G L E A X I .\ G S IX BEE CULT V R E 



.IrxK. 19-21 



[S 



TALKS TO 



Geo. S 



THE proper 

 111 ii n a g e- 

 ment of the 

 bees during the 

 active season 

 depends so much 

 upon the sources 

 of nectar in the 

 particular loca- 

 tion that the 



beginner cannot manage his colonies intel- 

 ligently unless he first learns when the 

 honey flow may be expected. By consult- 

 ing an experienced beekeeper of his neigh- 

 borhood he may be able to obtain much 

 valuable information concerning the chief 

 honey plants of the locality and their time 

 of blooming. He should also study care- 

 fully the list of honey plants mentioned in 

 the standard books on beekeeping, for he 

 should become acquainted with all of the 

 more important honey plants of his local- 

 ity and should know their relative import- 

 ance as yieldcrs of nectar. He will then be 

 able to note the abundance of these plants 

 this season and can watch their period of 

 bloom to guide him in his management. 



In some parts of the South the swarming 

 season is already past and in many cases 

 the early honey flow has already closed. 

 Some localities in the South furnish later 

 honey flows from which a surplus of honey 

 may be expected. In fact, in many locali- 

 ties there may be a succession of honey 

 flows from difl'erent sources, sometimes with 

 an interval of a dearth of nectar between 

 the honey flows; while in other localities 

 these gaps may be closed, so the honey flow 

 is continuous during a long period of time 

 if conditions are favorable. In such cases 

 the parent colony, as well as the swarm ("see 

 page 299, May issue), may be ready to store 

 surplus honey during a later honey flow, and 

 a super should be given to the parent colony 

 as soon as it again becomes strong enough 

 to need it, provided, of course, nectar is be- 

 ing gathered freely at that time. 



In the North where swarming can usually 

 be held back until the midst of the honey 

 flow, the beginning of the main honey flow 

 from white and alsike clover, which usually 

 begins to yield some time in June, the par- 

 ent hive usually does not need a super this 

 season, for having been robbed of its field 

 workeis, which were added to the swarm as 

 described last month, it usually recovers its 

 strength too late to do much in the supers, 

 unless the honey flow is unusually long. 

 Sometimes, however, even in the North, 

 these parent colonies will need supers three 

 or four weeks after the swarm issued, if 

 the honey flow continues. 

 Discouraging Swarming During Honey Flow- 

 In the North the beekeeper who has been 

 able to coax his colonies thru the month of 

 May without swarming, and also without 

 running short of stores, has thus far man- 

 aged well. By good management from now 

 on he may be able to induce them to work 



BEGINNERS 



Demuth 



1 



ahoail full speed 

 thru the season 

 without swarm- 

 i n g in many 

 cases, even when 

 producing comb 

 honey. This is 

 done largely 

 thru the man- 

 agement of the 

 supers and keeping the colony comfortable. 

 As soon as the honey flow begins, and some- 

 times even before, if the colonies are 

 strong, the entrance should be opened to 

 full size making it seven-eighths of an inch 

 deep by the full width of the hive, and a 

 wide shade board should be put on top of 

 the hive to protect the supers from the di- 

 rect rays of the sun. This board should rest 

 upon cleats to form air space between itself 

 and the cover and should project beyond 

 the south side. 



The first super should be given to each 

 colony before the honey flow really begins. 

 For extracted honey it should be given 

 sometimes two or three weeks before the 

 honey flow, but for comb honey it is usually 

 given in the clover region about the time of 

 the appearance of the first white clover blos- 

 soms in any great numbers. If weather 

 conditions are favorable for nectar secre- 

 tion from the clovers, the bees will prob- 

 ably be working in the first su]ier thruout 

 the Xfifth Avhen this journal is mailed. 

 Tiering Up the Supers. 

 One of the most difiicult problems for the 

 beginner is the giving of additional supers 

 during the honey flow at the right time 

 and in the right place. Some seasons a 

 single super will hold the entire surplus of 

 honey and when this is the case it is bet- 

 ter if no others are given. During other 

 seasons it may require several supers to 

 furnish room enough to hold all the surplus 

 the bees can store during the season, and if 

 they are not added as fast as needed, a 

 large portion of the crop may be lost from 

 want of room to contain it. Some seasons 

 tlie honey may be stored so slowly that it 

 ii'ay take the bees a month to fill one 

 .sujier, while during other seasons they may 

 fill n super within a week, or even less. 

 There is also a great difference between colo- 

 nies of (liffeient strength. Even during a 

 r;i]iid honey flow it may take a weak colony 

 a month to fill a super, while a strong col- 

 ony can fill it within a week. 



When the honey flow is slow or when the 

 colony is weak, the bees usually begin work 

 in the middle of the super, neglecting the 

 outside portions. In comb honey supers, 

 they may begin on a half dozen sections in 

 the middle of the super, leaving the founda- 

 tion untouched in the outside sections. 

 Sometimes they even seal the sections of 

 honey in the middle of the super before 

 drawing out the foundation in the sections 

 at the sides. In supers containing extract- 

 ing combs they may begin on a few of the 



