October. 1909. 



American liee Journal 



swer easier. The swarm took away a large 

 part of the force, of course leaving it weaker, 

 and as the old bees were dying off all the 

 while and no bees from the new queen 

 could hatch out for something like a month, 

 it would become weaker still. More than 

 that, probably the young queen was lost, 

 and then the colony became so weak and 

 discouraged that the moths took possession, 

 especially if they were black bees. 



2. Yes, wiring will help: horizontal wiring 

 being more used than diagonal. Foundation 

 splints have the advantage over both that 

 they prevent the upper part of the founda- 

 tion from stretching. With wiring there is 

 generally a space at the upper part where 

 the cells are so stretched that the queen 

 does not lay in them. With foundation 

 splints she lays clear up to the top-bar dur- 

 ing the height of breeding. 



3. I like the Wisconsin the better of the 

 two because it has the regular Langstroth 

 frame. The dovetailed is still better, be- 

 cause the portico of the Wisconsin makes a 

 good shelter for spiders. 



4. The entrance blocks should be taken 

 away entirely during hot weather, or while 

 in the dellar. For outdoor wintering they 

 should be used to make a small entrance. 

 Then in spring enlarge them only as the en- 

 trance becomes crowded. 



Space Between End-Bars and Hive 



Would there be trouble with frames made 

 short enough so that there would be a J^-inch 

 bee-space between the end-bars and the in- 

 side of the hive? I have trouble with the 

 standard frame on account of smashing bees. 

 Would the bees fill the space between the 

 end-bars and hive-ends with comb? I use 

 the staple-spaced frame. New York. 



Answer.— You would be badly troubled 

 with combs built in such a large space; at 

 least in some cases. Possibly you might like 

 W. L. Coggshalls plan: Drive staples into 

 end-bars at the lower-end. so the end-bars 

 cannot crowd against the end-wall of hive. 



Handling Comb Honey 



1. What do yuu do with your honey-sec- 

 tions for safe keeping when taken from the 

 hive full of honey? 



2. 1 believe you take them off a few at a 

 time. Is that so? 



3. Is there much danger of moth in it? 



4. Do you get shipping-cases returned? 



Illinois. 

 Answers.— I. The supers are piled up in 

 the honey-room crosswise, or with blocks 

 between them to allow air. until time to 

 scrape and put in shipping-cases. 



2. Not so very few; generally from 240 to 

 2400 at a time. 



3. No. but years ago. when I had black bees 

 the worms troubled. The eggs are laid 

 while the sections are on the hive. 



4. No. 



Probably Bee-Paralysis 



I have 2 or 3 colonies of bees that are af- 

 fected with some disease which I don't un- 

 derstand. What is the trouble with them? 

 The bees affected are small and dark, and 

 the bees try to drag them out of the hive and 

 pick and pull at them all the time. Is it con- 

 tagious? What can be done to eradicate it? 

 The bees affected don't store much honey. 



Missouri. 



Answer.— It is probably bee-paralysis, 

 and is hardly considered contagious. The 

 diseased bees will be seen to be trembling. 

 Many cures have been given, but they do 

 not prove efficacious, unless it be the one 

 given by O. O. Poppleton— sprinkling with 

 sulphur In the North the malady is of lit- 

 tle consequence, disappearing of itself; but 

 in the South it is a very serious matter, re- 

 sulting in the loss of the colony. 



Wood Splints in Foundation 



„..,„ 4 iioii^oiiiai wireb. i pui a luii sei 



of them, lu frames in a hive, but the bees cut 

 the foundation to pieces to get them out. I 

 use the clipped-queen plan and hive the 

 swarms on the old stands. I had a full super 

 on top, so I took the brood-nest away, and 

 placed that hive in its place, the same as 

 usual. What do you think was the reason 



that they cut the splints out? They were 

 all covered with wax. or rather '' tried " in 

 wax. I have tried only one whole hive, but 

 now have 10 of them fixed that way — 100 

 frames. I should like to know what was 

 wrong, for I was pretty sure it will prevent 

 sagging. I use full-depth frames and extract 

 all together. Could the wax that the splints 

 were in have been burned and thus spoiled? 



2. Do you buy or make the splints? 



Washington. 



Answers.— I. I have had quite a little of 

 the same trouble. It comes from giving the 

 bees the splinted foundation at a time when 

 no honey is yielding. When bees have noth- 

 ing to do they are likely to gnaw foundation, 

 and all the worse if splinted. Don't let them 

 have foundation when they are not gather- 

 ing, unless you feed. Possibly there was 

 some other trouble with you. 



2. I buy the splints. 



Italianizing Bees 



I have some weak colonies of hybrid or 

 black bees. If I would put an Italian queen 

 with them, would they get stronger and do 

 better? And when is the best time to change 

 them? Indiana. 



Answer.— Giving an Italian queen would 

 probably make little or no difference in the 

 strength of the colony this fall. But it might 

 make a big difference in the colony for next 

 year, providing the present queen is poor, 

 in September is a good time to put in a new 

 queen, or even in October. Then the colony 

 will have a chance to start out all right next 

 spring. 



Stores for Winter- 



Supers in Winter 

 Bees 



Wintering 



1. Will bees in a dovetailed hive when run- 

 ning for section honey, be sure to keep 

 enough for themselves, or is it best to look 

 through them? .\n old bee-man says they 

 will take care of themselves, and that I 

 need not bother about them. 



2. When should I take off the supers for 

 winter? 



3. If I put 2 strong colonies together, will 

 they winter as well? or would I better wait 

 till spring and then unite them? 



4. Will they winter on the summer stands 

 if wrapped in heavy paper? 



5. Which is the better, to leave one-inch 

 opening or about M-inch for winter? 



Pennsylvania. 



Answers— I. They will generally lookout 

 for themselves, especialb' in a ii>-fraint- hive, 

 but sometimes an 8-frame may need watch- 

 ing. 



2. Don't take them off for winter, but for 

 fall, as soon as they stop storing. 



3. Vou may as well not unite j/nw^' colonies 

 till spring. 



4. Yes, although they might possibly do 

 better in a good cellar. 



=,. For outdoors an entrance J4 inch deep, 

 or perhaps H is better, as mice cannot get in 

 so easily. In the cellar the larger the en- 

 trance the better. 



Supers — Covers — Feeder — Separators T-Super 



1. What is the best way to add em[)tv su- 

 pers to a colony that has the first super about 

 half full when honey is coming in freely? 



2. In giving empty supers when the honey- 

 flow Is beginning to fall short, do you put 

 them next to the brood-chamber, or on top 

 or a partly filled super? 



3. I have a lot of telescope covers 11 inches 

 deep. Will it be all right to put them on in 

 winter, or will they keep the bees too warm? 



4. Would this cover I speak of in question 

 3. if put on hives in summer, keep them 

 cooler, or would they be too hot for summer? 



5. In this locality it looks as if there is not 

 going to be any fall bloom. If it fails, should 

 I feed to stimulate brood-rearing? If so, 

 when should I begin, and how long should I 

 feed them? 



6. If there is plenty of honey, at about what 

 time do bees quit rearing brood? 



7. If bees are getting plenty of pollen and 

 no honey, will they go to rearing brood the 

 same as if they were getting honey, too. 



8. What is the best feeder to use to stimu- 

 late brood-rearing? 



Q. My beehives are all facing the north, 

 but the wind cannot strike them hard. Is 

 this any disadvantage to them? 



Ill, In putting sui>ers on a newly-hived 

 swarm that is now on the stand where an old 

 colony was. should I put a queen-excluding 

 honev-board over the brood-chamber for a 

 few days to keep the queen from laying in 



the partly filled supers that were taken from 

 the old colony? 



11. Do you use full sheets of foundation in 

 brood-frames? 



12. Do you use separators in your supers? 



13. Will the T-super that you use fit the 

 standards-frame hive? 



14. Please give directions for making the 

 T-super that you use. Kentucky. 



Answers.— I. Put the super under so long 

 as there is a fair prospect of its being filled. 

 In a good flow it may be well to put on top 

 also. 



2. On top. 



3. No danger of keeping too warm on top. 



4. They would hardly do any harm. 



5. Even with what you would call no fall 

 flow, there is generally enough to keep up 

 brood-rearing. If not, the sooner you feed 

 the better, so as to keep up brood-rearing, 

 through September. 



6. Somewhere about Oct. i, some earlier 

 and some later, depending upon age of 

 queen and condition of colony. 



7. No: but if plenty of honey is in the hive 

 the pollen will stimulate to brood-rearing, 

 especially in spring. 



8. I don't know. Perhaps the kind of feeder 

 makes no difference. 



0. Probably not. 



10. Yes. or else don't put on the supers for 

 3 days. 



11. Yes. 



12. Yes. 



13. It is shorter, allowing ventilation, or a 

 strip to close it. I use it on the standard 8- 

 frame hive. 



14. A plain box without top or bottom. 

 Mine svere made, inside measure, i7;*^xi2H 

 ithe width of the hive) XiH. Seasoning has 

 made some of them shallower. If it were to 

 do over again, I would make them 11% long. 



A Beginner's Experience and Questions 



I am a beginner in the bee-business. I pur- 

 chased 3 colonies of bees last spring with all 

 attachments. I have had i swarms. 2 each 

 from 2 of the colonies. The other did not 

 swarm at all. All were strong colonies, es- 

 pecially the one that did not swarm, which 

 one liad its supers crowded with bees. I 

 had one swarm in May; the other 3 in June. 

 It was necessary, on account of my inexperi- 

 ence, to hive the first swarm without even 

 starters in the brood-frames. The others 

 were started with one-inch strips. They all 

 seem to have done well considering the 

 year. The first two have some honey stored 

 in their supers. But to return to the old 

 colonies. , , , , , 



One has stored but 8 pounds of honey all 

 season. Another has. I should judge, stored 

 in its super about 2^ iiounds. Now to come 

 to the one which did not swarm, and first 

 experience. As I said before, they had not 

 swarmed, and about the last week in Au- 

 gust I decided to take the honey off. I had 

 never endeavored to handle the bees farther 

 than opening the top of the hive and looking 

 in. I opened the hive, and seeing how quiet 

 and docile they were, I endeavored to loosen 

 a section-box. The bees resented this, and 

 although I had on a veil, I desisted and went 

 away. I came back again, and thinking to 

 loosen the supers I rapped them sharply 

 with the hammer. Never again! The bees 

 went wild and buzzed around my head so 

 that I could not hear a sound 2 feet from me. 

 Not content with trying to " fix " me, they 

 stung everything and everybody in the 

 neigliborhood. I had to run a half a mile 

 away before the bees left me, I was mad, 

 being stung about a dozen times, for they 

 had. in spite of me, gotten under my veil. I 

 was not ready to give up. I vowed to get the 

 better of them if it took me a hundred years. 

 I suddenly thought of smoke. I started the 

 homemade smoker and again went at them. 

 I smoked them at the entrance, in the su- 

 pers, and everywhere I could think of. I 

 then gained the upiier hand. I pried off the 

 supers and smoked the bees until they left 

 them, and then took out the honey, .^las! 

 It was not yet ready to come off. I could re- 

 move only 14 pounds. The rest was partly 

 uncapped. I returned it to the hive. 1 have 

 left them alone for 2 weeks, and now. upon 

 looking in. I find every drop of honey left 

 (which was nigh 16 pounds) gone, and the 

 combs hanging there with the pees on them. 



1. What is the reason for this? 



2. The bees are very lively, but only about 

 half as many as there were before. Did I 

 kill them with too much smoke? Are they 

 dead inside the hive, none being dead out- 

 side? 



3. I have never tried to open a brood-cham- 

 ber. How can it be done? If you smoke the 

 bees, which you must to pry the frames 



