230 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



APEili, 1920 



beekeeper, with the understanding that 

 whenever the bees swarm, the farmer will 

 hive such swarms in these hives and keep 

 them for the beginner until he finds time 

 to take them home. Yet, in this case, the 

 farmer's colonies might not swarm early 

 enough, and the beginner, therefore, not 

 obtain his bees soon enough to* start bee- 

 keeping at the first of the season and might 

 obtain but little honey the first year. 

 Good Colonies in Good Hives. 



The very best way of all to purchase bees 

 is to buy them from a reliable breeder or 

 from some beekeeper near home, and to 

 buy entire colonies in good standard hives. 

 Uiider prevailing prices, the cost may seem 

 rather high, but in comparison with the oth- 

 er ways of buying we believe the begin- 

 ner will find buying good colonies in good 

 modern hives by far the best investment. 

 Moving the Colonies. 



After purchasing the colonies, the next 

 problem is to get them home. Now, when 

 bees first fly in the spring they circle about 

 the hive, marking its exact location in re- 

 gard to its surroundings. Later, if the hive 

 is moved a short distance, the bees, not re- 

 alizing that their hive has been moved, will 

 return to the same spot and, being unable 

 to find the hive, are lost. With the excep- 

 tion of bees in a swarming condition, those 

 colonies moved less than a mile will general- 

 ly lose many of their bees. For this reason, 

 certain precautions must be taken when 

 moving bees. 



If one wishes to move from some near 

 neighbor, only a short distance, the hiv;^ 

 should be moved to a place two or three 

 miles away. Then, a few weeks later, after 

 the bees have forgotten their first location, 

 the hive may be moved to the desired spot 

 with no loss of bees. If one wishes to move 

 but a few feet, this may be done with less 

 trouble. Simply move the hive a foot or 

 so the first day, and then every two or three 

 days increase the distance until they are 

 moved a yard or more at a time. The bees 

 seem to get into the habit of expecting their 

 hive to be removed a little further each day. 



When necessary to move some distance, 

 the quickest and easiest way is by auto. 

 Sudden lurching or jerking of the combs 

 sidewise might cause them to break, e;-ipe- 

 cially if heavy with honey. Therefore, if 

 the road is very rough so that one is oblig- 

 ed to drive slowly, the hives should be plac- 

 ed with the frames crosswise of the car. If 

 driven carefully there is little danger of 

 breaking the combs. When moved a dis- 

 tance, the hives must be specially prepared 

 for the journey in order that they may 

 be well ventilated during the trip. 



If care is taken, colonies may be jirc- 

 pared for moving without one bee leaving 

 its hive. The night before or early in tlie 

 morning before the bees are stirring, remove 

 the entrance-closer and into the entrance 

 shove a stiff piece of screen about three 

 inches by the width of the hive. It should 



fit tight so that not a single bee can es- 

 cape. Next, the cover should be gently re- 

 moved, and a rim two inches deep, cover- 

 ed with wire screen, should be stapled to 

 the hive in place of the cover. This two- 

 inch rim leaves a nice clustering place over 

 the cluster and provides plenty of ventila- 

 tion, which is so necessary for moving safe- 

 ly; for during joltings of the journey the 

 bees will become so active that the tempera- 

 ture of the hive will be increased considera- 

 bly, and unless an unusual amount of ven- 

 tilation is supplied the colony may smother. 

 If moved early while the weather is still 

 cool, they will need less ventilation and the 

 screens may be partly covered if desired. 

 The screened rims and bottoms may be at- 

 tached to the hives by a long staple at each 

 corner. 



When buying bees in old, out-of-date 

 hives, with cracks here and there, special 

 care should be taken to shut the bees in 

 securely and still leave them with plenty of 

 ventilation. 



Where to Put the Bees. 

 On reaching home the colonies may be 

 placed in anj' convenient place where there 

 „ is protection 



from prevail- 

 ing winds and 

 where there i^ 

 some s h a d e 

 during the hot- 

 test part of the 

 day. Bees al- 

 ways resent 

 the presence of 

 moving objects 

 near their en- 

 trance. There- 

 fore, their hive 

 should face 

 away from any 

 path where 

 people are 

 passing fre- 

 quently. If one 

 is crowded for 

 room, it is pos- 

 sible to keep 

 bees in the at- 

 tic or on a flat 

 roof, altho this 

 is a rather hot 

 arrange me n t 

 for both bee- 

 keeper and 

 bees. If kept 

 in the attic the hive should be near the wall 

 and should be provided with an outside en- 

 trance. Also there should be a window that 

 can be opened for the escape of bees that 

 collect on it whenever the hive is opened. 

 If possible, however, the bees should be 

 placed outdoors, and the beginner will, we 

 are sure, take pleasure in making the spot 

 out in the garden or orchard a real beauty 

 spot. 



First Work. 

 No great amount of courage is necessary 



Purcliasing siicli a 

 this is not a bad 



swarm as 

 iuvestment. 



