GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



Marcji, 1922 



FROM NORTH, EAST, WEST AND SOUTH 



that much transfer work will be done this 

 spring. 



It has been mentioned several times that 

 honeybees rarely work inside of the cotton 

 blossom in collecting nectar. T. W. Burle- 

 son of Waxahachie reports that after the 

 flower has wilted the bees collect a great 

 deal of nectar from the calyx. This bears 

 out the statement I have made a number of 

 times that all of the nectar glands of the 

 cotton plant are situated on the calyx or 

 other vegetative parts of the plant. The 

 nectaries on the inside of the calyx are pro- 

 tected from the bees by the corolla and can 

 be reached only as the flower commences to 

 dry up. This places the cotton in the class 

 with such plants as tobacco, the Jerusalem 

 mustard and a number of other long-tube 

 flowers which become nectar-bearing only 

 after the flower has withered. 



This fall many beekeepers reported a 

 large bug was killing many of their bees. 

 An investigation showed that this insect 

 was one variety of the stink bug, sometimes 

 called the wheel bug. These insects are 

 large, gray-colored bugs with long legs and 

 a very long bill. During November and De- 

 cember, in many apiaries, four or five of 

 these individuals would be seen around each 

 hive entrance, and every one of them would 

 have its bill inserted in a honeybee. As 

 this bug is a native, there is little danger of 

 its becoming a pest. 



The people of Texas pride themselves 

 upon the inability in any way to predict the 

 weather or condition of crops. Just why 

 this tradition has grown up is very uncer- 

 tain, as the people who have come into 

 Texas find that predictions on the weather 

 and crops are just as reliable in Texas as in 

 any other state and, in fact, more so. While 

 the predictions may not come true, the bee- 

 keeper will never be at a loss if he is pre- 

 pared for the predicted honey flow. Tn 

 Texas, where a large per cent of the honey 

 plants are native, there is a greater chance 

 of regular flows than in a country where the 

 honey flows come mostly from imported 

 plants. The beekeeper should ascertain the 

 time of the commencing of his main honey 

 flows and should be ready for the flow at the 

 earliest date upon which he has found the 

 flowers to yield nectar. H. B. Parks. 



San Antonio, Tex. 



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In Arkansas '^'^'^ beekeepers of Arkan- 

 sas have' very much to be 

 thankful for, since we have very little foul 

 brood in the state and have received a fair- 

 ly good price for our honey for the 1921 

 crop. Now we have a favorable winter, 

 having had a good snow in the northern part 

 of the state on Jan. 26. Our winter problem 

 is keeping the bees in the hive during the 



winter months, since the colonies are in 

 single-walled hives. The warm days cause the 

 winter cluster to be broken. I believe we 

 should consider the expense and the advisa- 

 bility of having double-walled hives in order 

 that we may overcome this disadvantage, 

 thereby conserving bee energy. This see- 

 saw in temperature has a tendency to use 

 a greater amount of stores than would be 

 used under an even or continuous cold. 



March generally is a spring month with 

 us and we find much to do. First of all, we 

 give each colony a thoro inspection to see 

 if it is well supplied with honey for brood- 

 rearing, since with us this is very important, 

 from the fact that it is too often we have 

 cold, wet weather when the blackberries and 

 huckleberries are in bloom. It may inter- 

 est some readers to know that we have a 

 certain school of people keeping bees in our 

 state who insist that we should "rob the 

 bees ' ' during March or the bees will carry 

 the honey away to make room for the new 

 crop soon to come on. 



Next in importance is to see about our 

 queens, so that we may properly care for 

 the queenless colonies. Now that we have 

 a new trouble looming up, we must add to 

 our spring work a close lookout for any foul 

 brood. Unfortunately for us, we have no 

 laws in Arkansas for the protection of our 

 important industry. We must watch for 

 this disease and wipe it out, and at the first 

 opportunity we must interest our senators 

 and representatives to the degree that they 

 will pass some law protecting our interests. 



In several back issues of Gleanings I saw 

 articles by Mr. Foster and others pertaining 

 to the importance of some marketing sys- 

 tem for our commodity. I believe the time 

 is now opportune to organize producers of 

 honey in these United States — to organize 

 not as producers, but for the commodity, 

 honev, in a marketing association. 



Elba, Ark. J. V. Ormond. 



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In Alabama.— J'j^^ beekeepers of the 

 black belt of Alabama 

 and Mississippi are in danger of having 

 their 192.3 honey crop ruined by cold weath- 

 er. All of the white sweet clover seed have 

 sprouted in the warm weather during Janu- 

 ary, and severe cold at this time would prac- 

 tically destroy the crop. This is our sur- 

 plus crop, and without it the bees would get 

 scarcely enougli honey to exist. 



Of course there is a chance for no more 

 severe cold this winter; and yet our worst 

 cold weather is generally in February. We 

 had these same conditions in 1917, which 

 caused a big loss to the beekeepers of the 

 South. 



The low price of honey and the poor de- 

 maud for queens last summer caused the 



