November, 1909. 



(American Hee Jonrnalj 



While I have never given more than 

 3 or 4 at the most, of these pollen- 

 filled combs, at once to a swarm, an 

 experience the past summer opened 

 my eyes as to what a lot of bees with 

 a good young queen are capable of 

 accomplishing when thrown into a 

 hive of combs filled with pollen. At 

 the Cashel apiary, early in the spring, 

 a colony was found with a crippled 

 queen. My intention was to requeen 

 as soon as possible, but in the rush 

 of the busy season later on the matter 

 was forgotten imtil one day I looked 

 in the hive to see if the queen had 

 been superseded. E.xamination sliowed 

 the colony to be queenless, and all the 

 combs were literally filled with pollen — 

 the hive was of the 10-frame Jumbo 

 size. This was just at the close of the 

 clover flow, and just a few days after 

 having found the condition of the col- 

 ony, while I happened to be in the 

 yard out came a large swarm — doubt- 

 less a case of supersedure. 



No hives were ready to receive 

 swarms, so I threw them into this 

 queenless swarm that had the combs 

 filled solid with pollen, intending in a 

 day or so to place better combs in the 

 hive. Well, again, this was neglected, 

 and about 3 weeks later when the 

 buckwheat was in bloom, we again 

 looked into this hive, and instead of 

 finding, as was e.xpected, a few patches 

 of brood here and there among the 



pollen, what was our surprise to see 7 

 combs of as nice solid brood as it has 

 ever been my lot to look at. 



Now, as I have said, these combs 

 were simply solid with pollen when the 

 swarm was thrown on them, and how 

 it was removed so perfectly is a mys- 

 tery to me. Of course, a lot of mature 

 bees with a young queen is quite a 

 different proposition as compared with 

 a colony that has become queenless 

 and gradually filled up combs with pol- 

 len, while at the same time the bees 

 were rapidly being reduced in num- 

 bers. To introduce a queen into such 

 a colony with all the pollen-filled 

 combs left in would be sheer folly. 



Let me again say, that I regard 

 combs as being good value even if 

 filled with pollen, provided that they 

 are perfect in other ways. Yes, and 

 sometimes in springs like the last one, 

 when nearly all colonies were short of 

 pollen, heavy pollen-filled combs can 

 be easily of as much value as though 

 they were filled with honey. It is an 

 easy matter to provide for deficiencies 

 in the way of honey, but not nearly as 

 easy, especially in bad weather, to 

 make up a substitute for pollen. 



Let me say in conclusion, that many 

 hundreds of combs are carried over 

 each year that should be mefted up 

 into wax, but don't let pollen alone be 

 an excuse for putting the combs into 

 the melting pot. 



Send Questions either to the office of the American Bee Journal or to 



DR. C. C. MILLER, Marengo. 111. 



Dr. Miller does not answer Questions by mail. 



A Beer-Keg Colony 



Some time ago I bousht a colony of bees. 

 They are in a beer-keg. The bottom end has 

 been knocked out and set on a board with 

 small holes cut in the bottom of the kepr for 

 the bees to go out and in. But there is no 

 way of gettinsr honey out. What 1 want to 

 know is. how I can get the bees out and put 

 them in a good hive. When is the best time 

 of the year to do it? Should 1 transfer them 

 now? What can 1 do to keep them alive this 

 winter? Kindly give a full description, as I 

 know nothing about bee-keeping. 



Colorado. 



Answer.— Don't think of meddling with 

 them before next summer. Then wait till 

 the bees swarm, hive the swarm in a good 

 hive, set it on the old stand, with the old 

 keg close beside it. and 21 days later, when 

 all the worker-brood has hatched out. break 

 up the keg. add the bees to the swarm, and 

 melt up the combs. 



Swarm Deserting — Likely Unripe Honey 



r. When my first swarm came out it was big. 

 I hived it in a new hive and was pleased with 

 the good job. Two hours later I looked at 

 Danzenbaker's book. ■' tracts About Bees." 

 and with his advice I gave them a frame of 

 brood. Then I think it was on the 17th day I 

 was sick. It seemed I heard a noise, but 

 could not move. The next day I went out. 

 The hive porch was empty. It seemed that 

 swarm was gone. Why? 



2. In a covered tank I have honey harvested 

 a few months ago. Whenever I dip it up 



with a spoon and fill a glass it becomes al' 

 foamy, and runs out of the glass. Does it 

 show that the honey is not ripe? I don't re- 

 member if it was all sealed. Flor[da. 



Answers.— I. It is nothing very unusual 

 for a swarm to desert its hive, sometimes 

 even in spite of a frame of brood being pres- 

 ent. A common cause is too much heat. A 

 newly hived swarm should have extra venti- 

 lation for the first 2 or 3 days. A good plan 

 is to raise the hive a little, and also to leave 

 the top a little open. Sometimes the queen 

 does not go with the swarm, in which case 

 the swarm returns to the old hive. 



2. The probability is that the honey was 

 very unripe. 



Flight of Drone and Queen — Tested Queen, Etc. 



1. How far will a drone fly from a hive? 



2. How far will a virgin queen fly from a 

 hive? 



3. Is a tested queen a fertilized queen? 



4. If I had thoroughbred Italian bees % of 

 a mile from so colonies of black and hybrid 

 bees, would my Italian virgin queens mate 

 with the drones from the 50 colonies? 



5. How many bees in a quart? 



6. When hives are right on the ground. I 

 find lots of toads around them at night. Do 

 they eat bees? 



I have 50 colonies of bees here. I think it 

 is a good place for bees. Texas. 



Answers.— I and 2. I don't know, and I'm 

 afraid you'll never know. I think it has been 

 said that a drone may meet a virgin whose 

 home is perhaps as much as 4 or 5 miles 



from his home, although as a rule such long 

 flights are not made. Some think that a 

 mile, or even a half mile, is as far apart as 

 the 2 homes usually are. But if you knew ex- 

 actly how far apart the two homes are, vou 

 are still left in the dark as to how much of 

 the distance is made by the drone and how 

 much by the virgin. 



3. Yes. 



4. Probably in nearly every case. 



5- A pound of bees may contain from 4000 

 tossoo. Just now, I'm sorry to say, I don't 

 know where to turn to find how many bees 

 in a quart. 



6. I'm afraid they do. 



Bees On Texas Plains 



Will bees be a success on the south plains 

 on the line of Texas and New Mexico? 



Texas. 



Answer.— I can only guess; and my guess 

 would be that bees will do well there. 



Excluders and Chunk Honey — Space Above Brood- 

 Frames 



1. 1 have " Forty Years Among the Bees." 

 and find it quite useful. I use the T-super. 

 My bees worked in them as soon as put on. 

 without baits. Almost all the honey came 

 from the woods. Clover had very little 

 honey in it. The queens did not go into the 

 supers. I do not use excluders. To produce 

 chunk honey do you thmk I could run with- 

 out them? 



2. One man in this State writes that he 

 uses the wood-and-wire honey-boards. If 

 one has to use excluders, is it necessary for 

 them to fit in on the frames, or can they rest 

 on top of the brood-chamber with the super 

 upon it? 



3. Which do you like better, K-inch or ?^- 

 inch space above the frames in the brood- 

 chamber? Kentucky. 



Answers.— I- I'm afraid that in working 

 for chunk honey, or bulk hones;, as the "I'ex- 

 ans prefer to call it. you will find that with- 

 out excluders the queen will find it alto- 

 gether too convenient to go upstairs to de- 

 posit her eggs. With sections it is not the 

 same, as there are separators, and the com- 

 partments are smaller. 



2. Yes. all the excluders I ever used were 

 [daced directly on the brood-chamber, there 

 iieing a bee-space between the top-bars and 

 the excluder, and also between the ex- 

 cluder and the bottom-bars over it. 



3. Emphatically the smaller space. Years 

 ■tgo I had the ^ space, and had comb galore 

 liuilt in it. 



Getting Rid of Moths 



There are moths in my bee-hives. What 

 must I do to get rid of them? The colonies 

 are all new this year's swarms , and they 

 are strong, and great workers. The worms 

 are just manifesting tliemselves, and it be- 

 ing so late in the season, what would I better 

 do? Please answer in full as I am a beginner 

 with bees. Indiana. 



Answer. — I don't believe you need to do 

 anything. As late as this there is not much 

 chance for increase of moths before next 

 summer. If the colonies are really " strong 

 and great workers " I don't believe there is 

 as much trouble as you think. If a strong 

 colony lets the moth get a start, then the 

 bees are at fault, and the thing to do is to 

 introduce Italian blood. 



Honey-Dew for Bees in Cellar — Tar-Paper for 

 Outside Protection 



1. Kindly give your opinion as to bees win- 

 tering in cellar on " honey-dew? " My bees 

 used up a large portion of this honey-dew 

 which they gathered earlier in the season. 

 in summer breeding, but yet while they have 

 a good quantity of honey to winter on. much 

 of it seems to be dark and of a strong, almost 

 sourish taste. 



2. Do you think tar-paper the best outside 

 protection? Illinois. 



Answers. — i. .\ small amount of honey- 

 dew in winter stores seems to do little or no 

 harm, but in large quantity it is likely to do 

 much harm. Of course there is a difference 

 in honey-dew in taste, and there may be 

 kinds not so bad for wintering as others, but 

 it is not safe to count on that. Although the 

 lioney-crop was a failure, it is just possible 

 that you had a pretty fair fall flow, and that 

 as the brood-nest became less the vacant 

 cells were filled with honey of good quality 



