472 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



tar, and a little over 1/10 white lead. 

 The ants won't go over this. It will 

 keep off a million as easy as one. After 

 it has had two or three coats it will keep 

 them off five or six weeks, sometimes, 

 without renewing. If it is very hot, and 

 there is little or no shade, add a little 

 more tar and white lead. 



Since I have used this mixture, I have 

 not lost any bees by ants, except once in 

 awhile one that they may catch on the 

 ground. If they once get hold of a bee, 

 they never let go while there is any life 

 left in the bee. I have seen bees spin 

 around like a top when the ants take 

 hold of them. You would hardly believe 

 the speed at which they turn unless you 

 saw them. 



We have a few red ants, also some 

 large flying ants, but it is those little 

 black pests that are a terror to our bees. 

 One kind is less than ^ of an inch long, 

 the other is about 3^/16. 



I have heard that some one wrote in 

 one of our bee-papers some time ago, 

 that the ants did not injure the bees, 

 because the bees carried them off. This 

 is a mistake. While it is true that the 

 bee often flies off with the ant, the 

 journey ends with the death of the bee, 

 while the insignificant little villain that 

 gets a free ride is ready for action 

 wherever he may land. Some people 

 think that the bees have a tendency to 

 spread the ants in this way. One thing 

 is certain, when they once get started 

 in a hive, they soon clean out the bees, 

 if they are left alone ; and then they 

 have a picnic carrying off the honey. Of 

 course, each ant carries but a small load, 

 but they usually get force enough to 

 make short work of it. 



While I still have millions of ants that 

 I would like to dispose of at any price, I 

 do not think that I have over 1/10 as 

 many as I had last year. I have tried a 

 great many things that I have heard of, 

 or seen in print, such as poisoning, etc. 

 I have caught a great many with honey 

 and water. The flies also like it, and 

 crowd in the pail, but the ants being of 

 a greedy and pugnacious nature, as they 

 run around the pail or tin bucket as 

 they come in contact with the flies, they 

 never miss a chance to make a dash at 

 it. They miss the fly and their hold at 

 the same time, and so fall in. I have 

 caught a solid J^-inch deep of ants this 

 way, also many yellow jackets and 

 moths. 



There has becMi a great deal of com- 

 plaint this year, by some of our bee- 

 keepers, of the destruction caused by 

 the yellow jackets or wasps, and also of 

 the moth ; neither of those pests can do 



much harm if all the colonies of bees 

 are strong, especially if the entrance to 

 the hive Is closed up to about H of an 

 inch. 



I had a weak colony the first of Au- 

 gust that were attacked by the yellow 

 jackets. I saw that they were getting 

 the best of the fight. When I examined 

 the bees I found they had a laying 

 worker, but no queen. I shook them 

 into another hive, then the yellow jack- 

 ets tried their best to get into the other 

 hives, but without success. The few 

 that did succeed in getting in were soon 

 killed and carried out again. 



But to return to the ants : I have had 

 the best results with boiling water and 

 burning with coal-oil. Slaked lime and 

 coal ashes are good to spread around to 

 keep the ants away from the vicinity of 

 the hives. 



While we have some ants here in 

 Utah, our Friend Dayton, of California, 

 (see page 112) "knocks us out" en- 

 tirely, both for size and quantity. We 

 gracefully surrender our claim, and wish 

 Mr. Dayton success in his efforts to ex- 

 terminate them. 



Salt Lake City, Utah. 



COWYEXTIOIW DIRECTORY. 



Time and place of meeting. 



1893. 



Oct. 18-20.— Missouri, at Pertle Springs, Mo. 

 P. Baldwin, Sec, Independence, Mo. 



Dee.l2, 13.— Illinois State, at Springfield, Ills. 

 Jas. A. Stone, Sec, Bradfordton, Ills. 



Dec 19, 20.— Northern Illinois, at Rockford.tU. 

 B. Kennedy, Sec, New Milford, 111. 



H^^ In order to have this table complete, 

 Secretaries are requested to forward full 

 particulars of the time and the place of 

 each future meeting. — The Editor. 



North American Bee-Keepers' Association 



President— Dr. C. C. Miller Marengo, Ills. 



Vice-Pres.— J. B. Crane Middlebury, Vt. 



Secretary— Frank Benton, Washington, D. C. 

 Treasurer— George W. York ... Chicago, Ills. 



National Bee-Xeepers' Union. 



President— Hon. R. L. Taylor. .Lapeer, Mich. 

 Gen'l Manager— T. G. Newman, Chicago, 111. 

 147 South Western Avenue. 



"Well Pleased.— I am well pleased 

 with the Bee Johknal, and do not see 

 how any beginner could get along with 

 bees without it. — J. T. Brown, Sumas, 

 Wash. 



