1883 



GLEAKlNGS IN BEE CtlLTUM. 



131 



tains brood, as is mostly the case where the queen is 

 transferred on her original comb. 



It is a mistake to suppose that bees can not be 

 united unless they have the same scent. Wherever 

 there is a case of fighting in uniting bees, It has been 

 brought about by the new comers not making them- 

 selves at home in their fresh quarters, and this at- 

 titude of uncertainty and strangeness is pure to 

 bring down upon them the vengeance of the original 

 Inmates of the hive. This state of things is brought 

 about through the operator being ignorant of the 

 peculiarities of bees, and therefore not proceeding 

 with his work upon the right principles of manage- 

 ment. In his hands the result would have been the 

 same had both lots of bees been sprayed with scent- 

 ed syrup. 



By following the rules laid down in these pages, 

 the merest novice may always succeed in uniting 

 alien bees or queens to any desired colony, and no 

 scent need be used in any case. 



Where the bee-keeper has no spare combs, one 

 should be taken from the colony that is to receive 

 the queen, but every bee must be removed before it 

 is given to the queen and her attendants In the 

 comb-box. 



The author very rarely uses syrup in any case, and 

 never where the queen is inserted on her original 

 comb; but where it is advised, the novice can not 

 do better than follow the instructions given, when 

 he can be assured of a satisfactory result. 



IMPORTED QUEENS, CAUSE OF DISAPPOINTMENTS 



AND FAILURES WITH; HOW THEY SHOULD 



BE INTRODUCED. 



I would never advise that a good laying queen bo 

 disposed to make room for one just received from a 

 long distance. The latter will not produce an egg 

 for the first day or two, and very few for a time, 

 when she does begin, and will often be two or three 

 weeks before she recovers her natural fecundity. 

 Some never lay at all, while others, for a time, pro- 

 duce as many drones as workers, and soon die, or 

 are superseded by the bees, if the bee-keeper does 

 not trouble to do it himself. Long confinement and 

 exposure are the causes of this tardy development 

 and failure of production; although, of course, 

 there is the probability that by an oversight a queen 

 may not have been mated before being sent out. In 

 that case she would either not lay at all, or produce 

 drones only. 



Bearing these facts in mind, the careful bee-keep- 

 er will give imported queens to nuclei, and either 

 gradually work them up to a full colony, by oc- 

 casionally giving frames of brood; or, after a few 

 weeks, unite them to the desired stocks. Thus the 

 condemned (and often prolific) queens are not dis- 

 placed until the new comers have had a chance of 

 proving their fertility. 



UNITING BEES; THE FALLACY OF USING SCENTED 

 SYRUP. 



As I have never used scanted syrup when uniting 

 bees, I will only say that my success has proved that 

 the various articles advised for the purpose are 

 simply useless. In every case where a union has 

 been effected, when adding peppermint, etc., to the 

 syrup, without hesitation I assert that the same re- 

 sult would have been attained without the scent, 

 and, in the hands of an expert, without syrup in any 

 form. If the bees are rendered predisposed to fight, 

 through the operator not understanding their pe- 

 culiarities, or the exact condition of those in band, 



it matters not, even should he smother them in 

 syrup, scented or otherwise, fighting will result. 



The following directions will show how bees can 

 be induced to amalgamate under all conditions, and 

 without being sprinkled with syrup of any kind. 



UNITING BEES WHEN ON THE SAME-SIZED FRAMES. 



If the hives to be united are not already adjoining, 

 bring them a few feet daily nearer to each other, 

 keeping the entrances towaid the original direc- 

 tions. In the meantime take away all combs that 

 the bees can not cover; and when the hives are 

 brought together, remove the queen that is not 

 wanted, and then insert the combs with the adher- 

 ing bees of one hive alternately with those of the 

 other. What few are left about the sides of the 

 denuded hive can be brushed out, or shaken on top 

 of the frames, when the hive may be closed up, and 

 the union is effectual; the remaining queen also be- 

 ing undisturbed and allowed to reign supreme. 



WHERE BOTH COLONIES ARE IN ODD-SIZED FRAMES. 



Bring them together as before, remove one queen, 

 and then shake off from their combs the whole of 

 the bees of both lots on to a wide board slanting up 

 to the entrance of the hive they are to remain In. 

 Give plenty of room at the entrance, and all will 

 unite in one happy family. Should there be any 

 brood left in the rejected frames it should be given 

 to other hives containing the same size, or it may be 

 cut out and fitted to those of the size given to the 

 united bees, and placed about the center where it 

 will soon be fixed up. 



UNITING DRIVEN BEES, OR A SWARM WITHOUT 

 COMBS, TO AN ESTABLISHED STOCK. 



It will be of no use to toss the strangers on top of 

 the frames, thinking they will draw down among 

 the occupants of the hive. In that case instant 

 fighting would be the result, and this will continue 

 until the intruders are exterminated. 



The only eflfectual plan is to shake or brush off 

 from their combs the whole of the bees on to a 

 board as before, and then after removing all but the 

 selected queen, mix the new comers up indiscrimi- 

 nately with the rushing, "fanning" crowd, and all 

 will draw in peaceably together. 



The same method applies In the same case to 

 straw hives, except that the bees will first have to 

 be driven out of the fixed combs, and then returned 

 together with the strangers. 



WHERE BOTH LOTS TO BE UNITED HAVE NO COMBS. 



Being either swarms, or driven bees, nothing Is 

 easier than to mix up both lots on a sheet, or board 

 slanting to the front of the hive, when they will all 

 draw under cover together. 



In every instance there is one thing that must not 

 be neglected, and that is, only one queen must be 

 retained , whether selected or otherwise. 



FERTILE WORKERS; HOW TO GET RID OF THEM. 



The means generally adopted to exterminate them, 

 though not always effectual, besides entailing much 

 labor, is to remove the hive to some distance from 

 the old site, when, by shaking from the combs the 

 whole of the bees, the main body fly back to the 

 original location, while the laying workers, sup- 

 posed not to have flown, are thought to be unable to 

 return. 



My method of direct introduction always answers 

 most effectually in disposing of the nuisance. No 

 matter how bad the case may be, even if they have 

 queen-cells (so-called, but containing only drone 

 larvee). the fertile workers subside immediately on 



