G \. K A N 1 N (i 



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TALKS TO 



Geo. S. 



IN most locali- 

 ties bees need 



but little, if 

 a 11 y, attention 

 during Septem- 

 ber; but now, at 

 the beginning of 

 the 111 n t h, it 

 will be well for 

 the beginner to 



to see that the affairs of liis colonies are 

 being properly shaped for winter. To a 

 great extent, their fate during the winter 

 is determined this month, and it will soon be 

 too late to correct any thing that may be 

 wrong, in time to do any good. 



If the colonies are prosperous and con- 

 tinue brood-rearing this month, they should 

 be in good condition for winter; but if they 

 are weak, short of stores, have a poor queen 

 or become queenless so but little brood is 

 reared, they will be in poor condition for 

 winter. No amount of winter care can make 

 a good colony out of one that is weak and 

 composed largely of old bees at the end of 

 September. 



Less Number of Bees Than During Mid- 

 summer. 



The beginner who has not examined his 

 colonies for some time will probably be sur- 

 prised to note the decreased number of bees 

 ,it this time. Colonies that were rousing 

 strong in June and July, filling several 

 stories with bees, may become so reduced in 

 numbers that on cool mornings later in this 

 month, they will form a cluster which does 

 not cover the combs of the brood-chamber. 

 The expression, "strong colonies," there- 

 fore, conveys a different meaning at dif- 

 ferent seasons. In June or July a colony 

 is not considered "strong" unless it has 

 from 50,000 to 100,000 workers, while a 

 strong colony late in September may have 

 only 20,000 or .30,000 workers. 



This reduction in numbers sometimes 

 takes place quite rapidly when the colo- 

 nies work hard in searching and gathering 

 from fall flowers which yield only meager 

 returns; but it is usually less noticeable 

 either when nectar is more abundant or 

 when there is no nectar available to cause 

 the bees to wear themselves out in almost 

 endless searching. 



On the other hand, colonies that were 

 only two-frame nuclei in July, if abundant- 

 ly supplied with stores, will usually build 

 up, so that at the end of September they 

 are equal in strength to those that were ex- 

 ceedingly strong in July. In this way, if 

 all the colonies aie prosperous, there is a 

 tendency for them to become equal in 

 strength at the beginning of winter because 

 of the tendency of both strong and weak 

 colonies to rear about tlie same amount of 

 brood during August and September. 



Colonies that are very weak at this time, 

 covering only a few combs, of course, can 

 not rear enougli brood to niakc a aood win- 



BEGINNERS 



Demuth 



1 



K 



r L L T U K E Sehtkmbbk, 1921 



ter colony; and 

 all such should 

 be united, for it 

 is easier to unite 

 the winter bees in 

 the form of brood 

 in S e p t e m ber 

 than to unite 

 the emerged 

 bees in October. 

 To unite t^^■() weak colonies, remove the 

 cover from one of them and cover it with a 

 sheet of newspaper, then lift the other hive 

 off from the bottom and set it on top of 

 the newspaper as a second story. When 

 the hives are arranged in this way the bees 

 of the two colonies will gnaw away the 

 newspaper and unite without fighting. No 

 attention need be paid to the queens unless 

 one is much better than the other, in which 

 case the poorer one should be killed before 

 uniting. About a week after colonies have 

 been united in this way, tlie combs of brood 

 should all be placed together in one story, 

 and the extra story, together with any emp- 

 ty combs, may then be taken away. 



Beginners are often inclined to make too 

 much increase and find at the close of the 

 season that they have many colonies that 

 are not strong enough for winter. When 

 the colonies are i)rosperous in June and 

 .July both bees and beekeeper will some- 

 times greatly overdo things as to increase 

 — the bees by swarming excessively, and 

 the beekeeper by dividing. Beginners should 

 remember that rapid increase is usually fol- 

 lowed by a raiud decrease during the win- 

 ter. The best way to retrieve such a situa- 

 tion is to reunite tlie divided colonies now 

 even if, after uniting, there are only one- 

 fourth as many colonies as before. A good 

 colony at this time should occupy not less 

 than seven or eight combs. 

 How Much Brood Should Good Colonies 

 Have in September. 



The amount of brood in the hives at this 

 season will dejaend upon the age of the 

 queen, the amount of stores in the hive, and 

 the presence or absence of a honey flow. 

 With a good queen, together with a moder- 

 ate honey flow, there may be the equivalent 

 of four to six combs of brood even in the 

 North during the first half of September. 

 With no honey flow, the same queen would 

 have about the equivalent of two combs 

 well filled with brood, provided the colony 

 has a good supply of honey (not less than 

 10 or 1.5 pounds). With only a pound or two 

 of honey in the hive, the same queen would 

 have only a few small patches of brood 

 when nectar is not being brought in from 

 the fields, and under the same conditions a 

 a colony with an old queen would have but 

 little, if any brood. 



The amount of brood that is normal dur- 

 ing the last month of brood-rearing is prob- 

 ably not far from that which would com- 

 pletcly fill twd Laiigstroth frames. To the 



