b'HBRUARV. 1921. 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



163 



be poured (never scraping down the sides 

 after beginning to pour) into paper or wood- 

 en pie-plates, wliich must not be disturbed 

 or moved at all till the candy has hardened. 

 Paper pie-plates are just about right, and 

 hold about three pounds. One of these, when 

 cold, can be placed on top of the brood- 

 frames upside down, being sure to place 

 small sticks beneath the inverted plate of 

 candy and so provide a good bee-space be- 

 tween it and the top of the frames. 



MOISTURE IN HIVES IN WINTER. 



Question. — Will you please tell me why my bees 

 "sweat" during the winter? Jim Knowlden. 



Arkansas. 



Answer. — This ' ' sweating ' ' is from the 

 moisture given off by the bees, which in the 

 winter time condenses on the cover and 

 sides of the hive, because the walls of the 

 hive are cool enough to cause condensation. 

 For every pound of honey the bees consume 

 they give off nearly two-thirds of a pint 

 of water, which is given off in the form 

 of vapor and remains in the air surrounding 

 the bees in this form until the air is chilled 

 to the ' ' dew-point ' ' when the vapor con- 

 denses and becomes visible as small drops 

 of water. Condensation of moisture within 

 the hives can be greatly reduced or en- 

 tirely prevented by packing the hives well 

 for winter, thus preventing the walls of the 

 hives from becoming cold enough to con- 

 dense the moisture. In this case, the mois- 

 . ture leaves the hive in the form of vapor 

 thru the entrance or thru the packing and 

 does not condense until the moisture-laden 

 air comes in contact with cooler air or cooler 

 material outside the winter-chamber. 



TRANSFERRING FROM BOX HIVES. 



Question. — I bought four colonies of bees in old- 

 fashioned hives whose tops are securely nailed 

 down. Would it be practical to bore the top of 

 these hives full of holes and place the new hives 

 with full sheets of foundation on top to transfer 

 the bees? Verlin Hopkins. 



Indiana. 



Answer. — Yes, you can transfer in this 

 way; but it will be better to tear off the 

 top of the old hives entirely, and also to 

 use at least one empty comb in the new 

 hive instead of only frames of foundation. 

 This one empty comb should be an old 

 brood-comb in which brood has been reared 

 previously. This old comb will be more at- 

 tractive for the queen and will induce her 

 to enter the new hive and begin to lay 

 there much earlier than when only founda- 

 tion is used. If the box hive is too tall, the 

 queen may not go into the new hive even 

 when the top is entirely removed, and the 

 colony may become crowded and swarm 

 without beginning work above. In this ease, 

 the box hive may be laid on its side, care 

 being taken that the combs are vertical in 

 their new position. The upper side of the hive 

 should then be removed and the open end 

 closed except an opening large enough for 

 an entrance. Now set the new hive on top 

 and close all openings between the two hives 

 with boards or lath. If extracted honey is 



to be produced, the old hive may be left be- 

 low until the close of the season, if desired, 

 when it should be free from honey and 

 brood. If comb honey is to be produced the 

 new hive should be set off when the main 

 honey flow begins and placed on the old 

 stand, the old hive being moved to one side 

 of its former location. As soon as the worker 

 brood has all emerged in the old hive, which 

 will be three weeks after the queen went up- 

 stairs, the bees may all be driven out of the 

 old hive and united with those in the new 

 hive. To transfer successfully by this meth- 

 od, it is important that the colonies be 

 strong enough previous to the main honey 

 flow to cause them to occupy the new hive 

 before the honey flow actually begins. 



TO PREVENT SVRUP FROM GRANUL.\TING. 



Questions. — (1) Please tell me what is used to 

 keep sugar syrup from granulating when fed for 

 winter stores? (2) Can bees be fed here in mid- 

 winter on sugar syrup? Ed. Busby. 



Florida. 



Answers. — (1) About a teaspoonful of 

 tartaric acid to every 15 to 20 pounds of 

 sugar used in making the syrup will retard 

 crystallization. The acid should be added 

 while the syrup is hot, since its action on 

 the sugar" is more rapid when heat is ap- 

 plied. It is not necessary to use acid except 

 when the syrup is made quite heavy and 

 fed so late that the bees are not able to 

 modify the syrup to any extent as they store 

 it. (2) Yes, bees can be fed sugar syrup in 

 midwinter in Florida or even much farther 

 north, if necessary, if a warm day is selected 

 for the feeding, if the syrup is fed while 

 quite warm, and if the feeder full of warm 

 syrup is placed just above the cluster to 

 induce the bees to take the syrup readily. 



FOUL BROOD IN THE SPRING. 



Question. — I lost two colonies by American foul 

 brood late in the fall, and have one extra strong 

 colony which made a surplus of 80 pounds last 

 season. How early in the spring may I determine 

 if they also have the disease and how may I tell 

 if disease is pre.sent? Lou Kempe,r. 



Indiana. 



Answer. — ^You can tell whether Ameri- 

 can foul brood is present by examining the 

 brood in April or May. If the colony is still 

 extra strong when the bees begin to work in 

 early spring it will be well to leave them 

 aloiie until fruit bloom before making an 

 examination, to be sUre that no robbing will 

 be started when you open the hive. Look 

 carefully at the cappings of the sealed brood 

 for this' disease, and if you notice any that 

 are discolored, sunken, or perforated, open 

 these cells to see if the pupae are dead. By 

 reading carefully the description of the ap- 

 pearance of the dead pupae or larvae in 

 American foul brood as given in the books 

 and bulletins, you can probably tell whether 

 any you find are dead from this cause. As the 

 disease advances, you can see the dried-down 

 scales on the lower side of the cells, by hold- 

 ing the comb in a certain position and look- 

 ing closely. These scales are the remains of 

 the dead pupae or larvae which are not com- 

 pletely removed by the bees. 



