1905 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



549 



QUEENS IN THE AIR BECOMING ACQUAINTED 

 WITH STRANGE BEES AND FOLLOW- 

 ING THEM HOME. 



Let me help you explain why W. G. Hutch- 

 inson's queen returned— see page 37L Some- 

 thing over a year ago I wrote you about some 

 observations of ours— myself and son— to the 

 effect that bees will, when first made queen- 

 less, fly the country over searching for their 

 queen; and should they find one seeking a 

 home the two will undoubtedly become 

 friendly in the open air, and the bees pilot 

 or escort this queen to their home, and she 

 will be accepted. Now, my theory is that, 

 when those bees missed W. G. H.'s queen, 

 they supposed her to be lost in the field, and 

 they, being familiar with the field, proceed- 

 ed to hunt her and pilot her home. 



You or any one else can easily prove this 

 theory, or whatever you may call it, and I 

 feel quite sure that it will help to solve 

 many of our disappearances of queens, and 

 also explain why some, apparently hopelessly 

 queenless, refuse to accept what we offer 

 them in the way of a queen. 



FROZEN BEES. 



Now, Mr. Editor, allow me to say a word 

 to you about bees freezing and then starv- 

 ing. Some five or six years ago, when soft 

 maples v;ere in bloom the bees were just 

 rolling in pollen in the forenoon; but in the 

 afternoon a hailstorm passed near us, and a 

 chilly wind caught many of my bees out. 

 The yard near the hives was thick with bees 

 with great loads of pollen on their legs. This 

 I had no opportunity of observing until the 

 next day. My boys and I picked up several, 

 and carried them into the house, when, lo 

 and behold ! they revived and were as lively 

 as any. We afterward picked up more than 

 a quart, and nearly every one revived. They 

 were given to a weak colony after a day or 

 two, and accepted all right. 



About two years ago a similar occurrence 

 took place, except that a snowstorm caught 

 the bees out, very many took refuge on the 

 side of trees opposite the snow, one side of 

 the tree being white with snow and the other 

 pretty full of bees with many in the snow on 

 the ground. They remained out over night. 

 The next day was quite warm, and I know 

 that many of those on the trees got safely 

 home, and I think nearly all of them; but 

 those on the ground, especially those wet 

 with snow, were "all in," while some, no 

 doubt, from the ground reached home. 



J. Warren Arthur. 



Springfield, Ohio, April 10. 



[I really do not see how you are going to 

 prove your theory so easily as you suggest. 

 You may see the bees flying around in the 

 air, but how are you going to prove that 

 they are hunting around after a queen? and 

 even if you should see a queen coming along 

 with three or four or a dozen bees, how are 

 you going to prove that these are coaxing 

 her into their hive? 



Regarding the frozen bees, I think you 

 would have found they would have revived 



if they had been kept in that condition for 

 several days, though perhaps they would 

 have had less vitality afterward. —Ed.] 



A WIRE FRAME-SPACER. 



I send you a sample of my frame-spacer. 

 It can be made of round steel wire or flat 

 steel, about | wide. I made eight for an 

 eight-frame hive, and one extra to send 

 you, all from baling wire. Hang it over 

 the top-bars, one on each end of every other 

 frame; or one to a frame, hung one on 

 one end and the next on the opposite end 

 of the next frame, etc. In fact, it may 



be used a number of ways. These are 

 better than Hoffman spacers, better than 

 staples or nails, for they can easily be re- 

 moved for extracting, and as easily and 

 quickly put on. They don't give the bees a 

 chance to propolize the frames a particle; 

 can be easily taken off so as to allow the 

 frames to be crowded together if necessary, 

 without taking out the division-board. Fi- 

 nally, they are cheap. W. H. Lewis. 

 New Westminster, B. C. 



[These wire spacers are very simple and 

 cheap, but it would be difficult to hold them 

 in place in shoving the frames in and out of 

 the brood-nest. It would not be practicable 

 to put spacers on every other frame, but it 

 might do to use one spacer on one end of 

 each frame provided you could make them 

 hold their place.— Ed.] 



USE OF burlap; in-breeding, ETC. 



Would it be best to put clean burlap un- 

 der the cover next to the brood-frames ? 



I do not wish much increase, so how can 

 I best prevent swarming and save time in 

 the busy season ? 



As this is a damp climate would it be 

 likely to help matters to renew brood foun- 

 dation every four or five years ? If so, how 

 would you do it ? 



What is meant by full sheets of founda- 

 tion in supers ? T. MORRIS. 



Rainier, Oregon. 



[With the ordinary modern hives I would 

 not use burlap nor any thing else under the 

 cover. By "modem hives" I mean those 

 that have a cover that is flat on the under 



