20 



January, 1909. 



American Me Journal 



the gathering season. If you want to double 

 up so to have only half as many colonies to 

 winter, set one colony over the other, with 

 one or two thicknesses of newspaper be- 

 tween them, and punch through a single hole 

 with a lead pencil, although there is hardly 

 any need of such a hole. The bees will gnaw 

 out the paper, and a week later you may re- 

 duce to a single story, although if strong 

 enough both stories may be le ft. I f , how- 

 ever, you do not wish to double up so severely, 

 say making 2 colonies out of 3, 4 out of 

 5, or any other number, just take the frames 

 from the colony to be broken up and put them 

 around in the colonies to be strengthened, of 

 course taking away enough frames to make 

 room. 



Moving Bees and Marking Location. 



1. Do you agree with what Danzenbaker 

 says on page 46 in "Facts About Bees," in 

 regard to moving bees ? He says that a col- 

 ony of beee can be moved any distance in 

 warm weather and faced in any direction, if 

 they are well shaken up after sunset, when 

 all are in the hive, to cause them to fill 

 with honey, and by putting a bush in front 

 of the hive for them to bump against for a 

 few days, they will all mark the new loca- 

 tion. 



2. What is your opinion in regard to W. M. 

 Whitney's statement, page 564 (1907), last 

 paragraph of first column? He says that any 

 normal colony of bees kept in its hive by 

 bad weather, or from any other cause, for a 

 period of 2 or 3 days, will mark its location 

 anew on the first opportunity for flight. Ac- 

 cording to that they would not return to the 

 old location if moved a short distance to a 

 new one, after 3 days' confinement. 



3. Can your plan of placing an old colony 

 which has just swarmed on the stand of 

 some other colony, and moving that colony 

 to a new location, be carried out under the 

 following conditions with good results? When 

 a colony swarms, hive the swarm on the old 

 stand, and move the old colony to tlie stand 

 occupied by the hive holding 2 separate colo- 

 nies, thus getting the field-bees of both colo- 

 nies to strengthen the colony which has just 

 swarmed. Would there be any disagreement 

 between the 3 different sets of bees? 



Maine. 



Answers. — i. The plan is good. It mi-^ht 

 help matters to shut in the bees before they fly 

 the next morning, pound on the hive till 

 the bees are well stirred up. then open the 

 hive. A late writer reports success — I think 

 in the Review — by moving the bees to the 

 new place, and taking out frame after frame 

 and shaking all bees down in front of the 

 hive. 



2. Yes, I've often seen bees marking their 

 location after being weather-bound for a few 

 days. Also, I've often made bees stay where 

 put, when forming nuclei, by keeping them 

 imprisoned 3 days on the new location. But 

 if you're going to do that with a full colony, 

 you must look out for smothering. 



Wrapping Hives for Wintering — Feed- 

 ing for Winter — Rearing Queens — 

 Spider-Plant. 



1. I have 56 colonies of bees in my back 

 yard, surrounded by buildings on the north 

 and west, and on the northeast and south- 

 west the sun shines on them from 9 a. m. till 

 3 p. m. I use dovetail hives. Will it be 

 necessary for me to wrap the hives with paper 

 for winter protection. I have supers on filled 

 with chaff. 



2. I have some weak colonies, and I got 

 some honey-boards or queen-excluders, and 

 put the weak ones over the strong ones, 

 bored a half-inch hole in the hive of the 

 weak colony just above the excluder so the 

 bees could come out. Is that right? 



3. The first of October I found my bees 

 scarce of stores for the winter. I bought 

 500 pounds of granulated sugar, 20 Alex- 

 ander feeders, and 10 Miller feeders, and 

 put them on. I fed each colony a quart of 

 syrup, half sugar and half water, every 24 

 hours, for 25 days. I lost some of the weak 

 colonies. They had gone too long. I ought 

 to have commenced feeding September ist, 

 and I would have saved all of them. 



4. I am a subscriber of two bee-papers, 

 and have *'A B C of Bee Culture," and an 

 outfit for rearing queens. I have read the 

 papers and book, and can't see clearly how 

 to rear queens. Is there any other book 

 which would be better for a beginner ? I 

 want to rear my own queens next season. 

 I commenced working with the bees in April, 



1907. I have $300 in bees and bee-fixtures, 

 and we had the worst drouth the past season 

 that I ever saw. We had some rain July 8. 

 ^nd then had no rain till November 20. The 

 alfalfa, buckwheat, sweet clover, and every- 

 tliing else burned up. 



5. I see advertised, spider weed for bees. 

 Will it pay to buy seed and sow for the 

 bees? 



I am a retired farmer, 64 years old. 



Kentucky. 



Answers. — 1. As far south as Kentucky, 

 surrounded by buildings and with the supers 

 filled with chaff, there is no need to wrap 

 the hives for further protection. 



2. I don't know. If left long enough 

 in that way the two may unite. Still, tliat 

 would be no great loss. There is also the 

 objection that the lower colony is made some- 

 what colder. 



3. So late as October it might have been 

 as well to have fed syrup and to have fed 

 faster. 



4. Perhaps my book, "Forty Years Among 

 the Bees." would suit you. It tells just how 

 I rear queens for my own use as a honey- 

 producer, and you can get it by sending $1.00 

 to the office of the American Bee Journal. 



5. It is doubtful that it pays to buy any 

 seed to sow for bees, unless it be to scatter 

 in waste places, or to sow something that lias 

 value as forage aside from its nectar. 



Wintering Bees in Wisconsin Hive. 



July 4, iqoS, I hived 2 small swarms of 

 bees, and. to my surprise, the third day 

 they united, and worked together without any 

 trovible, and it is now a very large colony. 



I have the Wisconsin hive. Can I use the 

 body with inner cover and outside cover for 

 wintering without the danger of bees dying? 

 I secured 300 pounds of comb honey from 5 

 colonies. The best colony gathered 108 

 pounds. It was an old colony from 1907. 



Klinois. 



Answer. — Depends somewhat on where you 

 winter your bees. In tlie cellar they will 

 be all right; outdoors they will need some 

 extra protection. If nothing more, pile a 

 lot of corn-stalks about the hives, leaving 

 the entrances uncovered. Your better way, 

 though, will be to put them into cellar. 



How Many Colonies in an Apiary? — 

 Might Try Prohibition. 



1. How many colonies can I keep in my 

 apiary? Within a mile are large fields of 

 clover — three different kinds — a few thousand 

 basswood trees, some cucumbers, about 5 

 acres of buckwheat, large fruit orchards, and 

 other nectar-plants. 



2. Which ticket is best for bee-keepers — 

 Republican or Democratic? Ohio. 



Answers. — i. I don't believe there's a man 

 living who can tell you. Possibly somewhere 

 from 80 to 120. 



2. Kach of the two parties named seems 

 (o advocate about the same thing, so I don't 

 know which would be better for the bee- 

 keeper. Might try the Prohibition ticket, in 

 the hope that some of the money now spent 

 for liquor might be spent for honey. 



Broodless Bees — Dividing Instead of 

 Swarming — Caucasian Bees — Clip- 

 ping the Queen — Winter 

 Feeding of Bees. 



I Iiave 2 colonies of bee?-, and on taking 

 out the frames about 10 days ago, was sur- 

 prised to find no brood whatever, although 

 each hive is heavy with honey, plenty of 

 bees, and a fine queen. Why have they no 

 brood ? Is there not always at least some 

 brood all the year round? 



2. I would like to increase to 4 or 5 colo- 

 nies next spring, but I am afraid they will 

 swarm when perhaps I will be unable to be 

 on hand. Would you advise me to practice 

 artificial swarming; i. e., take out 2 or . 3 

 combs from each hive with the old queen, 

 or let them swarm in the natural way? Will 

 such colonies build up strong enough the 

 first year to store any surplus? 



3. What do you think of the Caucasian 

 race of bees? Would you advise introducing 

 a Caucasian queen into a colony of Italians ? 

 Do you think it would make them more gen- 

 tle, as I have one colony of extremely cross 

 bees? 



4. How do you clip a queen's wings? Is it 

 good policy to do so? 



5. Do you think it advisable to feed oc- 

 casionally throughout the winter, say a pint 

 of thick syrup once a week? Of course this 

 can be done only on mild days. Or is spring 

 feeding preferable? Ohio. 



Answers. — i. No; brood-rearing ceases en- 

 tirely in the fall, not beginning again till 

 about the time bees are taken out of cellar 

 in spring. But bees wintered outdoors begin 

 earlier. 



2. If you let the bees swarm naturally, there 

 will be great danger that you may lose swarms 

 if not on hand to watch them if the queens 

 have whole wings. Clipping will help. Your 

 plan of artificial swarming will also work. 

 Whether the new colonies formed shall prove 

 strong enough to store surplus depends upon 

 how you manage, and also on the season. 

 If you take 2 or 3 combs with bees and 

 queen, putting them on a new stand, you 

 will not be likely to get much surplus. But 

 if you leave the 2 combs on the old stand 

 with the queen, you may count on their 

 storing well if there is anything to store. 



3. The real character of Caucasians is as 

 yet an unsettled matter. Your safe way will 

 be to stick to Italians. Of course, a queen 

 of gentler Italian blood should be given to 

 the cross colony. 



4. Probably the majority think it is good 

 policy to clip. Certainly it ought to be a 

 good thing for you, seeing you are not con- 

 stantly able to watch your bees during 

 swarming. Mr. DooHttle catches a queen by 

 one wing, lets her hold to the comb with 

 her feet, and with a very sharp knife cuts 

 the wing against thumb or finger. Probably 

 a larger number, myself in tlie number, use 

 a pair of scissors, holding the queen by the 

 thorax (not by the abdomen or hinder part) 

 between the thumb and finger of the left 

 hand, and cutting off most of the 2 wings 

 on one side. 



5. Unless there is danger of starvation, 

 better not feed in winter at all. 



Transferring Bees — Instruction for 

 Small Apiarist. 



1. Can bees be transferred from an old box 

 early in the spring, say March, by taking 

 the bottom off and setting it on top of a 

 regular hive? Would the bees move down 

 and take possession of the hive? 



2. Are there any books on bees that will 

 give detailed instructions how to manage 4. 

 or 5 colonies to the best advantage, with the 

 least amount of work, for extracted honey? 

 how to keep them from swarming, etc. ? 1 

 want about 175 to 225 pounds of extracted 

 honey annuallv for mv own use. I have 

 "A B C of Bee Culture," but I do not find 

 what I want. Kansas. 



Answers. — i. The suggested plan will work 

 if the season is good enough so that the 

 whole of the upper hive is filled with honey, 

 for in that case the colony would be crowded 

 down into the lower story. You can make 

 it more certain by diminishing the size of 

 the upper hive, cutting off the hive so as _ to 

 cut away all the lower part that is unoccupied 

 by the bees, including all unoccupied comb. 



2. You will probably find no book that 

 confines itself to the items you mention, al- 

 though from any of them you ought to be 

 able to glean what you want, and this depart- 

 ment is always open to help out on any par- 

 ticular point if you do not find it fully an- 

 swered in the books. 



Feeding Bees in the Cellar. 



The past was my first season with bees, 

 and as bee-keepers around here never make a 

 practice of requeening, I suppose my stock 

 was not what it ought to be. Last spring 

 I put out 4 colonies. They started to swarm 

 and kept on swarming all summer. I had 

 at one time 13 swarms, but was not getting 

 any honey. Some swarms that were in 

 good shape would not go up into the 

 super. I was trying to get comb honey. 

 Some did go up, and then the queen would 

 go up and lay eggs in the sections. But I 

 am all fixed up for the next spring. I bought 

 all new queens, and had the wings clipped 

 so that when they swarm again I guess I 

 will be ready for them. But the result was 

 I put in the cellar 8 colonies in all kinds 

 of shapes, some that I don't gxpect to pull 

 through, but if they live till in March, how 

 will I proceed to feed them in the cellar, 

 as I am going to save them if I can. My 

 cellar is A No. i, and I have no trouble to 

 keep at right temperature — 45 degrees. 



Minnesota. 



Answer- — If you promise never again to 



