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THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Octoler 20, 



OONDUCTED BY 



£>R. O. O. JUTLLEIt, HdAItBNaO. ILL, 



[Questions may be mailed to the Bee Journal, or to Or. Miller dlrect.l 



A Robbed Colony. 



I have a colony of bees that the rest got to robbing, and I 

 moved it away about SO yards and shut it up so that only one 

 bee could get in at a time, and yet they came and robbed, so I 

 shut them up tight, and the robbers would come yet and fly 

 around the hive. When I would open it, the rest would begin 

 to rob. What am I to do with it ? and what is the trouble ? It 

 is In a box-bive. New Jersey. 



Answer. — Moving the hive to a new place was hardly the 

 right thing. It only made matters worse. For when you 

 moved them to a new place, the colony would be just that 

 much weaker to defend itself, for when the field-bees went out 

 to forage, instead of coming baclf to their hive in its new 

 place they would go back to the old stand, and then join the 

 colony that stood nearest. It would have done more good if 

 you had left them right on the old stand, shutting the entrance 

 as you did, then piling loose straw or hay as high as the top of 

 the hive and keeping it wet. Possibly that treatment may do 

 yet. But don't move the hive back to its old stand now, for 

 by this time they have become so used to the new place that 

 moving would cause more loss. If you will look carefully 

 through late numbers of this paper you will see several plans 

 for fighting against robbers. One of the latest, and one which 

 is worth trying, is to put naphthaline or moth-balls at the en- 

 trance. The odor Is so disagreeable that it Is said the robbers 

 will not pass by it, while it does not hinder the bees that be- 

 long to the hive. 



But a good deal depends on the condition of the colony. 

 If it is queenless, it's hardly worth while to do anything but 

 just to let it stand and let the robbers finish their work. 



A Beginner'§ Seven Questions. 



1. What is the best way to bring a small colony of bees 

 through the winter ? 



2. I have six colonies with young queens which were 

 hatcht late in August and began to lay eggs the beginning of 

 September. Will these colonies swarm next year in May or 

 June, if they get through the winter, if the season is a 

 good one for swarming? 



3. How many times does a queen swarm in her life ? 



4. I have a queen in one of my hives which has her wings 

 dipt, and as I thought that colony would not swarm, I was 

 trying to run it for comb honey, but unexpectedly a swarm 

 came out and went into one of my other hives. What gave 

 them the swarming-fever, as their queen could not fly ? Is 

 there a way to prevent swarming in colonies that have wing- 

 clipt queens ? 



5. On the other hand, I have three colonies with good 

 queens, and they did not swarm, even not the one into which 

 the queenless swarm went. Why did they not swarm ? 



6. Is there any way to force bees of a colony to send out 

 two or three swarms ? 



7. What are hybrid bees 1 New York. 



Answers. — 1. A colony too weak to be brought through 

 alone, may come through all right by having the benefit of 

 the heat from a stronger colony. Even two weaklings may 

 come through together when they would not do so alone. Put 

 both Into the same hive with a division-board between them, 

 the board being not more than % of an inch thick and made 

 bee-tight, so that no bee can pass from one side to the other. 

 A weak colony will do better in the cellar than on the summer 

 stand. 



2. Very likely they will, altho not so sure to swarm as If 

 the queens were older. 



3. There is no rule about it. She may never swarm, and 

 she may swarm half a dozen times. 



4. Clipping the queen's wings doesn't have the least effect 

 to'stop the bees from wanting to swarm. They'll try to swarm 

 just as much as if the queen had never been dipt. How to 

 prevent swarming in a satisfactory manner, either with queens 

 dipt or unclipt, is and has been a question that has puzzled 



the brains of many, and I don't know any one in the world 

 that can answer It. 



5. The difference may have been in the character of the 

 bees themselves. Some bees are five times as much given to 

 swarming as others. The difference may have been in condi- 

 tions. One colony may be stronger than another, may be more 

 crowded for room, or there may be differences in other re- 

 spects. Sometimes one colony will swarm and another beside 

 it will not, and you can't see a shadow of difference in the 

 character or condition of each ; the only thing you know for 

 sure is that one swarmed and the other didn't. 



6. Perhaps there is no sure way to make a colony send 

 out a second swarm if you leave It on its own stand. But you 

 may accomplish it by moving. When the colony sends out a 

 swarm, put the swarm on the old stand and put the old hive 

 in place of a strong colony, putting the latter in a new place. 

 When the next swarm issues, do the same thing again, and re- 

 peat as often as a swarm issues, each time leaving the swarm 

 on the stand where It came from and putting the old hive in 

 place of another strong colony. In that way you may have 

 a half dozen or more strong colonies from the same hive. 

 There is some advantage In the plan if the swarming colony is 

 of superior blood, for in that case you have good blood In each 

 swarm. 



7. The word "hybrid" is perhaps not the word that ought 

 to be used, "cross" being a better word, but "hybrid" has 

 been used so much that it will not easily be given up. Let 

 bees cross in breeding, as when an Italian queen meets a black 

 drone, and the bees from that queen will be called hybrids. 



DifTerence in Color of Honey Cappings. 



A few days ago I took two supers off of two hives which 

 stand next to each other. Both supers had been put on the 

 hives the same day, and both were filled well, and all sections 

 were well capt with the exception of the two outside rows, 

 which had some sections not fully capt. The bees in both 

 hives were very dark hybrids, mostly black. Everything in 

 the two hives seems to be as much alike as can be, but there 

 is this difference : While the cappings of the cells in one 

 super are perfectly white, the cappings in the other super are 

 a golden yellow. The honey in both supers is of light yellow 

 color. What is the cause of the different color of cappings in 

 these two supers ? 



These were the only supers I took off this year, the others 

 being still on the hives. Bees have not done well. I had 33 

 colonies last spring and increast to 38. I had to unite two 

 colonies with others, which were queenless, making seven new 

 swarms, but as my bees commenced to swarm April 28, and 

 the last swarm which I caught came out Sept. 2. I have lost a 

 number of swarms not being able to be at home all the time. 

 I have some colonies working in second supers, but most will 

 not fill more than one super, and some will have them only 

 partly filled, su that 2-i pounds per hive will probably be the 

 yield. The weather is favorable now, and bees work well on 

 fall flowers. Missouri. 



Answer. — It is possible that notwithstanding the honey 

 appears alike, the bees of the two colonies were gathering 

 from different sources. It is also possible that they gathered 

 from the same source, but that one colony was much given to 

 painting with propolis, and so put a thin coating over the cap- 

 pings, a very thin coating sufficing to color the comb. 



Bees on Shares — Wooden Combs. 



1. What share of honey and new swarms should each have 

 provided the one that takes the bees furnishes the hives for 

 new swarms, sections, supers, etc., and does all the work at- 

 tending to them and marketing the honey ? Is It customary 

 to divide up the new swar-ns every year, or to keep them for 

 a specified number of years, say five, then for the first party 

 to take out the number of colonies he gave the second party, 

 and divide the balance. 



2. What is the modus operandi of L. A. Aspinwall's dum- 

 mies to keep bees from swarming? Pennsylvania. 



Answers. — 1. Share business in bee-keeping Is one of the 

 hardest things to tell anything about in the whole range of 

 bee-keeping. There is no rule to go by. Each case is a law 

 unto itself. In the case you mention, A furnishes the bees 

 and B does all the rest. Now It depends altogether on the 

 kind of beekeeper B is, as to what he should have. If he 

 merely hives the swarms and takes off the. honey, his share 

 need not be so large as if he were a thoroughly informed bee- 

 keeper, and gave the bees the fullest and best care. Suppose 



