1907 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



1435 



the rapid dying-out, sometimes, of an apiary 

 that has been neglected, or an apiary in 

 which the colonies will remain in good con- 

 dition for many years. In the first, a few 

 poor seasons and no swarming leaves the old 

 queens in the hives, and the colonies soon 

 give way in a few years. In the latter, dur- 

 ing sevei'al favorable years, during which the 

 bees have been left to swarm, and go to the 

 woods, new queens have kept the colonies up. 



I believe in requeening with good young 

 queens, yet not in a wholesale way. Every 

 fall is entirely too often to requeen every col- 

 ony; and even to do this every two years is too 

 much, as I have had many queens do excel- 

 lent work in their third year. Whenever a 

 queen fails to do good work she ought to be 

 superseded, and this can be done at any time; 

 however, I prefer to do all requeening im- 

 mediately after our honey harvest. This is 

 when queens can be obtained easily and at 

 a very low price from reliable queen-raisers. 



The exclusive honey-producer, during the 

 rush, has not the time to raise the best queens; 

 his tinae is too valuable during the honey- 

 fiow, and after that he is occupied with prof- 

 itably marketing his crop. So it has been 

 easier for me to get my queens annually by 

 the hundred from a competent queen-raiser, 

 and requeen all colonies having poor queens. 

 Herewith I am giving a letter from my friend 

 Sueltenfuss right along this subject. Be- 

 sides, it contains some other notes. 



I am in a bad fix this fall with some of my 

 queens, as they are too old — some two, some three 

 years old. I should have killed them just after 

 the honev-flow, and let the bees requeen them- 

 selves. Only a few colonies superseded their queens 

 themselves One of these 1 just looked into when 

 it had nearly ripe supersedure cells. On seeing 

 this I took out the old queen, which had been a 

 good one, went to another colony which also had 

 an old but undesirable queen of the fall of 1904, I 

 quietly picked her off the comb, killed her, and 

 placed the first one in her place. The bees took kind- 

 ly to her, but superseded her after a few weeks, as she 

 was very feeble. But that was just what I wanted. 

 Last year I did this twice over with an old queen, 

 and I had the intention of practicing it more exten- 

 sively this season; but the honey-flow was cut off so 

 short here the first week in July that I found it im- 

 possible to do it, on account of robbing; and when 

 there is no honey coming in. the bees are much less 

 disposed to accept a strange queen kindly. That is 

 the reason I have the old queen on hand now; and 

 another obstacle was the robber-flies in July and Au- 

 gust. I have a suspicion that they caught two young 

 queens which were lost when they were out to mate. 

 Robber-flies can often be seen on the hive covers 

 watching tbeir chance. A good way to kill them is 

 to take a light piece of lath, about 18 inches long and 

 1 to Wi inches wide, and quietly but quickly hit them 

 on the head. They can easily be approached, as they 

 are very bold and saucy. By the way, the large black 

 or gray rouber-flies also catch the large brown wasps 

 (those that build their paper nests in trees). I saw 

 one with a wasp myself. Robber-flies are a menace to 

 young queens here every summer. The first few years 

 I had bees I thought birds were to blame, but I know 

 better now. 



I could buy queens, but they cost money; but I sup- 

 pose I shall have to buy a few to replace the oldest 

 and most undesirable. I didn't see any drones, so it 

 is out of the question to let the bees requeen them- 

 s Iv s now. I have one colony with a virgin queen. 

 I am wondering whether she will be able to mate 

 yet or has mated. I looked into the hive to-day and 

 found her too. She was very quiet, but not laying. 

 She had not the appearance yet of a laying queen. 

 Perhaps she mated yesterday. I will find out in a few 

 days. I have found so far that it is poor business pol- 

 icy to let the bees do their own superseding. 



I found out something this year in connection with 



the clipped-wing plan. One afternoon four swarms 

 came out, and all went into one hive That was af er 

 the first extracting, and I had no idea they would get 

 the swarming fever. The assertion is made by some 

 that bees will supersede their queen if one of her 

 legs is cut off. Well, last year I cut off a leg of an old 

 queen, and the bees promptly superseded her ; and 

 this year I practiced it on two old queens, but the old 

 ladies are still on hand. The colony last year was yel- 

 low Italians, three-banded. Those two this year are 

 bUck hybrids. Otto Sueltenfoss. 



San Antonio, Texas. 



POSITION OP HONEY IN REFERENCE 

 TO THE BROOD-NEST. 



Does a Normal Colony Ever Store Honey 

 Below the Brood? 



BY J. E. HAND. 



I notice that the Straw man, p. 948, takes 

 exception to my statement, page 899, that 

 bees always store honey at the sides of and 

 above the brood, but never below it. Of 

 course, this statement has reference to bees 

 in a normal state unrestricted by the hand 

 of man. Nor did I intend to convey the 

 idea that honey would always be found at 

 the sides of the brood and along the top-bars 

 of brood-frames, for this is a matter that is 

 governed by the extent of the honey-flow, 

 the amount of super room, the prolificness 

 of the queen, and, I might add, the race of 

 bees; for it is a fact well known that the 

 Italian bees are more inclined to store honey 

 in the brood-chamber than the blacks. It is 

 true that a prolific queen will often fill the 

 outside combs of an eight or even a ten frame 

 hive with brood in the height of the breeding 

 season; however, if there is any honey in the 

 brood-apartment it will be at the sides and 

 above the brood and not below it; and if 

 there are combs below the brood-chamber 

 not occupied by the queen for brood they 

 will be empty. The habit or instinct of the 

 bees to surround their brood with honey at 

 the top and sides, working the brood down- 

 ward to make room for the honey above as 

 well as drawing it in at the sides, leaving the 

 outside combs for honey, is more noticeable 

 in the sectional hive where three brood-sec- 

 tions are used, making a brood-chamber 15f 

 inches deep. 



The fact that bees may be compelled to 

 store honey temporarily below the brood 

 proves nothing, and does not change the na- 

 ture or instinct of the bees; for as soon as the 

 pressure chat compelled them thus to store 

 honey is removed, such honey will be quick- 

 ly removed and placed above and at the 

 sides of the brood, even though it be capped. 



