1895. 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



731 



THAT SWARMING THEORT. 



A few months ago I advanced the theory that the swarm- 

 ing was the result of dissatisfaction caused by the animosity 

 of the queen toward the queen-cells ; and also that the con- 

 struction of the queen-cells took place when the young bees 

 had more larval food than the queen and the brood could 

 consume. 



As to the first part of the above explanation, I think few 

 apiculturists will deny that the presence of the queen and 

 queen-cells together is a necessary condition. Of course, bees 

 and queen will sometimes swarm a day or two after the 

 queen-cells have been destroyed by the apiarist, but neverthe- 

 less these queen-cells were the cause of the dissatisfaction and 

 subsequent swarming. And it is probable that in the great 

 majority of such cases, a queen-cell has been overlooked. Only 

 those who have been practicing cutting cells to some extent, 

 know how ditificult, or even impossible, it is not to miss any. 

 I had one built in the thickness of the comb. All that could 

 be seen was a capping somewhat pitted, and of an appearance 

 differing from the environing brood, but nobody would ever 

 think that it was a queen-cell — at least, I didn't. But after 

 the queen was out, and gone with a swarm, the hole she had 

 cut to come out told the tale. 



Of course bees will sometimes swarm, or rather abscond, 

 from some other cause — excessive heat, being bothered by 

 robbers, etc. — but in such cases they go without caring whether 

 they have queen-cells or not. 



Exceptional cases must be explained by the exceptional 

 circumstances that causes them. For instance : Dr. Miller 

 says he had one colony swarm without any brood, and only a 

 single egg in the combs. Exactly why they swarmed " I don't 

 know." I would suggest that they concluded that the Doctor 

 was getting decidedly too meddlesome, and becoming a regu- 

 lar nuisance, and that it would be better to seek more con- 

 genial quarters, even if they had to abandon that unfortunate 

 egg (see Dr. Miller's comments in " A B C of Bee-Culture "). 



As to the cause of the construction of queen-cells, I was 

 perhaps rash in saying that they were constructed primarily 

 for storing larval food, but I think I am right in saying that 

 they are constructed when there is a surplus of larval food 

 on hand, and they want to utilize it in some other way. 



Excepting the case of loss or failure of the queen, queen- 

 cells are constructed only when three conditions are present, 

 viz.: 1st, a honey-flow ; 2nd, a number of young bees; and, 

 3rd, the laying of queen restricted by either the lack of space 

 (or rather, empty combs), or a failure in the fecundity of the 

 queen. In the face of such conditions, I cannot see any other 

 possible explanation of the construction of queen-cells than 

 the one given above ; but yet I only claim that it is the best I 

 know, and I would gladly learn more about it. 



Mr. Hasty says the antipathy between queens and queen- 

 cells is a result of the hate tsetween queens ; and he thinks 

 that if a queen tolerates a newly-constructed queen-cell, and 

 attacks an old one, it is because when the larva has attained 

 a certain age it begins to acquire the odor peculiar to the 

 queen. I think this explanation is c«rreco, and " explains " 

 not only the case of queen vs. queen-cells, but also why when 

 a queen-cell just capped is introduced in a strange colony, it 

 is sometimes destroyed by the bees, while one ready to hatch 

 is not. The last one has already the full scent of a queen, and 

 is respected as such, while the immature one is, to them, only 

 a piece of strange wax. Also, a queen (unless hindered by 

 the bees) will never miss a queen-cell in a hive, no matter how 

 irregular in shape it may be. 



FINDING QUEENS — NECTAR-SECBETION. 



A few weeks ago, I had visit from Mr. Sam Wilson, of 

 Cosby, Tenn. We had a bee-keepers' convention of two, which 

 was a real pleasure to me. Mr. Wilson, being situated about 

 14 miles from the railroad, and having but an insignificant 

 local market, prefers to produce extracted honey. He uses 

 the Heddon hive in preference to all others, and says that he 

 finds no particular trouble in taking the frames out and put- 

 ting them back. They are easy to uncap. The knife is 

 placed across, and slides through the length of the comb, being 

 supported by the bottom and top bars. After one or two un- 

 cappings, the combs gets perfectly regular. 



To find the queens, he lays the hive on a cover, or other 

 board wide enough, blows some smoke betweeu the combs, and 

 lifts the hive. The queen is found on the board. If the brood- 

 nest is composed of more than one section, each section is 

 treated separately. 



He thinks that for each kind of tree or plant to yield 

 honey, or rather nectar, there is a time when a certain 

 amount of moisture in the ground is necessary. In this 

 locality, and in most of the United States, November for the 



sourwood, and November, or rather December, for the bass- 

 wood, etc. His idea is, that the nectar Is (partially at least) 

 found in the ground before going up into the plant, and that 

 unless there is rain, or rather moisture, in the ground at the 

 necessary time to form it, the plant cannot yield any, no mat- 

 ter how favorable the weather may be later on. I give his 

 views for whatever they may be worth. 



Knoxville, Tenn., Oct. f. Adrian Getaz. 



CONDUCTED BY 



Rei^. Emerson T. Abbott, St. »7osep2j, Afo. 



Lang'Stroth on the Honey-Bee.—" I am happy 

 to learn from my friend, Mr Langstroth, that a new edition of 

 his work on the Hive and the Honey-Bee is called for ; I con- 

 sider it by far the most valuable treatise on these subjects, 

 which has come under my notice." — Rev. Robert Baird, in 

 "Introduction " to the third edition of " Langstroth." 



Just now it seems a fitting thing to recall the attention of 

 the readers of the Bee Journal to this valuable publication. 

 Modern apiculture owes a debt of gratitude to Langstroth, for 

 the hive he gave to the world, which it can never pay, but it 

 owes him equally as much, if not more, for the book he wrote 

 in order to make his hive and method of manipulation known. 

 Many good books have been written since on bee-culture, but 

 Langstroth yet remains the book on the subject, and one which 

 no bee-keeper can afford not to own. It marked the begin- 

 ning of scientific apiculture in America, and blazed the way 

 for all that has come after it. 



Almost every industry and de^rtment of learning dates 

 back to some individual who was an original investigator, and 

 paved the way for the knowledge and progress of future gen- 

 erations. History and Geography had their Herodotus ; Med- 

 icine had its Hippocrates; Astronomy had its Copernicus; 

 Evolution had its Darwin; Botany had its LinnKus ; Biog- 

 raphy had its Plutarch ; and American Apiculture had its 

 LangstrotVi. While the world has made great progress since 

 any of these men lived and wrote, yet one is surprised, when 

 he makes a careful study of the results of their investigations, 

 to see how little there is that is absolutely new in later works. 

 Especially is this true with regard to apiculture. Methods of 

 manipulation have changed somewhat since Rev. L. L. Lang- 

 stroth first wrote his book, and we are a little more certain 

 about some things which were only held as a theory by this 

 learned, practical pioneer of bee-culture ; yet one need not go 

 far astray who will study thoroughly and carefully the teach- 

 ings of the first edition of his masterly and fascinating work. 

 The moment one begins to read he feels himself in sympathy 

 with the writer, and he is held to the subject with all the fas- 

 cination of a story, by his clear-cut sentences and easy-flowing 

 diction. I may say in a word that " Langstroth on the Honey- 

 Bee " reads like a story, and is at the same time so authorita- 

 tive and reliable that the reader feels that it is absolutely free 

 from every taint of fiction. 



In this respect the last edition is no improvement on the 

 first, but its revision by those eminently practical and success- 

 ful apiarists — "The Dadants "—has brought it down to date, 

 and placed it C7i rappoj-t with the scientific apiculture of to- 

 day. This, as I suggested Liefore, makes it absolutely neces- 

 sary to every one who would be abreast of the times in modern 

 apiculture. With no intention to disparage other works, or to 

 detract from their value, I will say that I look upon the " Re- 

 vised Langstroth" as the cheapest and best book on the subject 

 of apiculture published in America. 



Dzierzon in Germany and Langstroth in America wrought 

 a revolution in apiculture. Langstroth made a step in ad- 

 vance of the noted German and gave the world, as the result 

 of original investigation, a book — Langstroth on the Hive and 

 Honey-Bee— which furnished to all future writers on the sub- 

 ject the essential facts which they have embodied in their 

 works ; so that he who owns the last edition of " Langstroth" 

 comes very near having the alpha and omega of modern api- 

 culture. 



[The above book is found in the book-list often printed in 

 the Bee Journal. Its price is $1.40, postpaid : or clubbed 

 with th^ Bee Journal for one year— both for only $2.10. 

 Better order a copy of "Langstroth on the Honey-Bee," when 

 renewing your subscription. — Editor.] 



