January, 1909. 



American Hae Journal 



possible. You can add to the security by 

 setting up a board in front of each hive, so 

 they will bump their heads against it when 

 they first fly. 



Yes, you could work the plan you mention, 

 putting a hive with empty combs to receive 

 the returning bees. A queen could be added, 

 only she should be caged, or the bees might 

 take a notion to kill her. This plan has 

 been used in making artificial swarms, onlv 

 the old queen is generally put in the empty 

 hive on the old stand, and new queen given 

 to the removed part. 



. I_ know of only one entirely safe plan 

 to introduce a queen. Put into a hive-body 

 3 or more combs of sealed brood — not a single 

 bee with the brood — put the queen in, fasten 

 so no bee can get out or in, and in 5 days 

 set the hive on its stand, and give an opening 

 large enough for a single bee to pass. Dur- 

 ing that 5 days the hive must be kept in a 

 warm place, or else over a strong colony 

 with 2 sheets of wirecloth under, so that the 

 heat can rise but no bee below communicate 

 with any bee above. Of course the ripe brood 

 will be hatching out all the lime, and in s 

 days there ought to be quite a colony, es- 

 pecially if you have 5 or 6 brood. You 

 will not find the frames of brood ready to your 

 hand, without any unsealed brood, so must 

 get them ready. Take the best combs you 

 can find for your purpose, put them in a 

 hive-body over a strong colony, and excluder 

 between the 2 stories, and 9 days later all 

 brood will be sealed ready for you. 



Managing Late Swarms — Uniting 

 Colonies. 



I have looked with interest for the Ameri- 

 can Bee Journal each month, to see what 

 questions you answer, as I am just starting 

 in the bee-business and find answers to lots 

 of questions that I would ask. But I am at a 

 loss to know what to do with a late swarm- 

 that I had this year. Last year I purchased 

 a swarm of bees that was put into a box- 

 hive. After filling the lower part the bees 

 filled a lo-pound box in the super, that I 

 removed. They were wintered in the cellar. 

 They swarmed twice this summer, and both 

 swarms were put in box-hives that I made. 

 The first swarm weighs 60 pounds; after tak- 

 ing off the super of 10 pounds, leaving 50 

 pounds of bees and honey. The old hive 

 has 56 pounds of bees and honey. Will 

 that be enough honey to winter them in the 

 cellar? My cellar is dry and warm, as I 

 have a furnace in it. 



The second swarm is in bad shape, as it 

 was not so large as the first swarm. It did 

 not fill the comb with honey in the box- 

 hive. Now they are about out of honey. 

 Can I unite them with either of the other 

 colonies, or feed them at this time of year? 

 If so, how? New York. 



Answers. — Unless there is something about 

 the box-hive to make the hive itself remarka- 

 bly heavy in weight, 56 pounds ought to be 

 abundant to carry the bees through all right. 



As to the weaker colony nearly out of 

 stores, turn the hive upside down in the cel- 

 lar, and lay cakes of sugar candy over the 

 combs. It will hurt nothing to leave the hive 

 upside down all winter. 



Swarming — Caucasian Bees — Wiring 

 Comb Foundation — Queen- 

 Excluders. 



1. If there are queen-excluders on the hives 

 when a swarm issues, the queen not being 

 with the bees, will they return to the hive of 

 their own accord ? 



2. Do the bees in this case settle or return 

 to the hive without settling? 



3. When should a new swarm be furnished 

 with sections — as soon as hived or later? 



4. How do you keep your bees from swarm- 

 ing? 



S- Are there any indications to tell when 

 the first swarm will issue? 



6. \yhich are the most gentle — Italians or 

 Caucasians? Also, which of these two are 

 the best honey-producers ? 



7. How many times do you let a colony 

 swarm when you are wanting them to store 

 a surplus? 



8. When a colony swarms and I wish to 

 unite the cast off swarm to another weaker 

 colony, how should I proceed? When I dump 

 them at the entrance I have great trouble with 

 them fighting. 



9. When should the second super be given 

 to a colony ? 



10. When full sheets of foundation are used 



in the brood-chamber, how do you insert the 

 wire to hold it? 



n. If a queen-excluder is left on a colony 

 through the swarming season, and then re- 

 moved, will the queen continue to lay, or 

 during this time must she mate with the 

 drones? Missouri. 



Answers. — i. Yes, generally, but occasion- 

 ally a swarm may unite with another swarm. 



2. Sometimes one way; sometimes the other. 



3. Unless an excluder is used under the 

 super (generally it is thought best not to use 

 the excluder), don't give the super until the 

 queen has begun laying well in the brood- 

 chamber, say 2 or 3 days after hiving. 



4. I don't always. Cutting out queen-cells 

 will sometimes hold them. Sometimes I make 

 ihem queenless and return the queen after 10 

 days. A practically certain way is to make 

 the colony queenless for 10 days and then give 

 a young laying queen. 



5. Yes, when a colony decides to swarm it 

 starts a number of queen-cells. About the 

 time the first queen-cell is sealed the swarm 

 issues. 



6. Hard to answer on account of the vary- 

 ing character of the reports as to Caucasians. 

 A good deal has been said about this in late 

 numbers of this journal, by reading which 

 you can judge as well as I. On the whole 

 your safe plan is probably to choose Italians. 



7. None at all, if I can help it. 



8. Unite only those that have the same kind 

 of queens. If one has a laying and the other 

 a virgin queen, there is likely to be fighting. 

 It will help to keep down fighting if you 

 dump down in front of the hive both lots of 

 bees, letting them run in together. 



9. When the first is about half filled. 



1 0. I don't insert wire ; I use foundation 

 splints. If you want to press wire in the 

 foundation, you can get a tool specially made 

 for that purpose. You can adapt a dressmak- 

 er's tracing- wheel to the same purpose. 



11. That depends upon where the queen- 

 excluder is. If between the hive and the 

 super, it may stay on without harm. But if 

 at the entrance, it must be out of the way 

 when a virgin queen is in the hive. 



A bee-book would be worth to you much 

 more than its cost; and if you get one I'm 

 sure you will thank me for advising it. 



Getting Most Increase. 



I have purchased 4 colonies of bees. I 

 want all the increase I can possibly get. What 

 is the best way to get it, as I know nothing 

 about bees whatever ? I have never seen a 

 queen. My bees are in frame-hives. 



New York. 



Answer. — If you go into big increase without 

 knowing anything about bees, the probability 

 is that a year from next spring you will not 

 have as many colonies as you have now. I 

 am speaking of artificial increase. Your safe 

 way will be to let the bees swarm naturally. 

 If, however, you want to increase more rap- 

 idly than that, you must begin by knowing 

 something about bees, and must get a bee- 

 book and study up this winter. For that 

 one matter alone, the book ought to be worth 

 to you several times its cost. After you've 

 studied it pretty thoroughly, you'll probably 

 not have very much trouble deciding how 

 to make increase. If you do have any such 

 trouble then, I'll be glad to help you out. 



Winter Losses — Amount of Stores for 



Winter — Taking Bees Out of 



Cellar in Winter. 



1. In Dr. Miller's "Forty Years Among the 

 Bees," page 326, you say, in regard to win- 

 tering, that one starved, 2 died of queen- 

 lessness, 2 more robbed out, probably also 

 queenless, or w^ords to that effect. Was that 

 your entire loss in wintering for 1904 and 

 1905? If so, I consider it remarkable, when 

 compared with your losses of i902-'o3, 

 i903-'o4, page 324. And do you consider the 

 principal reason that you were successful on 

 account of an abundance of stores? 



2. With a furnace in a cellar and a mild 

 winter on, the bees living in a temperature 

 of 50 to 60 degrees, and sometimes going to 

 70, is a new one for most bee-keepers. Would 

 20 pounds of honey be a sufficient amount, 

 or would 40 be safer? In these conditions do 

 bees rear much brood? or not any? 



3. Were the conditions about the same dur- 

 ing last winter — 1907-1908? And what was 

 your loss then? And did that prove that 

 the abundance of stores was the great safe- 

 guard in wintering bees in a cellar with a 

 furnace ? Of course, I understand that you 



provide ventilation and allow fresh air to en- 

 ter, and to some extent to control the tenv 

 perature. 



4- There are furnaces going into homes coi>- 

 tinually, and if it happens to be a bee- 

 keeper, especially one who cellar-winters, yonr 

 advice, "look out for starvation" is timely. 

 With ample stores then you feel that that 

 style of wintering should prove reasonably 

 successful, do you? That is, a temperature 

 of from 50 to 60, sometimes 70, with probably 

 an average of 55 most of the time, the roonj 

 darkened, and at times the windows and door 

 opened for fresh air. 



5. What day and month was it when you 

 took your bees out last spring (1908)? Also, 

 what was the date when you placed them in 

 the cellar this winter? Wisconsin. 



Answers. — i. Yes, that was the entire loss, 

 and the principal reason for the difference 

 between that winter and the few preceding 

 winters was th difference in stores, as the 

 previous loss had bten mainly from starva- 

 tion. The cellar being kept open so much of 

 the time probably had some bearing also. 



2. Just as you put it. I'm afraid some will 

 get the impression that my cellar is warmer 

 than it really is. While 70° may have been 

 reached, that's a thing that happens only once 

 in a great while, and indeed 60° is not very 

 common, while 50° or lower is perhaps the 

 rule. Sometimes, indeed, the temperature goes 

 below 45^, as when I've left the cellar door 

 open at night and before morning there is a 

 sharp fall in the outside temperature. I have 

 an impression that the cellar will average cool- 

 er than the first few winters with furnace in 

 cellar, owing to the cellar being kept more 

 open. Wait a minute and I'll tell you j ust 

 how it is this nth day of December in the 

 afternoon. * * * It's 29° outdoors and 49' 

 in cellar, with one of the outside cellar-doors 

 perhaps a third way open. The bees are about ' 

 as quiet as you are likely to find them with 

 160 colonies in one room. 



Now to your question. There's a big dif- 

 ference in the amount of stores needed by 

 different colonies. While 20 pounds may be 

 plenty for most colonies, occasionally one uses 

 30, and as it is impossible to know in ad- 

 vance which colony will be the big eater, the 

 only safe way is to give all the amount needed 

 by the exceptional consumers. If I knew each 

 colony had 30 pounds of honey, I shouldn't 

 lie awake worrying for fear of starvation. But 

 I wouldn't like to limit them to 30, and some 

 of mine have 40 or mofe. Not that it's all 

 used in wintering, but it is better for them 

 to have enough to carry them up to the har- 

 vest. Moreover, I have a notion that they 

 winter a little better on full combs, even if 

 they don't need so much honey. I don't think 

 the warmer temperature in the cellar starts 

 brood-rearing. Do you know that bees start 

 at rearing brood outdoors earlier than they do 

 in cellar? 



3. Conditions were much the same, only the 

 winter of 1907- 1 90S was unusually mild, and 

 cellar-door more or less open nearly all the 

 time. Winter loss was 7 out of 1 58, and I 

 don't know how many of the 7 were queen- 

 less. Yes, lots to eat and lots to breathe is 

 the great desideratum. 



4. As before intimated, your figures are 

 rather high, and at any time when the ther- 

 mometer stood as high as 50^-* I should hardly 

 want the cellar closed. An occasional run up 

 to 60° or even 70'^ would not trouble me. 

 With abundance of stores, air all the time 

 pure, and darkness enough to keep the bees 

 from leaving the hive, there ought to be no 

 trouble with the thermometer ranging from 

 45° to $s° and an occasional excursion into 

 the higher regions. 



5. Bees were taken out of cellar March 23 

 and March 26, 1908. Put in cellar Nov, 

 J7, 1908. 



Bountiful Honey Season. 



The past season has been uncommonly boun- 

 tiful in this locality. As a rule, we have to 

 depend mainly upon the white clover for our 

 surplus honey. Almost every year gives us 

 a little late honey from buckwheat and fall 

 flowers, but the yield is generally so scant, 

 that very little surplus honey is secured from 



