AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



781 



CONDUCTED BY 



Beeville. Texas. 



An Experience to be Explained, Etc. 



Mrs. Atchley : — During the first 

 days of August, 1893, I received an 

 Italian queen which I introduced as fol- 

 lows : I took three combs of hatching 

 brood from as many different hives, and 

 put them into an empty hive. There 

 was not an old or a live bee to be seen on 

 the combs when placed in the hive. I 

 let the queen and her attendants run 

 down on the combs of hatching brood, 

 and closed the hive entrance with a 

 block of wood, so that no bees could 

 pass in or out. I kept the hive in a 

 room thus closed for 48 hours, when I 

 opened to see the result, and lo, and 

 behold ! the queen was dead, together 

 with all her attendants except one bee 

 that was yet alive. Also all the hatched 

 bees, 50 or 60, were dead, and lots of 

 larvae on the bottom of the hive. I tried 

 to follow one of A. I. Root's plans of 

 safe introducing, and the above is the 

 result. 



More yet: When I took up the three 

 frames to carry them back to their re- 

 spective hives from whence they came, 

 I discovered crawling upon the top-bar 

 of one frame a large bee about the size 

 of a middle-sized queen. It seemed to 

 be smeared with mashed «brood ; I sup- 

 posed that I had done this in moving 

 the hive a few feet, the swinging frames 

 catching her, thus rubbing or grinding 

 the larvae to pieces. This large bee did 

 not have queen-bands — it was the color 

 of my bees. When I put the frame it 

 was on into the hive, she crawled down 

 among the bees without molestation. 



Now, what killed the queen, the young 

 bees, and pulled out the larvte? 



Another question : My hives are made 

 of %-inch lumber, 12j^ wide by 173^ 

 long, and 9}4 inches deep, inside meas- 

 ure. We will presume they have suffi- 

 cient stores, and I have taken off all 



supers, with just the top on without any 

 aborbents, quilts, etc. The apiary is on 

 the south side of a picket fence. Now 

 need I do anything more for their com- 

 fort for a hard Southern winter ? If 

 so, please suggest whatever is best for 

 my case, and many thanks will be due 

 you. R. A. Whitfield. 



Westville, Miss. 



Friend Whitfield, it will be very diffi- 

 cult to tell what killed your queen and 

 bees. You may have smothered them, 

 which is likely, as a closed room in Au- 

 gust, and a closed hive in the room, cut 

 off the air in such a manner that the 

 queen and bees might have suffocated, 

 which is more than likely. The large 

 bee was a worker, no doubt, that was 

 filled with honey, as a worker will try, 

 it seems, to eat all the honey she can to 

 keep from drowning, as it were, and her 

 body will be very much distended, and 

 favor a bee but little. 



The larvae had come out of their cells 

 of their own accord, as larva, just before 

 it is old enough to seal up, must be fed 

 often, or it gets restless, and as hunger 

 comes on, it will throw itself out of the 

 cell and fall down to the bottom of the 

 hive. So nothing pulled out the larvae, 

 and your queen, bees, etc., were killed 

 by some unknown cause, so far as I 

 know, as they would not have starved if 

 they had honey, as I suppose they had 

 plenty. 



Now my plan is to take two or three 

 frames of sealed brood, with as much 

 hatching brood as I can get, and no un- 

 sealed larva3, as it will surely die of 

 starvation. Place in an empty hive, 

 close the entrance with wire-cloth, put 

 in a sponge saturated with water, close 

 up the hive, and place in a warm, shady 

 place, free from ants. When sufficient 

 bees have hatched to form a nest and 

 keep house (say in about four or five 

 days), I put the hive out on a stand, 

 give a fresh supply of water, and all is 

 well. I introduced one fine imported 

 queen in this way this year, and all was 

 well — a perfect success. I fear the brood 

 you used was too young. 



To your second question I will say 

 that your bees are in just about as good 

 condition for winter as you will ever get 

 them for your latitude. I have no fears 

 but they will come out O. K., if they 

 are strong in bees, and have plenty of 

 stores. But I would investigate their 

 condition occasionally during warm 

 days in winter and spring, that they 

 might be given help should they need it. 

 Jennie Atchley. 



