April, igog. 



American Hee Journal 



and it is only by the condition of the 

 colonies in the fall that I can judge 

 of the amount of swarming. 



Readers of the American Bee Jour- 

 nal can make no mistake in making 

 up a few of these hives and setting 

 them upon the farm of some friend 

 where there is good pasturage and few 

 bees. 



Norwich, Conn. 



"Survival of the Fittest"— 

 Among the Bees 



BY ADRIAN GETAZ. 



Some time ago I found in a magazine, 

 a paper on the West Indies. Among 

 other things, was a statement to tue 

 effect that the bees introduced there, 

 finding out that there is no winter, and 

 therefore no need of making provisions, 

 finally decide that gathering enough for 

 the present needs is all that is necessary; 

 w'ith the consequence that the apiarist 

 fails to get any surplus. 



To me such statement sounds ridicul- 

 ous, to say the least. I am more and 

 more convinced that the bees, like all 

 other animals, act through instinct. 

 That instinct prompts them to do certain 

 things when they are in certain condi- 

 tions. But never mind. Let us suppose 

 that the bees are intelligent enough to 

 know that winter provisions are needed. 

 How could they know that there is a 

 winter coming? Those that passed 

 through the previous winter died in the 

 early spring. Three or four generations 

 have passed away during the summer, 

 and when the next winter comes, none 

 of the bees living knows anything about 

 it. 



Assertions similar to the one above 

 quoted have been frequently made, not 

 only concerning the tropical countries, 

 but even in regard to Florida or other 

 places having little or no winter. 



I do not know how much truth there 

 is in those assertions. I do not know 

 what causes the supposed laziness of 

 bees in such countries. It may be that 

 the temperature is too high to permit 

 the bees to work during the largest part 

 of the day. And it may be that, while 



the explanation given is wrong, it may 

 nevertheless be true that the bees trans- 

 ported into tropical countries eventu- 

 ally get to be less active than those liv- 

 ing where the winters are long, and pro- 

 visions are necessary. 



If it is, which, after all, is very likely 

 to be so, it comes through the great 

 law of Nature, called the Survival of 

 the Fittest. 



Take a ternperate or cold country, for 

 example. Suppose 2 colonies — one ac- 

 tive enough to amass sufficient provi- 

 sions to go through the winter; the other 

 just active enough to make what might 

 be termed "a good living." During the 

 summer this latter colon}- would prob- 

 ably be the stronger. The bees being less 

 active, and therefore less exposed, w'ould 

 live longer and therefore be more nu- 

 merous. The queen not being hampered 

 by an excess of honey in the combs, 

 would probably lay more, and thus also 

 add to the strength of the colony. But 

 at last the winter comes, that colony dies 

 for want of provision, while the other 

 survives. The same process goes on 

 from year to year, with the result that 

 the bees of that country will be good 

 honey-gatherers. 



But suppose that these 2 colonies, are 

 in a country without winter. Then the 

 second one, being the stronger, will have 

 the best chance to live, and send out 

 good, strong swarms ; and in the course 

 of time, the bees of that country will 

 be a race gathering nectar enough to 

 prosper and do well, but no more. 



Many people in reading the above w-ill 

 say at once : What do I care about the 

 ''survival of the fittest" or the tropical 

 countries? The honey, or the dollars 

 that it brings, is what I want. 



And yet there is a valuable lesson in 

 it. It shows that the bees and all other 

 animals and plants, and, even to a large 

 extent, the human race, are what the 

 conditions under which they live make 

 them. It shows that like all the other 

 domestic animals, the bees are, or might 

 become, what we make or might make 

 them. It shows the importance of pro- 

 per management to obtain the qualities 

 desired in our bees. 



Kno-xville, Tenn. 



Views of an Indiana Apiary 



BY CLARENCE WOOLBRIGHT. 



I am sending some photos of my 

 apiary, also of some appliances which I 

 have found to be of much value to me 

 while working among the bees. 



Fig. I shows the apiary in the height 

 of the honey-flow, with myself and fam- 

 ily. In the shade in the left foreground 

 can be seen 4 swarm-catchers, which 

 have been of much value in swarming 

 time. Two of these cages can be seen 

 in Fig. 3, taken on a larger scale. 



Fig. 2 shows the apiary just about the 

 time the bees were finishing work in the 

 supers. The colonies are not all shown 

 in this picture, and they are not all 

 shown in Fig. i, as there were about 

 100 colonies at the timf these pictures 

 were taken. 



PREVENTION OF INCREASE. 



Fig. 3 represents 2 hives and 2 swarm- 

 cages. The central hive represents a. 

 swarm just issuing. The one at the left 

 shows a hive after it has been treated 

 for swarming. At the right can be seen 

 a swarm cage, standing on the open end, 

 with its brace leaning against one cor- 

 ner, and 2 entrance-blocks at the other 

 corner. These entrance-blocks are some- 

 thing like the Dudley blocks without the 

 tube. The reader will notice that this 

 picture was taken out of season, as will 

 be seen in the background a part of a 

 row of bees packed for winter. There- 

 fore I can represent both in one picture. 

 But we will suppose a swarm starting 

 to issue from the central hive. The 

 cage is put on close up to the hive and 

 held in place with the brace as shown 

 in the picture. While the swarm is 

 coming out into the cage take a new 

 hive-body filled with combs or founda- 

 tion, and put on a bottom-board the size 

 and shape of an escape-board. This 

 board has a solid floor with an entrance 

 at one end 3/g-inch by its full width (see 

 hive at the left.) On top of this new 

 hive-body place an escape-board. Now 

 if the swarm has settled down in the 

 cage, hive it in this new hive. Care 

 must be taken not to leave the cage on 

 the old hive too long, as the bees will 

 go back into the hive. If the swarm 



Fig. 1.— Woolbright Apiary in Height of Honey-Flow 



Fig. 2.— Woolbright Api.\r\'— Bees Working in Supers. 



