1905 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



79 



i, 2 lost veins, 1 almost lost. 



Other irregularities, none. 



Deducing the cases where more than one 

 irregularity occurs on one wing we have 271 

 irregular drone wings and 37 worker wings. 

 Leaving out of consideration those cases in 

 which merely a bend is recorded, there are 

 206 irregular drone wings and 30 irregular 

 worker wings, or almost seven times as 

 many for drones as for workers. 



The figure and these tabulations show 

 that there is one region of the wing that is 

 far more variable than any other. In the 

 classification of the bees the sub-marginal 

 cells are of great importance— that is, those 

 cells which are in the second row from the 

 front. Some genera of bees have but two 

 sub-marginal cells; others, like Apis, have 

 three; and from these observations we find 

 that the part of the wing which varies 

 most in the whole group of bees also varies 

 most in the one species. 



No attempt was made to correlate defi- 

 nitely these abnormalities with any lengths 

 •of the neighboring veins; but in a general 

 way it can be said that the largest wings of 

 ■each sex are the most abnormal, and this 

 fact explains to some extent why the drone 

 wings are so much more abnormal than 

 those of the workers. 



Philadelphia, Pa. 



ARTIFICIAL INCREASE. 



"Good morning, DooHttle. Jones wants 

 a little talk with you. What do you say on 

 this matter ? ' ' 



"I am willing, Mr. Jones. What shall we 

 talk about ? ' ' 



"I lost so many bees during the winter 

 and spring of a year ago that I was not able 

 to get my combs occupied with bees again 

 during the summer, and I wish to know if 

 you have some plan of rapid increase that I 

 can adopt next summer so as to get bees on 

 these combs early in the season." 



' ' There are different ways of making in- 

 crease under circumstances similar to yours ; 

 but after trying all I like what is termed 

 the ' nucleus-box system ' the best of any. ' ' 



"That is something I never heard of. 

 Please tell me about it." 



' ' To work this plan we first want to get 

 out boxes of suitable size for our opera- 

 tions, and I know of nothing better than an 

 ordinary twenty- section shipping-case for 

 colonies of the size you will wish to go on 

 your combs. After having made your cases, 

 all but the glass, use a piece of wire cloth 

 for each side where the glass would go, nail- 



ing the wire cloth permanently to one side, 

 while the other side has wire cloth nailed to 

 a frame, and this frame hung to the open 

 side, similar to the way a door is hung to a 

 house. ' ' 



' ' Pardon me ; but what do you use for 

 hinges ? ' ' 



' ' I use leather, cut from an old boot or 

 shoe, and find that this answers all purposes; 

 but if you prefer you can buy the small 

 butts or hinges sold at the hardware store." 



"I had not thought of leather for hinges, 

 and I think it would answer well. But go on. ' ' 



"Having your nucleus-box completed, get 

 your tinsmith to make you a great big fun- 

 nel, which should be 18 inches across the 

 top, with the usual slope of side, coming 

 down to a 2i-inch upright, or outlet, which 

 should be about 2J inches long. If this out- 

 let is much less than 2J inches in diameter, 

 the bees will clog, instead of readily passing 

 down through, when a frame of bees is 

 shaken into the funnel. Having the funnel 

 made, strike two opposite sides against 

 something, or squeeze together till you have 

 an oval funnel about a foot wide and 22 

 inches long, in the diameter of the two ways 

 across the top." 



" Why do you fix it thus ? " 



"This will collect the bees in better, when 

 the frame is shaken in it, than it would if 

 left in the ordinary funnel shape, especially 

 securing those which have a tendency to fly 

 when they are being shaken from the 

 frame. ' ' 



"I see. But how are they to be put in 

 the box with this funnel— through the door 

 we have made ? ' ' 



' ' No. A hole is to be bored in the top of 

 the nucleus-box which will just let the small 

 or upright part of the funnel down into it, 

 this holding the tunnel in an upright position 

 ready to receive the bees when shaken into 

 the large part. Over this hole fix a little 

 door or button, to cover the same when the 

 bees are in and the funnel out. Then, by 

 means of a spring, button, or wedge, fasten 

 a section of honey taken from some of those 

 you have left over (only partly filled) from 

 the season previous, and your box is com- 

 plete. ' ' 



' ' What is this section for ? ' ' 



* ' This is for food for the bees while they 

 are in the box, as we often wish to keep 

 them thus longer than the food they take in 

 their sacs when shaken oflf their combs will 

 last them." 



"That is easy— seems strange I did not 

 think of their needing food. But when 

 shall I begin operations ? ' ' 



' ' The next work is to crowd the colonies 

 you have in the spring toward full colonies, 

 just as fast as possible, using any or all the 

 plans with which you are familiar for keeping 

 them warm, stimulating, etc. ; and as soon 

 as any one of them gets strong enough, pre- 

 pare it for the rearing of queen-cells by 

 slipping a queen-excluding division-board 

 down in the hive so as to cut off a part of 

 the frames of brood from the queen, as 

 Editor Root has told us how to do so often 



