i94 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTL'KE 



Q 



[s 



GLEANED BY ASKING 



Editors 



U E S T I O N 



— B e i n K 



away from 



the apiarj' 

 at the time the 

 swarm issues, how 

 can I tell accurate 

 ly which colony the 

 iwarm came from ' 

 J. T. Wilson 

 Kentucky. 



Answer.^ — You may be able to tell by 

 noting the bees at the entrances of the 

 hives. A colony which has just cast a swarm 

 usually has but few bees going to and from 

 the hiVe and not so many bees around the 

 entrance. If you can not tell this way, you 

 should be able to find the colony that has 

 just swarmed by looking into the supers, for 

 they are usually somewhat deserted after 

 the swarm issues. When you find the col- 

 ony which you think has swarmed, open the 

 the hive and look fo-r queen-cells. Sealed 

 queen-cells, together with a greatly reduced 

 number of workers, are usually sufficient 

 evidence that the colony has swarmed. 



PRODUCING COMB HONEY ON TWO-STOBY HIVES. 



Question. — Should I put the comb-honey super 

 on top of my two-story hivp or should I take off 

 the upper story first? Arthur Newcomer. 



Pennsylvania. 



Answer. — It will be much better to re- 

 duce the hive to a single story before giy 

 ing the comb-honey supers, since if this is 

 not done the bees do not begin work in the 

 comb-honey supers promptly; and, unless 

 the honey "flow is good, they may refuse to 

 work in them at all, but crowd the honey 

 into the two brood-chambers. When reduc 

 ing the hive to a single story, the combs 

 should be sorted, and most of the brood 

 put into the brood-chamber that is left. The 

 other hive-body, which contains some brood 

 and honey, should be placed on top of some 

 weaker colony not used for comb-honey pro 

 duction, first shaking inost of the bees from 

 the combs, shaking them back into their 

 own hive. 



PEBVKNTIOM OV INOKKASE. 



Question. — Could I double up swarms, new and 

 old, to prevent increase! 'Should cutting out queen, 

 cells stop swarming, or does this endanger the col 

 ony's becoming queenless ? A. 0. Stindt. 



Minnesota. 



Answer. — Yes. Hive the swarm in a new 

 hive on the old stand, as described in 

 "Talks to Beginners" in this issue; then, 

 instead of moving the hive to a new loca- 

 tion a week later as there described, set it 

 on the other side of the awarm, turning 

 its entrance away from that of the swarm 

 at first, to prevent the returning bees of 

 the parent colony from finding their hive 

 after ir has been moved, thus compelling 

 them to unite with the. swarm. Later, turn 

 the entrance of the parent hive toward that 

 of the swarm so the two hives stand side 

 by side. At the close of the honey flow, 

 take off the supers, spread a sheet of news 

 paper over the brood-chamber of the new 

 hive, punch a few pin holes thru the newspa- 

 per, then set the old brood-chamber (without 



E 



bottom) on top 

 of the new hive. 

 By killing the 

 old queen before 

 this is done, 

 you will decide 

 which queen Ss 

 to remain in- 

 stead of letting 

 the bees decide 



this. This plan should result in splendid 



colonies for winter. 



COMB-HONEY SLU'EKS AM) KDUI. BBOOU. 



Question. — Please tell how to get rid of foul 

 brood in comb-honey supers without destroying the 

 sections and full sheets of foundation in them. Is 

 there any way of fnmigntins? Paul B. Gilbert. 



Ohio. 



Answer. — You do not tell whether you re- 

 fer to American foul brood or to European 

 foul brood. If European foul brood, no 

 treatment is necessary, these supers prob- 

 ably being as safe to use again as tho they 

 had not been used before. If you refer to 

 American foul brood, there is no practical 

 way known to kill the spores of this dis- 

 ease by fumigation. If the comb-honey 

 supers do not contain any honey, the dan- 

 ger of transmitting American foul brood 

 by using them again is probably not very 

 great, if they are scraped clean and have 

 not been daubed with honey from the dis 

 eased colony; but, if combs have been bui't 

 and honey stored in some of the sections, 

 it will not be safe to use these. 



SHALLOW KNTRACTING SUPER ABOVE SECTIONS. 



Question. — How will it work in comb-honey pro 

 duction to use a shallow extracting super over the 

 brood-chamber ; then when the time comes to put 

 on sections, set the shallow extracting super over 

 the sections, with a queen-e.xcluder between the 

 shallow super and the sections ; and when all the 

 brood has emerged in the shallow super, move it 

 hack on top of the brood-chamber? 



North Carolina. Douglass Laughlin. 



Answer. — This should work well, so far 

 as a prompt beginning of work in the sec- 

 tions is concerned, especially if the shallow 

 extracting super is well filled with honey 

 and brood at the time the comb-honey super 

 is given; but, if left on long, the bees will 

 use some of the dark wax from the brood 

 eombs in the shallow super in building comb 

 in the sections. They also soil the sections 

 badly within a short time when brood is 

 placed above them. For this reason it is 

 better to take off these extracting supers, 

 either at the time the comb-honey supers 

 are given or a few days later, and tier 

 them up on top of some weaker colonies not 

 being used for comb honey. They can then 

 be given back to the colonies after the 

 comb-honey supers are removed. When one 

 of these shallow extracting supers filled with 

 sealed honey of good quality is given to 

 each colony at the close of the season, good 

 colonies for winter are practically insured 

 in all colonies that are normal and have a 

 good queen. 



