492 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



AuauST, 1921 



mine if possible what the correlation is of 

 these two factors. 



As the greenhouses shut out all winds, 

 and the moisture on the soil is regulated and 

 always ample, no comparison with outside 

 conditions is possible here. 

 Low Night Temperatures Favor Elaboration 

 of Sugar. 



Mr. Kenoyer's conclusions are that low 

 temperatures favor the accumulation of 

 sugars in the stems and tissues of the base 

 of the blossoms, while high temperatures 

 favor the secretion of the accumulated 



sugar. It is interesting to note, that one 

 set of greenhouses were at first heated con- 

 siderably higher than the houses of the re- 

 maining growers; and so long as this condi- 

 tion prevailed, that particular grower got 

 much poorer activity from his bees under 

 glass, and consequently "kicked" vigor- 

 ously at first! When his attention was called 

 to the fact, the high night temperature was 

 lowered somewhat, after which the bees 

 worked better, and the nectar showed more 

 abundantly in the blossoms. 

 Ashtabula, Ohio. 



THE term 

 " d i a g n s- 

 ing, ' ' when 

 used in bee cul- 

 ture, applies to 

 a method or 

 methods of de- 

 termining the 

 internal condi- 

 tion of a colony 

 from surface indications, mainly at the en- 

 trance, and without opening the hive. In the 

 height of the honey flow, expert beekeepers, 

 when rushed with their work, can tell pretty 

 accurately what colonies in the yard are or 

 will be needing attention by a glance at 

 the hive. The knowledge of how to do this 

 enables the expert to administer treatment 

 at once to colonies that would be likely to 

 swarm, or which might otherwise begin to 

 loaf for the simple reason that they have 

 no storage space available. 



To go thru every hive, comb by comb, 

 in the height of the season would be im- 

 possible; and so the expert beekeeper picks 

 out by surface indications first those colo- 

 nies that need attention at one or more of 

 his yards, then, later on, takes care of those 

 that are in no urgent need of care. 



To Determine Whether a Colony Needs 

 Hoom. 



Now then for the "know how." The 

 most reliable indication of what a colony 

 is doing or will do is the flight of the bees 

 going in and out of the hive. If one col- 

 ony, for example, has its bees pouring in 

 at the entrance by the score, and coming 

 out in the same way, and another one right 

 by the side of it has only one-half or one- 

 fourth as many going in and out, it is 

 evident that the first mentioned is very 

 strong and will shortly need room, even if 

 it does not already. The last-mentioned 

 colony may have a poor queen. It may have 

 had poor food during the winter, or insuf- 

 ficient protection. As a natural consequence 

 it will probably have only about one-half 

 or one-fourth as many flying bees. It will 

 not need more room, and for the time being 

 can be allowed to take care of itself. The 

 other colony, with its busy rush of bees 



DIAGNOSING COLONIES 



Some Outside Indications of Inter- 

 nal Conditions. Reading Condi- 

 tions by a Glance at Entrances 



By E. R" Root 



going in and 

 out, should be 

 opened up. If 

 it has little 

 spurs of wax 

 built along the 

 top edges of the 

 comb, if it is 

 full of brood, 

 and if, further, 

 cramped, another 

 In five minutes ' 



storage space is being 

 super should be added, 

 time one can go thru 100 colonies, laying a 

 stick, block, or a small stone as a distin- 

 guishing mark on top of the strong fliers 

 and heavy hives. All others he will ignore 

 for the time being. He and his men will 

 then proceed to examine the indicated colo- 

 nies first. Later on, when he has more 

 time, he can take care of those that are 

 not flying strong. 



At this point the beginner, at least, should 

 make a careful distinction between the 

 playflights of young bees and bees that are 

 rushing to and from the fields. In the case 

 of the former the bees will be seen flying 

 nervously around the entrance, some going 

 in and some flying aimlessly around in the 

 air for several minutes near the front of the 

 hive. When busy at work going to the fields 

 they will fly from the entrance directly 

 to some distant point, as soon as they rise 

 above surrounding objects. In the same 

 way they will come in from the field going 

 directly into the entrance, or perhaps drop- 

 ping on the alighting-board or ground near 

 by if heavily laden. 



Neither must the beginner be confused 

 by a case of robbing and bees actually at 

 work in the fields. When the colony is be- 

 ing robbed out, only one hive, or at most 

 two or three, in the apiary will be involved. 

 The sound of robbing is quite different from 

 the sound of actual workers. In robbing, 

 the bees stealthily dodge in at the entrance 

 as if they expected to be grabbed by the 

 defenders of the home. Eeal busy honest 

 workers going to and from the fields show 

 no such dodging or nervousness. 



How to Detect Inclination to Swarm. 



Another surface indication of swarming 



