1907 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



1507 



queen-rearing was paramount to every other 

 operation. 



Another reason for their failure was that 

 they did not start right. That is quite evi- 

 dent. They made no calculations on start- 

 ing until they felt the need of money. Some 

 people never think to plant a garden until 

 they need the vegetables on their table or 

 they see some neighbor's table provided with 

 vegetables. By that time it is too late to 

 plant, and before another year their enthusi- 

 asm dies out. 



The first move in making a start in any 

 business is to go to some one who is known 

 to have been successful, and learn how he 

 learns — not to grasp and bring away what 

 has taken him years to accumulate. We are 

 sure to come away empty-handed His suc- 

 cess will be found to be a long routine of 

 cares and attentions, so small, indeed, that 

 the beginner is almost sure to overlook or 

 ignox'e them. The advice that he receives is 

 the "same old story" that he has heard all 

 his life — "study." But he has almost for- 

 gotten how to study, or has acquired an idea 

 that study is merely a fad for old fogies. 



It is my belief that the darker bees of 

 Italian and other strains will store more hon- 

 ey, and in better shape, in the combs in a 

 good flow than the yellow bees; but the dark- 

 colored bees will starve to death in a time 

 of scarcity while the yellow ones are getting 

 a fair living, thus better enabling the apiai'ist 

 to rear queens and improve stock during 

 poor seasons, and have young vigorous queens 

 on hand when a good season finally arrives. 



Chatsworth, Cal. 



HOW SWAR3IS CHOOSE A LOCATION. 



A Few Incidents to Prove that Scouts are 

 Sent out after the Bees are Clustered. 



BY G. C. GREINER. 



If I am not mistaken, it is the general opin- 

 ion of all experienced bee-keepers that young 

 swarms, before leaving the old premises, 

 send out scouts in search of a suitable place 

 to start housekeeping again. 1 have always 

 kept a number of decoy hives scattered in 

 and near my apiary to catch stray swarms. 

 The result has been quite gratifying. Almost 

 every year I have had one or two such swarms 

 take up their abode in one of these hives, and 

 occasionally one of my own swarms would 

 hive itself in one of them. My experience 

 during the last twenty-five years or more has 

 established the "scout" theory — a settled 

 question in my mind; but not until this past 

 season did I have the opportunity to make 

 observation along this line that may be ac- 

 cepted as positive proof. 



The condition of my apiary during the 

 fore part of the season was something like 

 this: After a heavy winter loss, which, by 

 the way, made itself conspicuous after the 

 25th of March, when all my bees, with very 

 few exceptions, brought pollen freely, a large 

 share of my outfit consisted of depopulated 



hives scattered all through the apiary. As 

 soon as any colonies were discovered miss- 

 ing, their hives and combs were thoroughly 

 cleaned, combs containing honey of any 

 amount sorted out, and the hives with the 

 empty combs left on the old stands. The en- 

 trances of all these hives were left open full 

 width, and in walking through the yard a 

 very few bees could be noticed going very 

 quietly in and out of some of these hives at 

 any time. In the forenoon of June 10th I 

 noticed at one of the hive an uncommon com- 

 motion. A dozen or two of bees were run- 

 ning in and out of the entrance in a seemingly 

 greatly excited state of mind. Some were on 

 the sides and back trying every joint to find 

 an entrance, and the whole affair had the ap- 

 pearance of a very severe case of robbing. 

 At first I mistrusted that some of my bees 

 had found overlooked honey that caused 

 them to make this display, but found, on 

 opening the hive, that that was not the case. 

 Instead I noticed another dozen or two run- 

 ning up and down the combs in the same 

 excited condition. I also noticed, what af- 

 terward proved to be conclusive evidence, 

 that all the bees were a very fair type of 

 Italians, not one black one among them. 



As I was quite interested in their queer be- 

 havior I watched them all the afternoon and 

 forenoon of the next day. without seeing any 

 change on their part. About two o'clock, while 

 looking at them again, I heard in a souther- 

 ly direction, where, at a distance of half a mile, 

 an elm grove is located, a faint rumbling 

 noise, and at the same time a few flying bees 

 made their appearance. The rumbling as 

 well as the bees increased at a rapid rate, and 

 in less time than it takes to write it I was 

 surrounded by a swarm of bees. After cir- 

 cling around for a few minutes they began 

 to thicken over the hives of the previous ex- 

 citement, and soon this one and the adjoin- 

 ing ones were covered with bees. As they 

 began to enter, their preference seemed to be 

 centered on that particular hive. The few 

 that had entered the others soon left again 

 and joined the multitude, where, almost in- 

 stantly, house-cleaning was made the order 

 of the day. The swarm proved to be of the 

 same type as the bees that had been to work 

 at the hive before they arrived — purely mark- 

 ed Italians. 



A few days later, June 1(5, just the same 

 incident took place, with the exception that 

 the scouts were black bees, and that the 

 swarm came the same day that I had noticed 

 them investigating another hive. They ar- 

 rived at about the same hour, between two 

 and three o'clock. The swarm as well as 

 the scouts tallied with one another. They 

 were all of black German blood. 



It may begin to look like a big story when 

 I say that, two days later, a third swarm 

 adoptefi another one of my hives for its home 

 under similar circumstances. Nevertheless, 

 this was the case, and I have to stretch it 

 still further. A fourth one came to me the 

 23d, and still another the 7th of July, mak- 

 ing all in all five swarms that availed them- 

 selVviS of my hospitality during this season 



