GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



C 



GLEANED 



Geo. S. 



796 



QUESTION. 

 — W hat is 

 the food 

 value of 

 honey compared 

 with that of beef 

 or eggs, or some 

 of the other staple 

 foods ? 



H. O. Leopold. 

 Pennsylvania. 

 Answer. — In comparing the food value of 

 honey with beef and eggs it is important 

 to remember that beef and eggs contain a 

 high percentage of protein, which can be 

 utilized in the body in repairing worn-out 

 tissues, while honey does not contain protein 

 but is an energy-producing food. Honey 

 should therefore be classed with the fuel 

 foods which supply the body with energy 

 and not among those whose function it is to 

 build and repair the body— that is the "tis- 

 sue-formers" as they are sometimes called. 

 The energy value of honey is about 1485 

 calories per pound. The energy value for 

 eggs is about 635 calories per pound, and 

 that of beef ranges from about 545 calories 

 per pound up to about 1100 calories per 

 pound, according to the cut. 



Head and Mouth Parts of Queen Bee. 

 Question. — How do the head and mouth parts 

 of the queen bee differ from those of the worker? 

 Illinois. F. Robert. 



Answer. — The head of the queen bee is 

 smaller than that of the worker. It is more 

 nearly round in shape instead of somewhat 

 triangular in shape as that of the worker, 

 the head of the queen being wider in pro- 

 portion to its length. The mandibles of the 

 queen are notched instead of being smooth 

 like those of the worker. The parts of the 

 proboscis are much shorter in the queen 

 than in the worker. In general the mouth 

 parts of the queen bee suggest weakness 

 when compared with those of the worker. 

 The reason for this is not difficult to under- 

 stand when it is remembered that the queen 

 bee, while capable of feeding herself to a 

 certain extent, is usually fed by the workers. 

 Honey from Colony Having European Foul Brood. 

 Question. — Our bees had European foul brood 

 last summer, and we requeened with pure Italian 

 queens. By fall all of the disease had disappeared. 

 We have some extracted honey left over which 

 was taken from these colonies. Can this be fed 

 back to the bees next spring without danger of 

 again produce the disease? 



New Hampshire. Albert & Wesley Campbell. 

 Answer. — The organism which produces 

 European foul brood (Bacillus pint on) if 

 present in honey will be destroyed within 

 a few months while in storage. Apparently 

 these organisms are not able to live long 

 when suspended in honey. Several years 

 ago Dr. G. F. White, Bureau of Entomology, 

 Washington, D. C, introduced these organ- 

 isms into honey which was allowed to stand 

 at room temperatures but shielded from the 

 light. Samples of this infected honey were 

 taken from time to time and fed to colonies 

 of bees. All colonies that were fed honev 

 containing this organism developed Euro- 



BY ASKING 



Demuth 



3 



Deobmbbe, 1922 



pean foul brood 

 during the first 

 few months, but 

 after seven 

 months no dis- 

 ease was pro- 

 duced. The re- 

 sults of this ex- 

 periment are re- 

 corded in the 

 United States Department of Agriculture, 

 Bulletin No. 810. In your case the hon- 

 ey which you extracted from the colo- 

 nies having European fould brood will be 

 in storage more than seven months before 

 you will have occasion to feed it, and should 

 therefore be safe. In case of doubt you can 

 render this honey safe for feeding by dilut- 

 ing it with water, then heating it to kill the 

 organisms. If the diluted honey is heated 

 to the boiling point or nearly to the boiling 

 point for 10 or 15 minutes the organisms 

 should be killed.- It must be remembered 

 that these statements are for European foul 

 brood and not for American foul brood. In 

 the case of American foul brood the organ- 

 ism (Bacillus larvae) is spore-forming and 

 therefore much more resistant. 



Size of Tunnel for Winter Packing-Case. 



Question.- — In packing my bees I use a small 

 tunnel V^ inch high and 2 inches wide for the 

 opening. I find one colony has an unusual number 

 of dead bees in this tunnel, and I am inclined to 

 believe it is not large enough. If the tunnel be- 

 comes clogged up with dead bees, will the re- 

 maining bees in the hive smother? 



Wyoming. C. N. Andrew. 



Answer. — It is safer to use a large tun- 

 nel through the packing and then reduce the 

 size of the entrance by closing the opening 

 in the outer case. Many who use winter 

 packing-cases build a tunnel at least an inch 

 deep and six or eight inches wide. By using 

 a deep tunnel and closing down the opening 

 in the outer ease, a vertical opening about 

 % of an inch wide and from 1 to 1^ inches 

 high can be made. With such an entrance 

 the dead bees would have to be piled quite 

 deep before the opening could be closed en- 

 tirely. It can be arranged so that the en- 

 trance can be easily enlarged in the spring 

 when the bees need a larger entrance and 

 before time to remove the winter packing- 

 ease. The danger of the entrance being 

 clogged by dead bees depends upon the num- 

 ber of old bees in the hive at the beginning 

 of Avinter and the character of the winter. 

 Colonies which go into winter with a large 

 proportion of old bees often show a rapid 

 death rate during the early part of the 

 winter. If the winter is mild and the bees 

 are able to fly at frequent intervals, they 

 may be able to carry out the dead as fast 

 as they accumulate, but if the weather pre- 

 vents the bees from carrying away their 

 dead they may drag them into this passage- 

 way in large numbers. If the entrance should 

 become entirely closed by dead bees, the 

 colony finding it is imprisoned becomes 

 greatly excited and is liable to be smoth- 

 ered. As long as the bees do not discover 



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