Maecii, 1921 



G I, E A N I \ G S IX B K E C U E T U H E 



reducing to iioinial when tlie lioiiey flow be 

 gins, thus approximating tlie methods which 

 prove so successful in extracted-honey pro- 

 duction. 



Langstroth Depth for Comb Honey. 



Whatever the defects in the standard 

 Langstroth hive, as now made, for extract- 

 ed-honey production there is a general 

 agreement among comb-honey producers 

 that this hive is well adapted for comb- 

 honey production. It was originally designed 

 by Langstroth as a box-honey hive and 

 most of the improvements that have been 

 made since have been to perfect it as a 

 comb-honey hive. 



If combs shallower than the Langstroth 

 are used, the bees usually build up less rap- 

 idly in the spring, and in some locations 

 shallower combs result in considerable pol- 

 len being stored in the sections. If combs 

 much deeper than the Langstroth are used, 

 it is more difficult to induce brood-rearing 

 to the top-bar, thus resulting in the objec- 

 tionable rim of honey in the upper portion 

 of the brood-chamber. 



Two-Story 8-frame Hives. 



Many comb-honey producers who have an 

 equipment of 8-frame hives use two stories 

 previous to the honey flow, to provide suf-. 

 ficient room for extra stores and brood-rear- 

 ing, permitting the queen the free range of 

 both stories. When the honey flow begins 

 these are reduced to a single story by taking 

 away most of the honey and leaving most of 

 the brood. At the same time two comb-honey 

 supers are usually given so that the total 

 hive capacity is not reduced. The combs 

 that were removed (which may contain con- 

 siderable honey and brood) are then given 

 to other colonies, which need not be strong 

 and which are not used for comb-honey pro- 

 duction, where they are to be refilled with 

 honey as the brood emerges, then put back 

 upon the hives again after the comb honey 

 supers have been removed at the close of 

 the season. The hive-bodies containing the 

 combs that were removed may be piled six 

 or seven high on top of weaker colonies. 

 These "piles" soon become powerful colonies 

 because of the large amount of emerging 

 brood. While this involves considerable labor 

 it puts the colonies in excellent condition to 

 begin work immediately in the comb-honey 

 supers. 



It is open to the objection that the 16 

 combs must be sorted, and it is sometimes 

 necessary in this sorting to leave some of the 

 combs which have a rim of sealed honey 

 in the upper portion, these being combs 

 from the upper hive-body. The plan is an 

 excellent one, however, and may be used 

 even with the 10-frame hive. 



Separate Chamber for Honey. 



To bring about similar results with less 

 labor some comb-honey producers who use 

 the 10-frame hive have provided a shallow 

 extracting super for each colony. The shal- 

 low extracting supers contain the extra 



stores needed for safety 'during the spring, 

 thus permitting the standard brood-chamber 

 to be used almost entirely for brood. They 

 are taken off at the beginning of the honey 

 flow when the comb-honey supers are given. 

 In this way, the objectionable barrier of 

 honey at the top. of the hive is removed; and 

 the comb-honey supers are placed down ad- 

 jacent to the brood, which is a great advan- 

 tage in stimulating the bees to expand their 

 work into the supers and in reducing the 

 tendency to swarm. This principle has been 

 recommended by several extensive beekeep- 

 ers even when extracted honey is being pro- 

 duced. 



If the combs in the brood-chamber are 

 uniformly good, having all-worker cells to 

 the top-bar and only the few drone-eells 

 usually present in the lower corners, 10 

 standard frames will hold nearly all the 

 brood that a prolific queen is able to pro- 

 duce under the most favorable conditions, 

 since they are practically free from honey 

 and the brood extends to the top-bars. These 

 food chambers can not well be tiered up 

 above the comb-honey supers and left on the 

 hives during the season, as in extracted- 

 honey production, on account of the dark- 

 ened cappings of the honey in the sections 

 when brood-combs are placed above them. 

 They must be taken off and tiered up on 

 weak colonies which are not being used for 

 comb-honey production, for thev should be 

 refilled with honey as the small amount of 

 brood which they usually contain emerges. 

 After they have been filled with honey these 

 food chambers are ready to be given back 

 to the colonies when the crop of comb honey 

 has been removed from the hives. 



The extra stores provided by either of 

 these plans apparently stimulate the bees 

 to rear a large amount of brood during the 

 spring, usually resulting in at least one 

 standard brood-chamber being well filled 

 with brood at the beginning of the honey 

 flow and colonies so strong that they begin 

 work in the supers with a rush. 



Thus by using a separate chamber for 

 honey and a brood-chamber slightly smaller 

 than the capacity of good queens, the safety 

 of the colonies, so far as stores are con- 

 cerned, is insured without laborious and ex- 

 pensive feeding which is too often not done 

 when most needed; and, at the same time, 

 the objectionable rim of honey at the top 

 of the hive can be lifted off and the comb- 

 honey supers placed upon a brood-chamber 

 almost full of brood and practically free 

 from honey. 



Where honey granulates readily the large 

 surplus of stores may sometimes be objec- 

 tionable, but where honey granulates read- 

 ily comb-honey production is not advisable 

 anyway. Colonies so provisioned are usually 

 built up so strong in the spring that most 

 of the extra honey may be used up and the 

 combs in the food chamber refilled with 

 honey from early sources. 



