1172 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Sept. 15 



LENGTH OF BEE-FLIGHT — CONDITIONED UP- 

 ON WHAT? NOT LONG TONGUES, BUT 

 STRENGTH AND ENDURANCE. 



It has Ijeeu claimed l)y some most excel- 

 lent authorities that bees will not tiy, as a 

 rule, more than one and a half to two miles 

 to gather nectar from flowers, while Mr. Doo- 

 littie claims they will fly from three to six 

 miles from choice. Here is certainly a great 

 difference of opinion, honestly given. How 

 can it be accounted for? It seems probable 

 that, in part, it can be accounted for in the 

 topography of the country, the season of 

 year, and 'the scarcity or abundance of nec- 

 tar near at hand or at a distance. It seems 

 reasona'ole to suppose that it is no more ex- 

 hausting to a bee to fly four miles and gath- 

 er a load of honey from flowers yielding an 

 abundance than to glean a sackful from 

 flowers two miles from home where, per- 

 haps, twenty or flfty times as many flowers 

 have to be visited to secure a load. Yet Mr. 

 Dadaut claims that his bees failed to gather 

 from flowers yielding abundantly on an is- 

 land one end of which was within one and a 

 half miles from his apiary. 



I think no one would doubt that some l)ees 

 under favorable conditions fly long distances. 

 Some thirty years ago or more I met Mr. 

 Harbison, of California. He said there were 

 no bees in San Diego County till he moved 

 his tlowu there; and, very soon after, he 

 found bees from ten to fifteen miles from his 

 ranch. At five miles he said he found bees 

 very abundant, while at ten miles there were 

 a few. while at the greatest distance only 

 now and then one could l)e found. In other 

 words, while he found them fifteen miles in 

 extremely limited numbers, they continuetl 

 .to increase as he came nearer to his yard. 



These facts or illustrations have not been 

 •given to determine how far bees will fly to 

 gather their stores, but, rather, to show that 

 there is a great difference in their strength or 

 ambition or endurance. If Mr. Doolittle's 

 bees will readily fly four or five miles to 

 gather nectar, why will not Mr. Dadant's 

 fly just as far: And this brings me to the 

 point I wished to make, viz., that strength 

 and endurance are of the greatest impor- 

 tance in any strain or colony, or in individ- 

 ual bees. l>oubtless we have all noticed the 

 great difference in horses. Take two of 

 equal age and weight, give each the same 

 feed and care, ami one will endure one and 

 a half times or twice the hard work of the 

 other, without any inconvenience. Of course, 

 so great a difference would be greater than 

 the average. We have also seen the great 

 difference in the capacity as well as endur- 



ance of different specimens of the genus 

 homo. And have we not all seen two colo- 

 nies of bees, so far as we could judge, of 

 equal strength, eipially prolific queen, and 

 ample .stores, one Imikliug up early in the 

 season, while the other lagged far Ijehind? 



I remember very well some colonies that 

 have attracted my attention. I found them 

 weak in the spring, but thought by careful 

 nursing they might become useful, and by 

 the close of the honey season have succeeded 

 in getting them into fair contlition. but not 

 soon enough to gather sufficient stores for 

 winter use. The next .season found them in 

 the same pitiable condition as in the previous 

 year. The more a man has of such l)ees the 

 poorer he is; for they are far more profitable 

 dead than alive, and can l)e made useful only 

 by destroying their queens at the fir.st conven- 

 ient opportunity and giving them one whose 

 offspring are more enterprising or capable 

 of greater endurance. 



I remember one colony in one of my yards 

 that, while one queen was at the head of af- 

 fairs, would insist on and succeed in getting 

 more honey than any other colony, and this 

 for three years in succession. It was not 

 that thejr were stronger in numbers, but of 

 greater vigor than other colonies. I remem- 

 ber one year they continued to work after 

 the rest had come to a standstill in gathering 

 honey from some unknown sourc-e. probably 

 outside the range of flight of the other bees. 



In no other way is the vigor and strength 

 of constitution of different colonies better 

 shown than in seasons or periods of scarcity. 

 Some colonies will build up, storing some 

 honey, and swarming, perhaps, while the 

 weaker sisters wear out so fast as hardly to 

 hold their own, and some will run down and 

 die, or become worthless, in spite of our ef- 

 forts in their behalf. 



Some years ago I moved a yard of bees 

 two-thirds of a mile to the east of its former 

 location, only to find later that I had moved 

 it away from the Ijest part of my range, and 

 the yield of honey was a good deal reduced. 

 What was I to do? Move my bees back a 

 mile to the west, and so much further from 

 my present home, but nearer the l^est honey? 

 I finally decided to let them remain where 

 they were, but breed for stronger bees, such 

 as would l)e able to reach the best of their 

 former range; and I am led to believe from 

 the increased yield in this yard that I have, to 

 quite a degree, accomplished my purpose. 



Another time in which the greater or less 

 endurance shows itself is when a new swarm 

 is placed in a new hive with no brood hatching 

 for three weeks tluring the time the flowers 

 are yielding honey freely; for gi-eater endur- 

 ance means longevity, and length of days in 

 bees is of quite as much importance as length 

 of tongues, and I do not wish to say any 

 thing derogatory to this most excellent qual- 

 ity. 



But, say! Was it not amusing to see when, 

 a few yeai-s ago, the subject of long tongues 

 was discussed, how many queen-breeders 

 were breeding queens that produced just 

 such tongues? I have sometimes fancied that 



