228 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CUI-TURE 



Q 



UK ST I ON. — 

 Will there be 

 any harm in 

 giving my 

 bees combs of hon- 

 ey that have mnuUl 

 on them ? 



S. A. Sears. 

 California. 

 Answer. ■ — A 

 little mould on 



the surface of the combs does not necessar- 

 ily injure honey or render it unfit for the 

 bees. A strong colony will quickly clean up 

 a comb that is badly moulded, apparently 

 without harm to the bees. 



HOW MANY COLONIKS NEEDED FOR ORCHARD .? 



Question. — How many colonies of bee.s are re- 

 (luired per acre of ten-year-nld apple trees to in- 

 sure proper cross-pollination of the fruit? 



Washington. -T- C. Hughes. 



Answer. — Probably one or two good colo- 

 nies per acre will be sufficient under favor- 

 able weather conditions; but, in the eastern 

 portion of the country where rainy weather 

 often interferes with the work of the boes, 

 at the time of fruit bloom, a greater nuinber 

 of colonies would be needed. At such times 

 the bees may not work very far from their 

 hives, and it would be necessary in the case 

 of a large acreage to have the colonies scat- 

 tered thruout the orchard to insure proper 

 cross-pollination. 



RESISTANCE OF SPORES OF AilERICAN FOUL BROOD. 



Question. — Does any authority know how much 

 heat, gasoline, sunshine, rain, or any action of the 

 elements will destroy the spores of American foul 

 brood? Bruce Butler. 



California. 



Answer. — According to "White, U. S. De- 

 partment of Agriculture, Bulletin 809, the 

 spores of American foul brood remain alive 

 and virulent for years in dry remains 

 (scales) of larvae and pupae dead from this 

 disease. They are highly resistant to most of 

 the ordinary destructive agencies. They may 

 be killed when suspended in boiling water 

 (212 degrees F.) for 10 minutes, but they 

 withstand more heat when suspended in 

 honey or honey diluted with water. Spores 

 of American foul brood suspended in honey 

 mav withstand a temperature of 212 degrees 

 F. for a half hour or more under laboratory 

 conditions. For this reason the advice is usn 

 ally given to dilute the honey from colonies 

 having American foul brood and boil it in 

 a closed vessel for a half hour to render it 

 safe to feed to the bees. The tcmiierature 

 of the diluted honey at boiling point is, of 

 course, higher than that of boiling water, 

 which is 212 degrees F. at sea level. 



In his experiments Dr. White found that 

 tliese spores, when dry, were destroyed by 

 the direct rays of the sun in from 28 to 41 

 hours. When suspended in honey and ex- 

 posed to the direct rays of the" sun, they 

 were destroyed in from four to six weeks. 

 When suspended in honey and shielded from 

 direct sunlight they remained alive and 

 virulent for more than a year. The spores 

 were not killed hy fermentation in seven 



.\ITUI-. 1921 



weeks, and they 

 resisted disinfec- 

 tants when used 

 in the ordinary 

 strengths. such 

 as carbolic acid 

 and mercuric 

 chlorid, for long 

 periods of time. 

 Gasoline would 

 be of doulitfui value as a disinfectant for 

 American foul brood. The germs of Euro- 

 pean foul brood are much easier to destroy 

 than the spores of American foul brood. 



INCREASE PREVIOUS TO HONEY FLOW. 



Question.- — -Is there any plan by which I can 

 make two colonics from each of my colonies in the 

 spring and build up lioth to full strength in time 

 for the honey flow from clover? Harry E. t'dd. 



Nebraska. 



Answer. — Since it requires neaily two 

 months for colonies to build uj) to full 

 strength in the spring, there is not enough 

 time to make increase and build up both 

 divisions previous to the honey flow from 

 clover in the North where the main honey 

 flow usually begins in June. Where the main 

 honey flow does not begin until July or 

 August, this can be done if the bees have 

 wintered well, since there is then time for 

 both colonies to build up. In your locality 

 it will be better to make increase at the 

 close of the honey flow or during the latter 

 part of the honey flow. Increase is often 

 made from brood that would emerge too 

 late for the resulting bees to take part in 

 the main honey flow. In this way the honey 

 crop from the main honey flow is not re- 

 duced, as would be the ease if some of the 

 workers that should take part in gathering 

 the honey crop were used to make increase. 



SECOND HIVE-BODY TO PREVENT SWARMING. 



Question. — Is it a good plan to give a second 

 storj tilled with combs at the time of fruit bloom 

 to increase brood-rearing, and then at thei beginning 

 of the honey flow to put the queen into the lower 

 story ? or would it be just as well to run both stories 

 for brood all summer? Would two brood-chambers 

 stop swarmiiig? O. Koi)plin. 



New Mexico. 



Answer. — Yes, this a good iihiu for pro- 

 ducing extracted honey. The time of putting 

 the queen into the lower story and confining 

 her there by means of a queen-excluder will 

 depend upon circumstances, but this is usu- 

 ally done soon after the beginning of the 

 honey flow. Under some conditions after the 

 queen is put down, it is better to put a 

 super of empty extracting combs immedi- 

 ately above the queen-excluder and the for- 

 mer second story on top of the supers. This 

 plan in some locations controls swarming 

 almost completely, but it can not be depend- 

 ed upon to do so in all locations. One objec- 

 tion to permitting the queen to have the run 

 of two stories thruout the season is the ten- 

 dency of abandoning the lower story for 

 brood-rearing later in the season when these 

 combs are usually filled with pollen. Some- 

 times the lower corners of the combs are cut 



