June, 1923 



GLEANINGS IN BEE C U L T IT R K 



T 



HIS month 

 sliould bring 

 t he main 

 honey flow in the 

 greater portion 

 of the Unite d 

 and Can- 

 Wherever 

 clover or 

 clover 



c 



a 



States 

 a d a. 

 white 

 alsike 



TALKS TO 



Geo. S. 



BEGINNERS 



Demuth 



1 



u. 



K 



c 



QUEEN 

 & BROOO 



BROOD 

 CHAMBER 



^-1 



^ 



Previous to the honey 

 flow the queen occu- 

 pies both stories. 



furnislies the greater portion of tlie nectar 

 for the honey crop, beekeepers will watch 

 anxiously this month for indications of the 

 beginning of the honey flow. Wlien it comes 

 l)oth bees and beekeeper will be busy and 

 happy if the season is at all favorable. In 

 the southern portion of the clover region 

 (the southern boundary of which is roughly 

 the Potomac and Ohio rivers, though in cer- 

 tain spots farther south white and alsike 

 clover are important honey plants), clover 

 may be expected to begin yielding about the 

 first of June or even a few days earlier; 

 while farther north it 

 may not begin to 

 yield until about the 

 20th or even later, 

 the exact time of be- 

 ginning depen ding 

 largely upon the 

 weather. It is usually 

 about 10 days after 

 the first few scatter- 

 ed clover blossoms 

 are seen before the 

 honey flow from clo- 

 ver begins; but, too 

 often, bad weather 

 interferes to post- 

 pone the beginning still further. 



In the West and the Northwest where al- 

 falfa and sweet clover are the main sources 

 of nectar, the honey flow may also be ex- 

 pected to begin sometime this month. In 

 this region, especially at higher elevations, 

 the honey flow may not begin until late in 

 the month. 



Even in some locations in the South, June 

 is the honey month; so that for most of the 

 country this is indeed the "high tide of the 

 year," so far as beekeeping is concerned. 

 How to Recognize the Honey Flow. 

 The beginner will have no difficulty in 

 recognizing the beginning of the honey flow, 

 for, coming as it does in many places after 

 a dearth of nectar, the greatly increased 

 activity of the bees going in and out of the 

 hive is quite noticeable. By watching the 

 returning bees as they alight at the en- 

 trance, one can tell if they are heavily laden 

 by the distention of their abdomens and the 

 manner in which that part of the body 

 hangs downward as they slow down to 

 alight. 



Inside the hive, the noAvly gathered nec- 

 tar can be seen glistening in the cells even 

 in the midst of the brood-nest wherever a 

 cell happened to be vacant, and the comb- 

 builders begin to put white wax on the 



397 



combs or be- 

 tween and above 

 the top-bars of 

 the brood-frames. 

 One of the 

 most noticeable 

 things inside the 

 hive at the be- 

 ginning of the 

 honey flow 

 is the sudden expansion of the colony, the 

 bees now crowding into the most remote 

 parts of the hive if the colony is strong. If 

 the super is not already on the hive, it 

 should be put on at once to give room for 

 this expansion. 



Change in Management Wlien Honey Flow 

 Begins. 



While previous to the honey flow the thing 

 of greatest importance in the management 

 was to encourage the rearing of a large 

 amount of brood in order to have a great 

 horde of workers for the harvest, the prob- 

 lem at the beginning of the honey flow is 

 to get the most out of these workers. Two 

 things now stand out of supreme importance 

 in the management, the prevention of loss 

 from swarming and the supplying of room 

 for surplus honey at the right time and in 

 the right manner while the honey flow lasts. 



Sometimes the honey flow proper lasts 

 only a week or two, and five or six weeks is 

 considered a long honey flow. A large 

 crop of honey can be secured within a short 

 time if all goes well, for sometimes the daily 

 gain runs as high as 15 pounds or more dur- 

 ing the best part of the honey flow, so the 

 importance of having every condition just 

 right to induce the bees to bend all their 

 energy to gathering and storing can readily 

 be appreciated. 



Much depends upon keeping pace with the 

 colony as it expands its work, to be sure 

 that a portion of the crop is not lost from 

 want of room in which to store it and keep- 

 ing the bees comfortable so that their work 

 can be carried on without interruption. Too 

 often beginners supply themselves' with but 

 one super and lose a large part of the crop 

 because they have no 

 more. Some seasons a 

 single super is enough 

 to hold all the sur- 

 plus honey of the 

 season; but, if the 

 season is good, four 

 or five supers for 

 each colony may not 

 be enough. 



Management of 

 Supers for Extracted 

 Honey. 

 Strong colonies that 

 were given a second 

 story several weeks 

 previous to the honey 



flow ')«« -iflvispfi ill Q^een is put below ex- 

 now, as cuu isea m ^.^^^^j. ^J^^^ ^j^ood plac- 



t ]i e s c talks last ed above the super. 



Q UEE N 



BROOD 

 CHAMBER 



■-CJ 



