536 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



June 15 



will say that from Nos. 3, 5, 21, 32, swarms 

 issue, and they all go together. We will 

 just catch the queens (mine are clipped), 

 and put them under a cup glass or in a 

 cage, and set it down in front of the hive 

 from which each came; then we will re- 

 move the hives 5 or 6 ft. away, and put emp- 

 ties with comb or foundation in their place 

 (I generally give a frame of mostly young 

 brood). Now we are ready for the fray. 

 We will take the caged queen on the pole, 

 and insert it in the bunch of bees, and shove 

 it well up to the limb, gently of course; and 

 when we think we have enough we will 

 gently withdraw it and carry to one of the 

 hives, and lay it sidewise close up to the 

 hive, but not so close as to clog the entrance 

 and start some of the bees in. If they do 

 not move of their own accord when they 

 start in, pick the queen up, carefully of 

 course, so as not to injure her, and put her 

 at the entrance and see that she goes in. 

 They will soon be all moving like a flock 

 of sheep. Then just raise 3'our stick up a 

 little and give it a quick jerk, and it is 

 done, and all is well. Go back to the 

 bunch and do the same way until you 

 come to the last lots; then get what 

 you can on your pole, and place it so that 

 the end of the pole with what bees you can 

 get that way are only a few feet away (the 

 nearer the better, though I have managed 

 them at 10 feet away, long range), and in 

 plain view. Now you want a long pole to 

 give the limb a sharp punch to dislodge 

 them, and agitate the limb for about a 

 quarter of a minute, or until they are at- 

 tracted to the cluster on the pole. In case 

 of a large limb or other thing they may 

 sometimes settle on, use the smoker and 

 bee- brush, gently at first, until you get 

 them off; then apply smoke until the place 

 is untenable. 



This is the best way for hiving, and no 

 sting. Somebody, I think, I hear saying, 

 "Why, those bees will not stay there long 

 enough for you to hive them that way." 

 Let's see. You have had that old queen 

 (in cage) in that bunch repeatedly. They 

 have smelled her, and they will stay until 

 you take them down, if you are not too slow 

 — two hours, I should think, and I have had 

 eight swarms in a bunch at once. Then, 

 again, it is not safe to depend on the swarms 

 (if only one) returning to their hive after 

 they find their queen not with them, be- 

 cause some are liable to go to other hives; 

 and if you have one swarm, and think it 

 is only one swarm, and they will come back, 

 another swarm may issue while waiting, 

 and there maj' by chance a virgin have 

 slipped in. In that case you know the re- 

 sult; also if several swarms issue at once, 

 and are left, they are more than liable to go 

 all together to one hive, and the rest of 

 your hives stand empty. This plan will 

 work, whether a swarm has a queen of any 

 kind or not. 



Calaveras, Tex. 



[Some one else, some years ago, told how 

 a decoy queen might be used for catching 



swarms. At that time the scheme was con- 

 sidered to be entirely feasible, but of late 

 but very little has been said about it. I 

 have used it myself to a limited extent, but 

 believe bee-keepers might employ it to con- 

 siderable advantage in large yards where 

 there is a tendency for more than one swarm 

 to come out at once. — Ed.] 



REARING QUEENS IN FULL COLONIES. 

 Running for Extracted Honey. 



BY D. R. KEYES. 



Raising queens and producing extracted 

 honey from the same colonies, and at the 

 same time, can be done by boring an auger- 

 hole in the side of a regular extracting- 

 hive (or in both sides if you desire to run 

 three nuclei to each colony). Over the hole, 

 inside and out, tack a piece of perforated 

 zinc, and then place against the holes one- 

 frame nuclei, or the little section-box nuclei, 

 like Swarthmore's, with a corresponding 

 hole in the side to fit up snug against the 

 hole in the colony. When you have your 

 cells ready, just before hatching, form your 

 nuclei by placing brood and honey in the 

 little nuclei, and place them in position, 

 and, after a few hours, you can give the 



THE SWARTHMORE-KEYES OUEEN-REARING 

 NUCLEI ATTACHED TO FULL COLONIKS. 



Fig. 1. A, B. nucleus boxes, one in contact with hive, 

 the other swung to one side to show hole covered with 

 zinc. 



Fig. 2 is a thin box to hold full frames; frame, hole, 

 and perforated zinc in dotted line. 



ripe cells, and the queens will hatch and 

 go out to mate at the proper time from a 

 small opening in the nucleus box itself. 

 You can continue to take queens and supply 

 cells just as you would from any nuclei, 

 and can go on working j'our colonies just 

 as though the nuclei were not there. The 

 little nuclei will be kept supplied with bees 



