616 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Hueries a|id Replies. 



Holes ill tlie Sides of tlie Cells, 



Query 792. — My bees averaged 50 

 pounds of comb-honey per colony, Spring 

 count, and have plenty of stores for 

 Winter. I left a few partly-filled sec- 

 tions on the hives, long after the bees 

 had stopped storing honey. When I 

 took them off, the bees had removed the 

 honey, and the sides of the cells were 

 full of little holes. This was the case 

 with the combs that had been filled and 

 capped. What was the cause ?— Minn. 



We have never seen that. — Dadant & 

 Son. 



I cannot tell without knowing more 

 of the facts in the case. — M. Mahin. 



I could only guess, as I have never 

 seen a case like it. — C. H. Dibbern. 



Perforated by the bees, if not done by 

 larviB of the wax moth. — J. P. H. 

 Brown. 



For want of other employment the 

 bees probably cut the holes. — R. L. 

 Taylor. 



They wanted the honey down where 

 they could use it during cold weather. — 

 James Heddon. 



" I do not know." I should suppose 

 some insect must have done it. I cannot 

 suggest even the perpetrator. — A. J. 

 Cook. 



I do not pretend to know, but I suspect 

 the bees did it during the warm weather, 

 when they had nothing else to do. — 

 Eugene Secor. 



They took out the honey, and carried 

 it below into their brood-nest, and in 

 doing so, ate through the walls of the 

 cells.— Mrs. L. Harrison. 



I do not remember having seen a case 

 sucli as the writer describes. When 

 honey has been removed by robbers, you 

 will often see a case of this kind. — H. 

 D. Cutting. 



If I understand you rightly, holes 

 were in the cell walls. That looks a 

 little as if robbers had been at work. 

 Perhaps merely the bees of the hive. — 

 C. C. Miller. 



I have not had holes gnawed in combs 

 In supers when on the hive, but have 

 had it done when placed at a distance 

 from the apiary for the purpose of hay- 



ing the bees clean the combs of honey 

 after extracting in the Fall, if they were 

 given free access to the combs. — A. B. 

 Mason. 



It is not uncommon to find holes in the 

 sides of the cells in delicate combs, if 

 the honey is removed by the bees in cool 

 weather. The bees will readily repair 

 the combs if used again for surplus. — G. 

 L. Tinker. 



The same as causes the bees to carry 

 honey from the outside of the outside 

 combs to the center on approach of 

 Winter. This is done so as to concen- 

 trate the honey as near the cluster as 

 possible, thus guarding against starva- 

 tion in a long-continued cold spell. — G. 



M. DOOLITTLE. 



I see nothing strange in this. Bees 

 often remove the £oney from unfilled 

 sections, and tear the combs, to some 

 extent, in doing so. They probably had 

 room for the honey below, and took it 

 down to the brood-cjiamber. As to the 

 cause, we can only judge by the effect, 

 which, I think, is rightly judged above. 

 —J. E. Pond. 



If your bees were well supplied with 

 stores in the brood-chamber, I can see 

 no reason why they rifled the sections 

 like robber bees. I often leave partly- 

 filled sections on the hive to help the 

 bees in the way of stores when they are 

 a little short, and though the bees will 

 consume the honey as they need it, they 

 never damage the combs like robber 

 bees. It is possible that your section- 

 cases fit the hive so badly that robbers 

 got into them. — G. W. Demaree. 



It is often the case that the bees will 

 remove the honey to the breeding apart- 

 ment, to have it more convenient for 

 Winter use. In doing so, they some- 

 times injure the combs more or less. In 

 the absence of more particulars, it would 

 be hard to account for the holes men- 

 tioned in the query. They may be the 

 result of a visit by the wax moths. — 

 The Editor. 



Sometimes it is important to know 

 the colony from which a swarm issued 

 unseen. This is Dzierzon's method : 



After it has been hived and removed 

 to its new stand, let a cupful of bees be 

 taken from it and thrown into the air, 

 near the apiary, after having sprinkled 

 them with flour ; they will soon return 

 to the parent colony, and may easily be 

 recognized by their standing at the 

 entrance fanning, like ventilating bees. 



