498 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Apr. 15 



hives as needed till the end of 21 days from 

 the time of making the swarms, when the 

 dummies are to be taken from the lower 

 hive, and that hive filled out with combs 

 from the upper, when the bees are to be 

 shaken from any remaining combs, and from 

 the hive, and the same stored away for the 

 next season's use, or the combs massed to- 

 gether on some hive worked for extracted 

 honey, or for reserved combs of honey for 

 feeding the next spring." 



" Is that all there is of it?" 



"Yes— all but one thing; and that is, if 

 there is any drone brood in any of the 

 combs which go above the queen-excluder, 

 some means must be provided to get rid of 

 them, otherwise they will clog the queen- 

 excluder and die there. I generally do this 

 by boring a half-inch hole at the bottom of 

 the upper hive near the center. In this way 

 the most of the drmes and workers which 

 may chance to go out at this hole will find 

 their way in at the entrance below. By 

 using this plan you need make no increase, 

 and yet obtain good results in section hon- 

 ey." 



-;jiaBBa><ia»riMfea>^'!«iM^«»-'t»«» j 



ORDERS OP INSECTS — CONTINUED. 



Except for the large robust robber- flies 

 and the small bee-lice the Diptera are not 

 practically important to the bee-keeper. 

 The robber-flies are of two tjrpes- the long 

 dark- gray (often almost black) ones, and 

 the shorter yellow hairy flies. These latter 

 are very much like the bumble-bees in form 

 and color. In many States these flies cap- 

 ture and suck bloodless many bees, yet 

 there are so many bees in the colony that 

 they rarely do serious harm, while in de- 

 stroying insect-pests they do us great good. 

 As I have stated, the bee- louse seems not to 

 gain any considerable foothold in America. 

 There is also one group of true parasites 

 among the Diptera -the Trypeta. These 

 parasitic insects lay their eggs on or in oth- 

 er insects. When these eggs hatch, the 

 larvEe commence to feed on their living 

 host, and fairly deviscerate it. The Tachi- 

 na flies lay their eggs on their victims, and 

 often to a great number. When the mag- 

 gots are full fed they come forth and as- 

 sume the seed- like puparium stage. The 

 mature ins-^cts, or tachina flies, look much 

 like house flies. Some are quite small, oth- 

 ers quite large. Thus with Diptera as with 

 Coleoptera, or beetles, and bugs, some are 

 injurious while others are useful. Many 

 are also useful in destroying and removing 

 corion and other forms of decaying organic 



matter. Beetles also aid them in this good 

 oflfice. We can often collect fine beetles 

 and flies in a dead carcass or in decaying 

 fungi or vegetables. 



We have noticed how almost every order 

 of the insect world directly affects the bee- 

 keeper, as some of the members essay to 

 injure his pets of the hive. Among the 

 nerve or lace -wings— Neuroptera— the drag- 

 on-flies are ever alert to swoop down upon 

 and devour the incoming worker with its 

 load of precious nectar. The mantis, among 

 the locustorder— Ori/iopf era— is equally par- 

 tial to a banquet of bees. The stinging- 

 bug— P/it/mato, of the He'miptera — ]nrka 

 among the bloom of the goldenrod, waiting 

 to seize and feast on some luckless bee that 

 comes fearless for the nectar droplets. The 

 thrips— Thy sanopter a— harm the bee-keeper 

 directly only in destroying the blooin; and 

 the hird-\[ce—Mallophaga—m annoying the 

 fowls, which often share his attentions with 

 the bees. The beetles— Coieoptera-are the 

 least harmful, as Dermestes and the meal- 

 beetles work only on the dead bees and bee- 

 bread of old combs. Among the Diptera 

 are found the savage robust robber- flies, 

 which, doubtless, of all those mentioned 

 above, are our most formidable foes. 



EXACTITUDE. 



Dr. Miller's observations tally with my 

 own regarding the bee- space. While a scant 

 I is often found between combs, it may be 

 reduced even to a scant iV or J inch The 

 old idea of unvarying cells in the comb, and 

 exactitude in spacing, must be given up. 

 Mr. Cowan, in his excellent book, gives a 

 fine description, with illustrations, of these 

 varying cells. He shows what we may all 

 observe by careful inspection that cells va- 

 ry, not only in size but also greatly in form. 

 In some cases even four- sided or nearly 

 square cells are discovered. In regard to 

 the bee-space I also found that the narrow 

 or smaller one gave the best results. While 

 exactitude is not a characteristic of the 

 bees, it is a necessity with the Heddon 

 hive. This fact, with the diflficulty of get- 

 ting hives just precisely right, led me to 

 return to the Langstroth hive after using 

 the Heddon for a time. I am interested in 

 learning that Mr. Hutchinson is also now of 

 like mind. I hardly think Mr. Taylor will 

 ever change. 

 Berlin, Prussia. 



SHIPPING BEES FROM THE SOUTH. 



I want to say for the benefit of all who 

 ship bees from the South, don't do it. I 

 shipped two cars, 600 colonies, and they 

 nearly all died that winter. They were 

 nearly all Italians. They filled their brood- 

 nest so full they all froze, and they dwin- 

 dled badly. W. L. Coggshall, 



Groton, N. Y., Jan. 27. 



[This little item, though short, may be 

 worth many times the value of ten years' 

 subscription to all the bee journals. Yet 

 some say they can't afford even one paper. 

 -Ed.] 



