May. 1921 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTUBF 



295 



QUEEN TRAPS FOR SWARM CONTROL. 



Question. — If I use a queen trap, then kill the 

 old queen when a swarm issues, letting the bees go 

 back into the old hive, would they stay or would 

 theij- come out again ? C. E. Laflin. 



Illinois. 



Answer. — They would st;i_v until after the 

 first youug queen enterges, when they would 

 again attempt to swarm, this usually being 

 about eight days after the first swarm is- 

 sued. If you destroy all but one of the 

 queen-fclls about seven days after the first 

 swarm issued, tliere usually is no further 

 attempt to swarm; but occasionally even 

 when this is done, the colony may swarm, 

 tlio this does not often happen. If the 

 queen trap is left on and swarms are per- 

 mitted to issue when the young queens be 

 gin to emerge, the trap will catch the 

 young queen each time and the swarm will 

 return unless it should unite with another 

 swarm liaving a qu&en which happened to 

 be out at the same time; but the colony may 

 attempt to swarm day after day until there 

 is but one young queen left within the hive. 

 At this time the queen trap should be re 

 moved to permit the remaining young queen 

 to mate. This method for swarm control is 

 not to be recommended, for while the bees 

 are attempting to swarm every day they 

 usually do very little work. 



LKAVINQ UNSEALED BROOD WITH ARTIFICIALLY 

 MADE SWARMS. 



Question. — If I leave the old queen with four 

 frames containing the most larvae and eggs on 

 the old stand, first shaking these four oombs 

 nearly clean of bees, then move the old hive to a 

 new stand, would the colony on the old stand swarm 

 if cells are left or would the half-empty hive dis 

 courage them ? In the parent colony which was 

 moved away would the first young queen out de 

 stroy the rest of the queen-cells 1 Leon Staflford. 



New York. 



Answer. — If queen cells have already been 

 started in the four combs of brood left in the 

 hive on the old stand, the bees, in most 

 cases, will finish them and swarm on schedule 

 time, in spite of the empty space in the 

 brood-chamber. Even if all of the queen- 

 cells are destroyed ow these four combs, 

 the bees may immediately start other cells 

 and swarm later when as many as four 

 combs of brood are left, if the tendency to 

 swarm is strong. If no queen-cells are left 

 and these four combs are taken away three 

 or four days after the colony is treated as 

 you describe, the colony should not swarm 

 during ordinary seasons. In this event the 

 brood-chamber should be filled out with 

 either empty combs or frames of founda- 

 tion at the time of treatment, and when 

 the remaining four combs of brood are re- 

 moved later the space thus made vacant 

 should again be filled. For comb honey, 

 frames containing full sheets of foundation 

 are preferable for this, but for extracted 

 honey either frames of foundation or empty 

 combs may be used. 



The parent colony which was moved 

 away is, of course, depleted by its field bees 

 returning to the old stand, and, if the 



young queens are ready to emerge at the 

 time the hive is moved away, this colony 

 win usually give up swarming and permit 

 the first young queen that emerges to de- 

 stroy the other queen-cells; but if the first 

 young queen does not emerge until several 

 days after the hive was moved away, so 

 many young bees will have emerged that 

 the colony is almost sure to swarm. 



PUTTING PACKAGB BEES INTO HIVES. 



Question. — When my two-pound packages of 

 bees arrive, how shall I proceed to put them into 

 the hives ? Shall T give them drawn combs or 

 foundation ? Theodore C. Goetz. 



Connecticut, 



Answer. — Before the bees arrive the hives 

 should be prepared to receive them, each 

 located where it is to stand permanently, 

 .and each one supplied with as many drawn 

 combs as there are pounds of bees in each 

 of the packages. If drawn combs can not 

 be had, full sheets of foundation may be 

 used. 



When the bees arrive they should be kept 

 in a cool place until late in the afternoon. 

 If they were shipped in the new-style cages, 

 which have a frame containing foundation 

 and the feeders, set them close beside the 

 hive and blow a little smoke over the wire- 

 cloth top to drive the bees down. Now re- 

 remove the cove.r carefully. Take out the 

 stays that hold the brood-frame in place. 

 Then lift the frame out and place it with 

 the feeder in the hive next to one side, and 

 shove the other frames up to it. Be sure 

 that the queen is on this fr^me with the 

 bees. What bees are ©n the sides of the 

 shipping-cage should be shaken out on the 

 ground close in tront of the hive. They 

 will join the other bees in a few minutes, 

 and what few take wing when the shipping- 

 cage is first ojiened will go in with them. 

 Two or three days later the feeder should 

 be taken out of the frame. If the bees are 

 shipped in the old-style cages, they should 

 be fed a thin syrup thru the wire cloth as 

 soon as they arrive. To make this, mix 

 sugar and water, two parts of sugar to one 

 of water, and stir it till dissolved. Moisten 

 a sponge or a piece of cotton with the syrup 

 and paint the surface of the wire cloth with 

 the syrup. Keep feeding in this way aa 

 long as the bees will take it. To put them 

 into the hives shove the frames to one side 

 of the hive and place the package of bees 

 beside the frames. Then pry off the lid from 

 the package. Tlie bees will leave the cage 

 and take possession of the frames in a short 

 time. This should be done toward night, 

 not during the middle hours of the day, as 

 they might swarm out. As a further pre- 

 caution, a piece of perforated zinc should 

 be put over the entrance for a few days. 

 A brood-frame filled with honey given to 

 them when they are first made up is the 

 best feed that they can have. If you do not 

 have this they should be given about a tea- 

 cupful of syrup daily until there is the 

 equivalent of one full frame stored ahead. 



