932 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



July 15 



prolific again until about a week has elapsed 

 after the new colony has arrived at its new 

 location. During this week comb has been 

 built very rapidly, especially if honey is 

 coming in plentifully and the swarm was a 

 large one, while (for the reason given above) 

 the queen has not been able to keep up with 

 the workers, the result of which is that the 

 bees commence early in their operations to 

 build store comb, which is always of the drone 

 size of cells. This comb is mainly filled with 

 honey at this time, although the queen quite 

 often fills a part of it with drone brood, es- 

 pecially an old or failing queen doing this. 

 The main trouble comes, however, the next 

 year, when, after the honey has been re- 

 moved during the winter and spring for 

 food, the queen fills such comb with eggs, 

 thus rearing a useless horde of consumers of 

 honey, instead of thousands of workers to 

 gather the harvest later on." 



"That helps me to understand the matter, 

 for the colonies which built the most drone 

 comb were those having my oldest queens; 

 and when the honey- flow was the best, the 

 swarms having been hived a few days pre- 

 vious built more of this drone comb than 

 did those coming a little earlier when honey 

 was not so plentiful." 



' ' There is no question about this matter 

 of the why bees build drone comb for the 

 majority of bee-keepers who do not use 

 comb foundation when hiving swarms." 



" Well, how can this drone comb be avoid- 

 ed under these circumstances?" 



' ' The way I manage is to hive all swarms 

 in a hive having the full number of frames 

 the hive contains, all having starters consist- 

 ing of a half inch- deep strip of foundation, 

 and leaving them thus for one day till they 

 make a start at comb-building, when the 

 hive is opened and all but five of the frames 

 taken out, leaving those which have the 

 most comb built in them, using dummies to 

 take the place of the frames removed." 



"Why don't you put the dummies in at 

 the time of hiving?" 



."Because the bees are quite apt to swarm 

 out with so small a brood- chamber, unless 

 they make a start great enough to consider 

 this as their permanent home." 



"I see. Go on." 



"Having the swarm on five frames, one 

 super of sections is given, which should con- 

 tain a few sections having partly built comb 

 in them left over from the previous season, 

 while the others should be filled with the ex- 

 tra-thin foundation for comb honey." 



"Why is this?" 



' ' This gives the bees plenty of room above 

 to store honey, thus not crowding them in 

 the contracted brood chamber, so that only 

 comb of the worker size is built below, and 

 that only as fast as the prolificness of the 

 queen demands it, for the bees can occupy 

 all their energies not needed below, in the 

 super which we have given them. As the 

 queen's ability for laying increases, more 

 comb is built, which she at once fills with 

 eggs, and thus all keep pace together, till 

 at the end of two weeks we have the five 



frames full of all worker comb, and the sec- 

 tions nearly completed as well." 



' ' But you give more than the one super, 

 do you not?" 



' ' Yes. As soon as the first is from one- 

 half to two-thirds full, it is raised up and 

 another put under it, if the season is prov- 

 ing good. If bad weather comes on, then 

 the last-named super is put top of the first, 

 so that they can have plenty of room if they 

 need it; and if otherwise, then the sections 

 in the first super are generally completed, 

 which they would not be likely to be where 

 the season proves poor and we put the emp- 

 ty super under." 



' ' That is a good thought, but I wish to 

 know the result of this way of working. ' ' 



"By the above plan I secure three im- 

 portant items— lots of section honey in a 

 good year (some in a poor year) , no drone 

 comb, and five frames of nice worker comb, 

 the latter costing less, according to my es- 

 timation, than the price of the foundation to 

 fill those frames, saying nothing about put- 

 ting it in the frames." 



' ' But these five frames do not give a ca- 

 pacity great enough, nor stores sufficient for 

 the colony to winter on, do they?" 



"No. I am glad you spoke of this part. 

 When the harvest of white honey is over, 

 the dummies are taken out and the hive fill- 

 ed with frames of comb if I have them; and 

 if not, then with frames of foundation; but 

 the combs are much to be preferred." 



' ' Then it is necessary to buy some founda- 

 tion?" 



" I consider it better to buy some and keep 

 it on hand for emergencies, but it is not ab- 

 solutely necessary; for by making nuclei, or 

 having a few weak colonies, they can be 

 kept building comb during the whole season, 

 at all times when honey is coming in from 

 the fields sufficiently to cause them to build 

 comb. ' ' 



' ' And will such little colonies always build 

 worker comb?" 



* ' Yes, if they have a young queen, and 

 you do not give too much comb room." 



"How much is the right amount?" 



" I generally use about two quarts of bees, 

 giving them one frame containing mostly 

 honey and one of brood, putting the empty 

 frame between the two; and as soon as that 

 frame is filled then I put two more empty 

 frames in, placing them between the three 

 filled ones. These they will fill with comb 

 nearly as quickly as they did the one." 



" When you have the five full, what then?" 



"The three which have been built are 

 taken out, the bees shaken off, and one emp- 

 ty frame given as at first, unless the nucleus 

 has grown materially stronger, when two 

 are given, putting both between the two 

 combs we have left them." 



"What do you do with the combs of brood 

 you take away?" 



' ' They are used to take the place of the 

 dummies taken out from the swarms hived 

 on the five frames, when I use this way of 

 getting combs." 



" Ah ! I see. But I must be going." 



