G li E A N I N G S IN REE CULTURE 



NOVKMUER, 1920 



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INTRODUCTION BY FASTING 



Two More Beekeepers Discuss Problems of This 

 Way of Introducing 



Mr. Carr 's article on the fasting method 

 of introduction took notice of the difficulty 

 in transferring the queen from the "travel- 

 ing" to the ''starvation" cage. 



The writer has used a device which obvi- 

 ates tliis difficulty, and he has pleasure in 

 jtassing on the idea. As it enables the 

 (lueen to be transferred without fingering 

 by the beekeeper, it may prove of some use 

 to the nervous or inexperienced by facili- 

 tating this operation. 



Take an empty common match-box and 

 prepare it as follows: Slide out the inner 

 section, and with a sharp knife cut part of 

 the bottom out, having a margin all around 

 of about 1/4 inch. Get a small i)iece of 

 window glass cut to fit snugly inside of the 

 bottom and put in and secure there with a 

 few drops of melted wax. Take the outer 

 section of the box and cut a corresponding 

 hole in one side, and when the box is put 

 together the article is ready for use. 



To use: Open the traveling cage before 

 a closed window, and when the queen is 

 crawling up the glass place the starvation 

 cage (well opened) over her and when she 

 ]'uns up, as will be seen thru the glass, close 

 the cage and leave her to be starved as long 

 as thought necessary. 



The introduction of the queen takes place 

 thru the feed hole in the hive cover, or 

 cloth quilt if used. A puff of smoke being 

 blown into the hole, the starvation cage is 

 placed in position over it and the outer 

 part slipped off. If the queen does not go 

 down at once, the glass-bottomed part can 

 be left covered up and removed later at 

 convenience. Archibald Fergusson. 



Strachur, Scotland. 



* 4f- * 



I noticed with much interest an article 

 in the August is.sue of Gleanings, entitled 

 "Introducing by Fasting." The plan out- 

 lined appealed to me as one having merit, 

 and I at once gave it a try-out. So far, I 

 have not had a single failure, and in two 

 cases tlie colonies had fertile workers. It 

 .seenis to me if it works with .the fertile 

 workcis it would work anywhere; but, of 

 course, 1 have not had time to give the 

 plan a very extended trial under all con- 

 ditions. The point I want to get at now 

 is just how much star\ing a queen will 

 stand without injury. 



The writer of the article, I y)elievc, stat- 

 ed 45 minutes as being sufficient time for 

 a queen just taken from a nucleus, and an 

 liour for a queen that had been caged for 

 any length of tiiiu^ to be reduced by star- 

 Nation to a state in which slu' would "he 



liave herself." Now, in no case liaxc I 

 been able to get a laying (|U(mmi to that 

 state in one hour — usually it is consider- 

 ably longer. 



I took some young queens that had been 

 laying about three weeks to an out-apiary 

 in Benton mailing cages for convenience in 

 handling. I had them caged only one and 

 a half days, and it required nearly two 

 hours in every case. I don't know but 

 til at may have been too long a time, but 

 the queens were as spry as crickets and 

 were too wild to be put in a minute sooner. 

 So far, I can notice no ill effects; but, of 

 course, sufficient time has not passed to tell 

 if they suffered any injury by so long a 

 period of fasting. While I like the plan, 

 I think it quite probable it nuiy call for 

 considerable skill on the apiarist's part in 

 judging just when the queen has had all she 

 can reasonably stand without impairing her 

 usefulness. On the other hand, queens may 

 stand considerable starvation without in- 

 jury. I \lon 't know and would like to hear 

 from someone who has had experience. 



Mr Carr also stated that he had no plan 

 for transferring the queen alone safely and 

 easily to the fasting cage. 



For some time back I have never intro- 

 duced a queen in the mailing cage with the 

 attendant bees; so I evolved a plan to sep- 

 arate the bees and queen, as I generally use 

 a "Jay Smith" push-in-the-comb cage, or 

 a Miller-Thompson cage, with the queen by 

 herself and with candy I know to be pure. 

 I believe the candy used in mailing cages 

 to be as a rule free from disease, but I 

 don't feel like taking any chances, so I 

 burn the mailing cages the first thing. 



My plan is to make a small cage or box 

 into which a mailing cage will slip end- 

 wise. This may be done by taking three 

 strips a little wider than the cage and nail- 

 ing them together like the sides of a push- 

 in - the - comb cage, having one end open. 

 Wire screen will do for the back, but the 

 face is made of a piece of zinc queen-ex- 

 cluder. To use the fasting cage, remove 

 the tacks from the wire cloth on the mail- 

 ing cage, being very careful to hold the 

 wire cloth in place so the queen does not 

 escape. Slip the mailing cage into the 

 other cage, open side to the excluder, rais- 

 ing the wire screen as the cage enters. 

 When the cage with the queen and bees is 

 inside the other cage it has a queen-ex- 

 cluder face instead of screen, thru which 

 the bees readily pass leaving the queen. 

 Sometimes the bees are reluctant to leave 

 the (|ueen, but this can be readily overcome. 

 The above plan has worked well for me and 

 has advantages over the method of letting 

 the queen "crawl up a window." 



i;i (!ajou, Calif. Ceo. B. Dickerson. 



