SMALL HIVES 



37 



These little hives hold three, and sometimes four, small 

 frames. They are large enough to hold a nice little cluster 

 of bees, and once established they can sustain themselves 

 very nicely under favorable conditions. Mr. J. L. Strong, form- 

 erly extensively engaged in queen rearing in Iowa, used these 

 mating hives for about twenty-five years' with satisfaction. 

 However, since the frame is an odd size, it is necessary either to 

 cut up combs and fit into them, or get them built in the nucleus, 

 so there is sometimes difficulty in getting them properly fitted 

 out to begin with. There is really nothing to be said for them 

 in preference to a standard hive divided into two or three com- 

 partments, and the latter can be used for any other purpose 

 as well. 



A few queen breeders use a shallow nucleus which is of the 

 same length as the standard hive. In this they use shallow 

 extracting frames. Although the frames are of the same size 



Fig. 9. Mating hives using shallow extracting frames. Achord queen 

 yards in Alabama. 



