368 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



Junk, 192E 



CHOOSING A LOCATION 



A Timely and Important Subject 



in Migratory Beekeeping. How to 



Choose the Apiary Site 



By M. C. Richter. 



WHERE is 

 the best 

 place to lo- 

 cate? This is the 

 eternal question 

 that is ever in 

 the minds of 

 most beekeepers 

 and prospective 

 beekeepers alike. 



The question does not resolve itself into the 

 following simple equation: 



Honey Plant Acreage + X Number 

 of Colonies equals X pounds per Col- 

 ony Surplus. 

 The foremost problem concerns itself with 

 the honey plants themselves. The question 

 of overstocking a location is not nearly so 

 important. 



In our beekeeping practices we are fun- 

 damentally dependent on bee behavior. 

 When it comes to the choice of a location, 

 we must have a knowledge of plant be- 

 havior, climatic conditions and soils. It 

 must be admitted that our success depends 

 in a very large measure on the proper choice 

 of locations. Our literature is very deficient 

 in this respect. Only recently have we re- 

 ceived information on honey plant regions 

 and on the secretion of nectar, and we owe 

 our thanks to Dr. Phillips of Washington 

 who has mapped the clover, buckwheat and 

 tulip tree regions of the East. California 

 must have some wonderful beekeeping re- 

 gions that as yet await exploration. When 

 such are made known through careful re- 

 search work, it will prove of inestimable 

 value to the state. At jiresent there is but 

 little information that may be imparted. 



Conditions Influencing Nectar Secretion. 

 There are a few general considerations 

 that are known, such as: A plant growing 

 under suitable environmental conditions 

 shows a tendency towards increased nectar 

 secretion, and also that higher latitudes and 

 altitudes show a like tendency. We know 

 also that there is a tendency towards a 

 greater flow of nectar when cool nights are 

 followed by warm days; but there is an- 

 other factor that is directly connected with 

 tlie above, namely, the amount of moisture 



that the soil 

 contains. How- 

 ever, the mois- 

 ture should not 

 be excessive, nor 

 should it be too 

 deficient, for ex- 

 cessive moisture 

 tends towards 

 vegetative 

 growth, while a scarcity of moisture means 

 that the flowers will soon fade and the 

 plants then will bend their energies towards 

 the reproductive stage. 



On account of our meager knowledge this 

 article can offer but little assistance. It is 

 more the intention here to point out some 

 of the problems that are to be solved and 

 to solicit aid among Gleanings ' readers in 

 the collection of data pertaining to nectar 

 secretion. In that way we can make excel- 

 lent progress and such material will help 

 the investigator. « 



A Sage Range. 

 For this purpose we will suppose, for ex- 

 ample, that we are looking for a sage loca- 

 tion, and we will bear in mind that much 

 the same problems confront the beekeeper 

 in his choice of a location in other plant re- 

 gions. We make this choice because it is 

 a popular one. Sage honey has a wonderful 

 reputation, commands a topnotch price, and 

 when pure does not granulate. For the lat- 

 ter reason it is a table honey par excellence. 

 Dealers and grocers favor both tlie comb 

 and the clear honey. 



Geographical Distribution. 

 The first step in the study of a honey 

 plant is in mapping its distribution. In the 

 ease of black sage, we find that it inhabits 

 the Coast Range Mountains with its north- 

 ern boundary in the vicinity of Mt. Diablo. 

 From there it extends southward through 

 San Diego County into Mexico. It favors 

 slopes with a south, southwest and west ex- 

 posure. The plant ranges along the ocean 

 to several thousand feet above the sea level, 

 and favors a soil containing lime. Sage, in 

 its struggle for existence, has settled in the 

 above region. It has not increased its dis- 

 tribution to the north or east because the 

 environmental conditions in these places 



Fig. 1. 



-UnprotectftI Ijccs lliat, riM-uivo the I'ull licnclil c.f 

 uinoimt ol' stores, but build \\]i inon 



^WCCIMIlt;' W'luls IKit 



slowly in the sjjring. 



