288 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



May, 1920 



HEADS~QF GRAnO^PQ^arPIFFERENT FIELDS 



Too Many Drones 

 a Detriment. 



I have read with much 

 interest what is said 

 in the January num- 

 ber of Gleanings in regard to the drone. In 

 1903, 17 years ago, I published a Tittle book- 

 let in which 1 said practically the same 

 things. I knew at the time that my words 

 would not then be considered as orthodox 

 by the beekeepers generally, but "all things 

 come to him who waits." I especially call 

 attention to these lines: 



"Everyone should know that the greatest 

 expense in raising drones is while they are 

 being fed in the larval state. After they 

 have emerged from the cells it is a loss 

 to destroy them, for they will more than 

 pay for their board in the service they 

 render in keeping up the bee heat in the 

 hive. Their large lubberly bodies are very 

 warm and they keep the brood warm, thus 

 permitting the worker bees to go to the 

 fields. Open a hive in cool weather and see 

 the large congregation of drones ( a solid 

 sheet of them) gathered between the outside 

 combs and the hive body. They are there 

 for the purpose of keeping the brood-nest 

 warm. If we have permitted the first cost 

 of having them raised, we should not be 

 guilty of incurring the second cost of killing 

 them." T. K. Massie. 



Hatcher, W. Va. 



[From our experience it does not pay the 

 honey-producer to keep an excess of drones 

 even if they are already raised. But far 

 more important than this is the fact that 

 those drones should not be raised in the 

 first place. Not only are such colonies more 

 inclined to swarm, but also such a lot of 

 drones are too expensive in their produc- 

 tion and maintenance. It has been estimat- 

 ed that the cost of producing three drones 

 would raise five workers. It is cheaper to 

 raise the workers since they will not only 

 keep the brood warm but nurse it and will 

 also do other work about the hive and later 

 will gather nectar. In a normal colony 

 workers old enough to gather nectar do not 

 stay at home caring for the brood. This duty 

 is performed by the young bees. That very 

 practical beekeeper, Alexander, once said, 

 "The man who now allows his bees to rear 

 thousands of useless drones is but one very 

 short step in advance of the man who keeps 

 his bees in box hives." — Editor.] 



Observations on Bees f r e q u e n 1 1 y 



Queens and swarm out at seasona- 



Swarming. ble and unseasonable 



times, leaving behind 

 scant preparations for another queen and 

 under conditions which baffle the beekeeper 

 for a logical explanation. Altho comments 

 on this have been rife, but little light has 

 been thrown on the mystery. 



During the past summer, in an observa- 



tory hive, the activity of a queen was not- 

 ed, whose actions indicated that an explana- 

 tion of unseasonable swarms may have been 

 found. This queen was restricted for room, 

 and in wandering over the comb looking for 

 new cells in which to lay she frequently 

 reared the entrance of the hive. At such 

 times the bees would be much interested in 

 her, following her about and becoming very 

 active when she came too near the entrance. 

 Then a flutter of the wings would start 

 among the bees nearest t.o her, who would 

 run about on the combs. The wing flutter- 

 ing would pass to every bee in the hive, 

 much as grain waves in ripples cross a field 

 in the wind. At such times the queen would 

 also become excited and move rapi<lly, seem- 

 ingly returning to the interior of the hive 

 only because of the activity of the bees in 

 her path near the entrance. 



It appears that a queen might frequently 

 lead off a swarm out of season, when she 

 was restricted for room within the cluster, 

 even when other room was available. The 

 queen was never seen to lay outside the 

 cluster. The anxiety of the bees as the 

 queen neared the entrance was marked. 

 Might she not at such times gain the en- 

 trance by mistake and lead off a swarm in 

 the ensuing excitement? 



Watertown, Wis. Kennith Hawkins. 



A Good When mention was 



Inexpensive made of a hive scale 



Hive Scale. it brought forth only 



a smile and sometimes 

 a remark, "Why don't you trap-nest them? 

 or are you going to leg-band each bee?" 

 However, with such encouragement, I could 

 not give up the idea of a hive scale. No 

 other source of information seemed so re- 

 liable, helpful, constantly available, and 



Showii]',' a liultoin l:oar(l u.si'd as a scak' iilatfonn, 



and tlu' frHine beneath tliis from whidi is Iuuik iron 



rods connecting with a spring. 



