608 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



June 1 



the robbing season comes on, the full-size 

 opening would be too large, and should be 

 reduced to accommodate the then present 

 needs of the colony. One of the thmgs we 

 have learned in these latter days is the val- 

 ue of an expansible and contractible en- 

 trance — contractible during cool or cold 

 weather, and expansible in the hot part of 

 the year when honey is coming in. — Ed.] 



BEES WINTERING IN DANZENBAKER HIVES. 



Do you hear good reports of bees winter- 

 ing outdoors on Danzenbaker brood-frames? 

 Have the losses been heavier as compared 

 with other hives with the deeper frame? 

 J. Arthur Smith. 



Hartford, Conn., April 10. 



[We have had uniformly good reports of 

 wintering in Danzenbaker hives. This hive 

 is, to a great extent, double-walled. The 

 closed ends of the frames and the end of the 

 hive make two walls. The division-board on 

 the other side makes another wall. If the 

 exposed side, or the single-walled side, faces 

 the south, the cold sides are reasonably well 

 protected. — Ed.] 



WINTERING BEES IN A DRY CAVE WITHOUT 

 VENTILATION. 



I went to great expense to put in a sub- 

 earth ventilator. I tried it for three years, 

 and found that the bees that were the 

 furthest from the ventilator wintered the 

 best. I closed the ventilator, and made 

 every thing as tight as I could around the 

 cave with double doors, and papered, and 

 my bees wintered all right. The thermome- 

 ter stands at about 40 from December to 

 April. The cave is dry. Give me a cave 

 ihat is dry and nearly air-tight for winter- 

 ing bees. Isaac Barby. 



Radney, la., March 21. 



[Some years ago sub-earth ventilators 

 were discussed a good deal in the bee jour- 

 nals, and many of them were put in at great 

 expense; but nearly every ojie of them was 

 discarded sooner or later because they were 

 either a positive detriment or no particular 

 advantage. In the light of our past experi- 

 ence I am inclined to think the underground 

 air-tubes of this kind brought in dampness, 

 and dampness is always bad. Good clear 

 dry air from above ground is, under some 

 conditions, decidedly beneficial, provided that 

 not too much of it is admitted at one time, 

 thus reducing or increasing the temperature 

 below or above 40. Where the temperature 

 can be controlled absolutely at a uniform 

 point, as in your case, ventilation might do 

 more harm than good, for the reason that it 

 would modify the temperature, making it 

 too high or too low at times. For the other 

 conditions when ventilation is beneficial, see 

 Gleanings for March 15, page 292,— Ed.] 



the Sibbald non-swarming plan ? or will the 

 bees store the honey in the empty brood- 

 combs in place of the super ? 

 Bridgeport, Ct., April 10. F. Orelup. 



[My impression is that the empty combs 

 would not be as good as the empty frames 

 of starters, for the very reason you sug- 

 gest.— Ed.] 



MAPLE SUGAR AS FOOD FOR BEES. 



Maple sugar killed a strong colony of bees 

 for me. I think it was not pure. Please 

 give me your opinion about it. 



Findlay, 0., Mar. 11. M. H. Duyer. 



[The maple sugar you refer to was proba- 

 bly pure. It could hardly be otherwise with 

 the stringent pure-food laws in this State; 

 but even if pure it may have been the cause 

 of dysentery, as there is no food for winter 

 use that is quite the equal of granulated- 

 sugar s\rup when it is fed thin, and well- 

 ripened in the comb. But dysentery is not 

 always caused by the food. Extreme cold 

 or extreme exposure, rather, is liable to 

 bring on dyesentery with any food, however 

 good, before spring. — Ed.] 



COMBS vs. STARTERS FOR SIBBALD NON- 

 SWARMING PLAN. 



Can we use a full hive of empty combs in 

 place of starters in the brood-frames with 



DISEASED BEES ; BEE - BREAD ; CLIPPING 



QUEENS. 



I find in my apiary this season a very large 

 number of bees running about on the grass 

 and walks, apparently unable to fly; their 

 wings seem fairly good, and the bees far 

 from being worn out or feeble from old age. 

 They are beautiful Italians, bred from your 

 queens. The hotter the day the more bees 

 seem to be running about. Can you tell 

 what is the trouble? 



Kindly tell me by which bees the bee-bread 

 is consumed, and at what stage it is neces- 

 sary. 



Is "bee-bread" the proper term to use 

 for pollen when prepared and placed in the 

 cells ready for use? 



Do you think the clipping of queens is in- 

 jurious, or tends to shorten life or cause 

 the bees to requeen, as many queens this 

 season have been superseded ? 



H. Parrett, 



Canterbury, New Zealand, Feb. 10. 



[Very often one will find a good many 

 bees on hot days apparently perfect in every 

 way, but crawling around in the grass and 

 on the sidewalks aimlessly, repeatedly mak- 

 ing the attempt to fly, but without success. 

 This phenomenon has been noticed hundreds 

 of times, but so far no one has been able to 

 tell whether it is due to one cause or several 

 of them. In the spraying season thousands 

 of bees are liable to be found crawling 

 around in the grass as the result, probably, 

 of poison. At other times there will be the 

 same hurry-scurrying about of bees trying 

 to fly, but failing, and this may be due to 

 some germinal disease. 



Bee-bread is the common name for pol- 

 len stored in the cells, mixed with a little 

 honey. The designation is very apt. 



So far as any one can see, the clipping of 



