184 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Wavelets of News. 



Workers Chasing Drones. 



A lady called the other day to inquire 

 why her bees were chasing drones. If 

 there was plenty of honey to be h,ad in 

 the fields, the gentleman of leisure 

 would be allowed to take their daily 

 outings, be gladly welcomed on their 

 return, and met at the entrance and 

 given prepared food by their obedient 

 servants, the workers. 



In the economy of the bee-hive, the 

 management is for the good of the whole 

 community ; if the queen is not able to 

 perform her duties, she is removed, and 

 another one reared in her place. 



When the income of the community 

 lessens, their expenses are cut down to 

 meet it. The providers govern the out- 

 lay; the queen does not govern the 

 colony, but the workers do ; when they 

 wish to rear much brood, they feed the 

 queen prepared food, 'abundantly ; and 

 when they think their income does not 

 justify it, they feed her less. 



When honey is plenty in the fields, 

 drones are reared^ and preparations are 

 made for swarming, but as soon as it 

 fails, drones are driven out and daily 

 expenses are lessened. — Mks. L. Harri- 

 son, in the Prairie Farmer. 



Bee-Escapes. 



I have received a new bee-escape from 

 Mr. Porter, of Lewiston, Ills., in ex- 

 change for one sent him last year. It 

 is a great improvement over his first 

 one, is well made, and quite an ingenious 

 little device. It is a horizontal escape 

 on my general plan, even to the two 

 thicknesses of tin with bee-space be- 

 tween. 



The only new feature is that the bees 

 must pass, one at a time, between two 

 springs that immediately close to about 

 half a bee-space, after the bee has passed 

 through. 



I tried a similar spring arrangement 

 last year, but soon gave it up as imprac- 

 ticable. It looks all right, and will, no 

 doubt, work when bees are not very 

 numerous. When hive? are "boiling 

 over," and bees fill every corner and 

 crevice about the hive, is when the 

 trouble begins. 



I will predict that when this escape is 

 used during a good honey-flow, when 

 bees are strong, that the bees will crowd 



against the springs from the hive-side, 

 in their efforts to get back into the 

 cases, closing the exits completely, and 

 that it will then not worl^ at all. 



These springs are entirely unneces- 

 sary, as I have proved to ray entire 

 satisfaction. The difficulty of prevent- 

 ing the bees from returning I have long 

 since overcome. The only remaining 

 problem is to induce them to leave 

 supers mora speedily. I have some 

 modified forms that I think will accom- 

 plish this. Really, I would like to know 

 what Mr. Porter's claims for a patent 

 are, and is it not a little late to try to 

 try to patent an invention that is the 

 common property of the bee-keepers of 

 America ? — C. H. Dibbern, in Plowman. 



The Flight of Bees. 



It seems to be almost a general idea 

 that honey-bees will fly nearly a mile a 

 minute. Those who have watched loaded 

 bees coming to the apiary near sunset 

 have a different opinion, however. 

 A heavily loaded bee when the sun is 

 low may be seen a distance of twenty 

 rods. It will require from nin6 to 

 twelve seconds for it to go that dis- 

 tance. I have also timed them a distance 

 of from forty rods to half a mile with an 

 apiary in full view by setting a single 

 bee at work on a comb containing syrup. 

 The quickest time made would be about 

 five minutes, the longest from twelve to 

 fifteen minutes. 



Allowing it two minutes to disgorge 

 its nectar and it will easily be seen that 

 a honey-bee is not the swiftest thing in 

 creation. Probably the flying time of 

 bees on their outward trip is at the rate 

 of from fifteen to twenty miles per hour. 

 A loaded one will require about twice 

 the length of time to make the same 

 distance. If bees flew at the rapid rate 

 that some insist, they would make but 

 few trips through woods before dashing 

 themselves to atoms against obstruc- 

 tions. — J. H. Andre, in National Stock- 

 nian. 



Ventura county, Calif., is said to 

 contain over 18,000 colonies of bees. 

 The annual value of the honey crop is 

 over $60,000. 



Conundrum.— Why is a bee-hive 

 like a bad potato ? Answer. — A bee-hive 

 is a bee-holder, a beholder is a spectator, 

 and a spcct-tater is a bad potato. 



