens every now 

 and then. 



We also advise moving bees with an auto- 

 mobile truck rather than using horses. While 

 the horse-drawn vehicle is cheaper, it is so 

 much slower that it pays to pay a highei 

 price and put the bees thru to destination in 

 a hurry. An automobile truck will do the 

 work in one-fourth the time usually. 



J. N., Indiana.- — No honey coming in ; bees are 

 starving. Is it all right to /eed brown sugar* and 

 it is suitable for winter? I can buy granulated 

 sugar that has become dirty. Would this be better 

 than brown sugar ? Is there any difference between 

 beet and cane sugar for bees? 



A. You can feed brown sugar; and in the 

 absence of granulated sugar it would do very 

 well, either for summer or winter. But 

 granulated sugar is much superior as a win- 

 ter food. We recommend the use of the 

 dirty granulated sugar in preference to 

 clean brown sugar. 



It is claimed that cane is better than beet 

 sugar for canning purposes. In Great 

 Britain cane sugar is recommended in prefer- 

 ence to beet for bees. We have used both 

 in our feeding operations, or what we sup- 

 posed was one and then the other, but have 

 never been able to detect any difference. 

 All granulated sugars we have ever tried 

 have given excellent results. 



W. C. B., Pennsylvania. — What is the most effec- 

 tive way of getting bee-glue off the fingers ? 



A. Alcohol or gasoline will remove it. 

 Lava soap, which can be obtained almost 

 anywhere, will remove a good portion of it. 

 To remove it all, a little sand soap should be 

 used in connection with it. A little bottle 

 of gasoline if kept on the washstand will 

 be found a great help. First use gasoline, 

 and then soap and water. 



L. C. F., New York. — What makes the bees so 

 cross this year? I have never known them tO' sting 

 as they have done this year. 



A. We have received similar reports of a 

 like condition all over the white-clover 

 regions. Cold backward summer weather, 

 now a little sunshine with a flow of honey, 

 then rain or cold and no honey, makes a 

 condition that is just right to make bees 

 cross. A sudden stoppage of a flow of honey, 



