July, 19'J2 



G L K A N I N G S IN BEE C U L T U R E 



463 



sections sealed as possible. This can be ac- 

 complished by taking off the partly finished 

 supers, sorting out the unfinished ones and 

 putting them back to be finished. When 

 the unfinished sections are put back, those 

 nearest completion should be put in the 

 middle of the super. This should be done 

 as the honey flow is closing if possible. 

 Bees Build Combs on Outside of Hive. 



Question. — Why did one of my colonies build 

 lomb outside the hive below the bottom last year? 



Virginia. Walter Steen. 



Answer. — The bees build comb on the out- 

 side of the hive because they did not have 

 room enough inside to store all the honey 

 they gathered. Wlien they are compelled to 

 build comb on the outside of the hive in 

 this way, they store much less than if more 

 supers had been given, for such croAvding 

 causes a stagnation of work. For this rea- 

 son it is extremely important during the 

 hone}' flow to see that every colony has at 

 all times either some empty combs or some 

 foundation to work on in the supers. 

 Bees Fail to Store Surplus. 



Question. — W^hy did my bees fail to store sur- 

 plus honey last season Avhen there are no other 

 bees around and we have flowers for them to work 

 on? Mrs. Oline P. Root. 



Ohio. 



Answer. — There are so many possible rea- 

 sons for the bees failing to store surplus 

 honey that without having seen the colony 

 one can only guess at the trouble. Gener- 

 ally speaking, there are two reasons for 

 failure to store surplus honey: first, a fail- 

 ure of the season because of a lack of nec- 

 tar-bearing flowers or because of unfavor- 

 able weather conditions during their period 

 of bloom; and, second, a failure in the man- 

 agement, so that the colonies are either not 

 strong enough at the time of the honey 

 flow or some condition in the management 

 has been unfavorable, such as not giving 

 the supers early enough or providing for 

 the comfort of the bees. 



Not all flowers are nectar-bearing, and 

 only a comparatively few species can be de- 

 pended upon to furnish enough nectar for 

 surplus honey. 



Cleaning Extractor after Extracting from Diseased 

 Colonies. 



Question. — To render it safe for use, how can 

 I clean an extractor that has been used in ex- 

 tracting combs of honey from colonies having 

 American foul brood ? John Knapp. 



Michigan. 



Answer.— The important thing to do is to 

 wash the extractor thoroughly so there is 

 not a particle of honey left on it any- 

 where. "When this is done it should be safe 

 to use in extracting honey from healthy 

 colonies. 



Bees Suddenly Become Cross. 



Question. — Can you explain why bees become 

 so viciously cross all of a sudden when at other 

 times they are gentle? D. B. Clapp. 



North Carolina. 



Answer. — The temper of the bees depends 

 largely upon the character of the honey 

 flow. "Where there is an abundance of nec- 



tar available during most of the day the 

 bees are usually good-natured, but if nectar 

 is available only a part of each day the 

 bees are liable to become cross when the 

 flowers quit yielding. "When the honey flow 

 closes suddenly the bees are usually cross. 

 As the season advances the bees are appar- 

 ently more inclined to sting than early in 

 the season. Beginners especially should 

 bear these things in mind and use more 

 precautions against stinging when the flow- 

 ers are not yielding and as the season ad- 

 vances. 



Bees Quit Working in Supers. 



Question. — Last season when the bees had their 

 sections almost ready to cap they suddenly began 

 to hang out as though they were going to swarm, 

 but they did not swarm, neither did they finish 

 the sections. What was the trouble? 



Indiana. Pearl Hendrickson. 



Answer. — "When the sections are full the 

 bees must then wait until the honey is 

 ripened before sealing it. If you did not 

 give them more super room this would ex- 

 plain why the bees quit work and began to 

 cluster on the outside of the hive. To wait 

 for the bees to seal the honey before giving 

 another super would sometimes result in the 

 loss of several supers of honey that might 

 have been secured if more supers had been 

 given at the proper time. Of course, it 

 may be that the honey flow ceased at the 

 time you noticed that the bees quit work, 

 which would cause them to cluster on the 

 outside of the hive. After the honey flow it 

 is perfectly normal for the bees to cluster 

 out in this manner. 



Cause of Honey Souring. 



Question. — What causes, extracted honey to 

 sour and how can it be sweetened again? 



Illinois. B. W. Green. 



Answer. — Honey that is not well ripened 

 before it is extracted is liable to ferment. 

 Honey should be left on the hives until the 

 combs are two-thirds or more sealed or 

 longer in order that it may become well 

 ripened before extracting. Honey that is 

 slightly fermented can be improved by heat- 

 ing it to about 160 degrees. 



Two or More Queens in One Hive. 



Question. — Can I keep two or more queens in 

 the same hive by separating them with perforated 

 zinc? John Sweep. 



Maryland. 



Answer. — You can keep more than one 

 queen in a hive in this way during the hon- 

 ey flow and sometimes longer, but usually 

 all but one of them will disappear after the 

 honey flow. 



Effect of Queen-excluder on Super Work. 



Question. — Will the bees work better in extract- 

 ing supers when no queen-excluder is used between 

 the brood-chamber and the supers? 



West "Virginia. D. M. Clingman. 



Answer. — It is doubtful if you will be 

 able to detect any difference in the amount 

 of honey stored when queen-pxcluders are 

 used between tho brood-charnber aud the 

 supers, especially when the new 7 -wire ex- 

 cluder is used. 



