962 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Nov. 15 



planned and designed the hive, our success 

 is largely due. F. L. Washburn, 



State Entomoiogist. 

 Agricultural Experiment Station, St. An- 

 thony Park, Minn., Sept. 14. 



[This is probably the largest observatory 

 hive that was ever made. As a rule, all 

 such hives have only one comb and a few 

 bees, thus making it easy to find the queen, 

 and herein is the chief advantage of the 

 unicomb size. 



You are, no doubt, right in assuming 

 that the queen essayed to fly from the win- 

 dow-sill, and fell down a little to one side 

 of the entrance. The fact that the bees 

 clustered so near the old entrance would in- 

 dicate that the queen was there. It is not 

 easy to find her majesty in an open cluster. 

 While she is, as a rule, on the outside, one 

 might look for hours and not see her, while 

 it would be comparatively easy to find her 

 after the bees had got settled on a full set 

 of combs. 



We found it impossible to reproduce the 

 photo, owing to the fact that it was light- 

 struck by reflection. We therefore had our 

 artist make a pen-drawing, which will give 

 an idea of the general size and character of 

 the hive. — Ed. J 



A BAD CASE OF ROBBING. 



How it was Stopped by Killing the Actual Robbers 

 with a tiasoline'-torch. 



BY F. L. MORRILL. 



This experience is probably what others 

 have gone through before, and I give it 

 thinking it may be useful to some one who 

 may at some time be in the same predica- 

 ment that I was in a few weeks ago. Just 

 prior to the time I speak of, this locality 

 was visited by a hot north wind. The 

 heat was intense; and as I had shade- boards 

 over all the hives, I thought none of the 

 combs would melt down; and, being busy 

 with other work, I did not visit the bees for 

 several days. When I did I found the apiary 

 in confusion. The bees were crazy, and be- 

 gan stinging before I came witin a quarter 

 of a mile of them. The air was full of mad, 

 stinging bees. I soon found that it was 

 the worst case of robbing I had ever heard 

 of. The whole yard of 180 colonies was de- 

 moralized. Some of the combs had melted 

 in the extracting-supers; and as it was at 

 a time of the yesLV when there was no flow 

 of honey it set the bees to robbing. I did 

 not dare to close the hives up entirely, on 

 account of the heat; but I immediatel}'^ closed 

 the entrances so that only one bee could go 

 in at a time, and then I tried every thing 

 that I had ever heard of to stop robbing, but 

 with no success. I flooded the robbers with 

 water. I smoked them with sulphur smoke 

 where they gathered on the hives. I ex- 

 changed the hives after dusting the bees, to 

 see where the robbers went to; but they on- 

 ly began to rob their own hives back again. 



They would pounce on a strong colony, and 

 go right in, no matter what the resistance. 



I went home at night ready to sell cheap 

 or give away every colony I had in the yard. 

 After thinking the matter over I became 

 convinced that, if I saved the bees, I must 

 kill the robbers. The next morning I pro- 

 cured a brazing torch, such as painters use 

 to burn off old paint, and, taking a supply 

 of gasoline, I went for the robbers. I went 

 from hive to hive, throwing the flame on 

 them as I went, wherever I found them try- 

 ing to get in. They were gathered in great 

 bunches on the now one-beeway entrances. 

 I soon had to cover my hands, as this seem- 

 ed to make them so mad that they would 

 tackle even the torch. Thej' objected to 

 having their wings burned off, but I was in 

 no mood for leniencj*. I worked nearly all 

 day in this manner, and along in the after- 

 noon had things somewhat quiet again. 



The next morning I used a kerosene-torch 

 with just as good results, but I did not find 

 many robbers, and the next day things were 

 in normal shape again. 



You may say that it was too bad to kill 

 so many bees, and that it was a cruel way 

 to do; but had I not done so I should have 

 lost many colonies, and the loss of bees was 

 no matter, as they were only consumers, 

 there being no flow of honey, and no prob- 

 ability of any until fall. In using the coal- 

 oil torch, care should be used so as not to 

 let it get too hot, as it might explode. 



Suisun, Cal., Aug. 23. 



[It is no doubt true that, when there is a 

 bad case of robbing on, only a compara- 

 tively few robbers are engaged in the busi- 

 ness. If every bee in the yard were rob- 

 bing, the air would be blnck with them. 

 But this is usually not the case. It would 

 be reasonable to suppose that a torch ap- 

 plied in the manner j^ou describe around 

 bees caught in the very act would soon de- 

 stroy the actual culprits, finally bringing 

 about peace and quiet in the yard. I 

 should like to hear from our subscribers, 

 whether any one else has tried this or a 

 similar plan. — Ed.] 



E. E. R., Cal. — The conditions described 

 in your letter of the 9th point quite strongly 

 to fertile workers. Give a ripe cell from 

 some other colony; and if this does not re- 

 sult in getting a good laying queen, scatter 

 the brood among several strong colonies, 

 and put in place of the brood taken out 

 some brood from other hives. 



J. B. S., Aik.~-^\e do not think that 

 smearing the inside of the hive with propo- 

 lis would have much effect in inducing bees 

 to stay in the hive. 



In the matter of egg-laying, queens are 

 pretty apt to cease in the fall of the year. 

 Feeding a little sugar syrup maj' start her 

 to laying. 



A young colony is not as liable to have: 

 foul brood as an old colony on old combs. 



