506 



U E S T I O N. 

 — Is anyone 

 so a c c o 111- 

 p 1 i s h e d in 

 in the handling of 

 hees as to be im- 

 mune from stings ? 



Oliver M. Fisher. 

 Illinois. 



G L E A X I X G S IX BEE CULTURE 



c 



GLEANED 



Geo. S. 



BY ASKING 



Demuth 



3 



E 



Answer. — No. 

 The careful oi>eriit()r who inulerstauds the 

 behavior of bees in defense will receive 

 fewer stings than the operator who is 

 nervous or careless, or who is not ac- 

 quainted with bee nature, but no one is im- 

 mune from stings. While apparently the 

 bees are no respecters of persons and will 

 treat all operators alike if the operators 

 behave in the same manner toward them, 

 yet there is a difference in the way they 

 treat different persons which cannot be ex- 

 plained by their actions or dress. Of two 

 careful operators working side by side one 

 may receive twice as many stings as the 

 other during a day's work among the bees. 

 Some think this is due to a difference in the 

 odors emanating from their bodies. 



A\()RK Ol' QIKIIXLKSS COLOXIES. 



Question.- — Do queenless colonies gather honey 

 jnst as freely as (|ueenrisht colonies? 



South Dakota. E. T. Frey. 



Answer. — Usually they do not gather with 

 quite the same energy and sometimes 

 queenless colonies become quite sluggish 

 even during a good honey flow. The differ- 

 ence in the amount of honey stored by a 

 queenless colony an<l a queenriglit colony of 

 the same strength may not be noticeable 

 when producing extracted honey, but it is 

 much more noticeable when producing comb 

 honey. Queenless colonies do not build comb 

 readily and are inclined to store in the 

 brood-chamber instead of in the supers. 



INCREASE AND SURl'LUS OF HONEY AT SAME TIME. 



Question.— Since you do not advocate natural 

 swarming, how may a beginner increase his num- 

 ber of colonies and get some surijlus besides? 



West Virginia. C. E. Thompson. 



Answer. — ^Much depends upon the time of 

 the main honey flow. Where it begins just 

 as the colonies have built up to full gather- 

 ing strength in the spring or early summer, 

 increase cannot be made before or during 

 the honey flow without interfering with the 

 production of surplus honey, unless it is 

 made from brood and young bees that come 

 on too late to take jmrt in gathering the 

 crop. Thus in either natural or artificial 

 swarming during a short honey flow increase 

 can be made without a loss in the amount 

 of surplus, if the jiarcnt colony is set at 

 one side of the swaini for a week and then 

 moved to a new location (see page 299, May 

 issue), for when this is done only the young- 

 est bees and the emerging brood are left in 

 the parent colony. If the honey flow closes 

 within two weeks these young bees in the 

 parent colony would not have been able to 

 do much toward increasing the surplus, if 

 the division had not been made. Utilizing 

 the same principle where the honey flow 



August, 1921 



closes in July 

 it is possible to 

 divide colonies 

 at the close of 

 the honey flow, 

 making' two or 

 more from each; 

 but in this case 

 it will be neces- 

 sary to supply 

 each division with stores, for there will not 

 be enough honey in the hive at the close of 

 the honey flow for two colonies. Colonies 

 may be divided even as late as the first of 

 August if each division is given an ample 

 amount of honey. Where there is a fall flow, 

 colonies divided at this time may be able 

 to build up and secure enough lioney for 

 winter, but otherwise it will be necessary 

 to leave each division five or six full frames 

 of honey. 



PARENT COLONY" EAILS TO DEVELOP LAYING QUEEN. 



Question. — I have had considerable trouble with 

 the parent colony's failing to develop a laying queen 

 after moving it to a new stand seven days after 

 the swarm issued, as described on page 299, May 

 issue of Gleanings. Could this be because the par- 

 ent hive was moved away while the queen was out 

 on her mating flight? D. E. Scott.. 



Tennessee. 



Answer. — Since the bees usually swarm at 

 about the time the first of the queen-cells 

 are sealed, the young queens do not begin 

 to emerge until seven or eight days after 

 the issuing of the swarm. In addition to 

 this the young queen does not go out on her 

 mating tiight until she is several days old. 

 From this it will be seen that if all goes ac- 

 cording to the normal schedule, there is no 

 danger of any young queens being lost by 

 moving the hives away on the seventh day. 

 If the issuing of the prime swarm is de- 

 layed by adverse weather there is a possi- 

 bility of some young queens being lost when 

 the parent hive is moved on the seventh 

 day; but in this case the beekeeper, know- 

 ing that swarming was delayed, should 

 mo^'e the parent hive away a day or two 

 earlier. Ordinarily there is but little if any 

 danger of young queens being lost in this 

 way. There are plenty of other ways by 

 which young queens may be lost to explain 

 your trouble in this respect. 



AMOUNT CF C.VRHON BISULPHIDK NEKDKIl. 



Question. — How much bisulphide of carbon 

 should be used on each pile of five hive-bodies of 

 empty combs and how often? W. S. Chapel. 



"S'evniont. 



Answer. — About two ounces should be am- 

 ple for five ten-frame standard hive-bodies, 

 provided they are so piled that the gas from 

 the carbon bisulphide cannot readily escape. 

 It should be remembered that, as carbon bi- 

 sulphide evaporates, it forms a gas that is 

 heavier than air. The liquid should there- 

 fore be in a shallow pan or saucer placed 

 in an empty super on top of the pile of 

 hive-bodies. A cover should be placed on 

 top of the empty super, and the whole pile 

 should be made as tight as possible to con- 

 fine the gas. A second treatment two weeks 



