Junk, 19: 



G Ij E A N I N S T N B !•: V. CULTURE 



39:- 



Wlieii bees ari' iiiu-oiiit\)rt:i])lo from any 

 cause such us a lack of ventilation or being 

 exposed to the direct rays of the sun, they 

 are inclined to hang out on the outside of 

 the hive even when nectar is abundant in 

 the fields. Sometimes loafing is caused by 

 the broodchumber being clogged Avitli hon- 

 ey. When much honey is put into the brood- 

 combs and especially if it is sealed, the bees 

 will work with less vigor in the supers. Tliis 

 is usually brought about by a slow honey 

 flow or by weak or medium colonies. Some- 

 times loafiiig is caused by the colony being 

 queenless and sometimes by the lack of room 

 for depositing the thin nectar as it conies in 

 to be ripened. When the nectar is first car- 

 ried into the hive it is distributed a little in 

 many cells, instead of the cells being filled 

 with nectar, the bees refusing to put in 

 more when the few drops are in each cell. 

 For this reason it sometimes happens that 

 there is no room for the incoming nectar, 

 even though the combs are light until the 

 nectar has been evaporated and converted 

 -into honey. 



Demaree Plan for Swarm Control. 



Question. — What is meant by the Demaree plan 

 for swarm control? Chas. Fealy. 



Alabama. 



Answer. — The Demaree plan is the term 

 now generally applieil to taking the combs 

 of brood out of the brood-chamber and plac- 

 ing them in another hive-body Avhich is then 

 placed above a queen-excluder, tlie queen 

 being confined below where empty combs or 

 frames of foundation have been put in the 

 place of the combs of brood. If this is done 

 after queen-cells have been started prepara- 

 tory to swarming, some prefer to have only 

 empty combs or frames of foundation to- 

 gether witli one or two empty combs be- 

 low; but, if done before any queen-cells 

 have been started, the usual practice is 

 to put one comb containing a little un- 

 sealed brood below. This brings about a 

 condition somewhat similar to that brought 

 about by swarming, the swarm being below 

 the queen-excluder and the parent colony 

 above. In 1910, A. C. Allen, Portage, Wis., 

 described a modification of the Demaree 

 plan by which the chamber of brood is placed 

 on top of the extracting-supers instead of 

 immediately above the queen-excluder. This 

 was given at the Wisconsin convention on 

 Feb. .S, 1910, and has been adopted by others 

 and described several times since. 



When Further Swarming May Be Expected. 



Question. — Is there any danger of either the 

 swarm or the parent colony swarming again the 

 same .season when swarms are made artificially 

 by shaking and the parent colony is given a young 

 laying queen immediately ? Otto Saewert. 



Wisconsin. 



Answer. — Some seasons either natural or 

 artifieialh' made swarms Avnll again build up 

 ■to great strength and swarm again if the 

 honey flow is long. When parent colonies 

 are given a laying queen immediately after 

 swarming there is a possibility that they 

 may swarm again; but, if you destroy all 



llie (|ueen cells (i\e days after ihi! swarm is- 

 sued, then again five days later before giv- 

 ing the young laying queen, the parent col- 

 ony is practically safe from furtlier swarm- 

 ing the same season. 



Requeening in Swarm Control. 



Question. — In Farmers' Bulletin 1198, page 42. 

 you say, ''Xow in ten days remove the hive-body 

 containing the queen to a new location, destroy 

 all Queen-cells in the upper story which will be 

 placed below for a new brood-chamber and give 

 a ripe queen-cell or a young laying queen." Why 

 not destroy all but one queen-cell and allow the 

 bees to raise their own queen ? A. H. Trine. 



Indiana. 



Answer. — Unless the stock is such that it 

 is desirable to perpetuate it, it is better to 

 destroy all the queen-cells and give one 

 reared from select stock. Many beekeepers 

 start queen-rearing operations in time to 

 have plenty of young queens reared, from a 

 breeding cjueen under the best possible con- 

 ditions ready at swarming time for such 

 cases. Plenty of young queens on hand dur- 

 ing the swarming season are of great value 

 in swarm control. One objection to destroy- 

 ing all but one of the queen-cells is that 

 sometimes a swarm issues wlien tliis young 

 queen emerges, leaving the colony hopelessly 

 queenless. 



Using Combs Which Contained European Foul 

 Brood. 



Question. — Would it be safe to put package 

 bees on combs on which the bees have died from 

 European foul brood ? A. E. Moorlag. 



Michigan. 



Answer. — Much depends upon the condi- 

 tion of these combs. If they are apparently 

 clean and have been exposed to the light 

 during the winter, there should be but little 

 danger of transmitting the disease; but, if 

 they have been in tight piles in darkness all 

 winter, the disease can be carried over and 

 transmitted to the colony in the spring. 

 Combs from colonies having European foul 

 brood should be exposed to the light as much 

 as possible before giving back to the bees. 

 Even then it is safer to give them only to 

 very strong colonies. 



When Swarm Loses Its Queen. 



Question. — When a swarm issues and loses its 

 queen (she having her wings clipped), then re- 

 turns to its hive, what is the proper thing to do 

 with the colony! D. E. Scott. 



Tennessee. 



Answer. — Destroy all but one of the 

 cjueen-cells and permit the colony to requeen 

 itself with this remaining young queen; or, 

 a better way, destroy all queen-cells five 

 days after the swarm first issued, then again 

 five days later, after which introduce a 

 young laying queen. One objection to tiie 

 first plan is that sometimes the colony so 

 treated will swarm when the young queen 

 emerges, leaving the colony hopelessly 

 queenless. When the second plan is used 

 great care is necessary when destroying the 

 queen-cells the second time, for these, being- 

 built over older larvae, are sometimes dif- 

 ficult to find, since such queen-cells do not 

 project far beyond the comb. 



