166 



Trnm MMERICJEH B.U©' JOsURfiai,. 



WmS W MEPUES, 



PROPER TEMPERATURE 

 FOR R£E§ TO FL,Y. 



Writteti for the Amerir^n Bee Journal 



Query 523.— 1. At what temperature is it 

 Bale to give bees a flight ? 2. Is it advisable to 

 do so with snow on the ground ? My bees 

 were put In the cellar on Nov. 10, 1887.— Wis. 



1. Fifty-five degrees to 60=-. 2. Not 

 unless quite warm. — A. B. Mason. 



We would not give bees that are in 

 the cellar any flight until spring. The 

 temperature should be above 45°. — 

 Dadant & Son. 



1. At 60° in the shade. 2. No. Do 

 not do it until it is about time for wil- 

 lows to blossom, except it may be as a 

 doitbtful remedy for a very serious 

 disease. — R.. L. Taylor. 



Our bees here in the South are very 

 seldom three days consecutively with- 

 out a flight. I have noticed that they 

 will not fly out when it is 40° to 42° 

 above zero. — P. L. Viallon. 



1. About 50° in the shade. 2. It 

 would 'be desirable that no snow should 

 be close to the hives in front. But 

 why do they need a flight ? Bees ought 

 to stay in the cellar from Nov. 10 to 

 April 10, with no bad results. — Eugene 

 Secob. 



1. I let the bees on the summer 

 stands judge the temperature for them- 

 selves. I would not give bees win- 

 tered in a cellar a flight until taken 

 out in the spring. 2. It is; the bees 

 that are found on the snow, after a 

 flight, are mainly old bees whose lives 

 are spent. ^Mes. L. Harbison. 



1. I do not generally put my bees 

 out until the temperature is 55° or 

 more ; but if the sun is shining it might 

 do at a lower temperature. 2. If snow 

 is on the ground, 1 should like it prettv 

 warm. — C. C. Miller. 



1. About 50° Fahr. 2. Yes, if the 

 snow has a crust on it. If they are all 

 right in the cellar, it is better to leave 

 them until the snow disappears. — C. 



H. DiBBERN. 



1. If bees in the cellar aije meant, it 

 •is not best to give them a flight at all 

 until spring, unless they are diseased 

 and restless ; and I am not sure that it 

 is then. 2. It is safe to let bees on the 

 summer stands fly whenever they want 

 to, snow or no snow. — M. Mahin. 



1. Some of my colonies were put 

 into the cellar last October, and I do 

 not expect to take them out before April 

 8 or 10, unless I see pollen before that 

 time. 2. My bees have had many a 

 flight with snow on the ground, with 

 no bad results. — H. D. Cutting. 



I would not remove the bees from 

 tlie cellar while there was snow on the 

 ground, unless they were veri/ restless. 

 Fifty degrees or 55° in the sun, 45° in 

 the shade ; and if very windj', not then. 

 You must be governed by circum- 

 stances. — J. M. Hambaugh. 



1. At 45° in the shade, if still, and 

 the sun is shining. Otherwise it must 

 be as warm as 55°. 2. Yes, bees can 

 get oft' the snow as well as oft" the bare 

 ground if the temperature is right. If 

 your bees are quiet, let them alone till 

 about April 10 to April 25. — G. M. 



DOOLITTLE. 



1. Not lower than 60° Fahr. If the 

 bees are quiet, let them alone. The 

 very best evidence of successful win- 

 tering is that they are quiet. Go among 

 them as much as is necessary to brush 

 up and keep the room tidy, Isut do not 

 fuss and tinker with them witliout 

 cause. — J. M. Shuck. 



It all depends upon whether or not 

 there is snow upon the ground, how 

 brightlj' the sun shines, and how hard 

 the wind blows. Leave a few (packed) 

 colonies out as a guide. I have had 

 mine fly safely at 50° in the shade, 

 with snow, when the air was still and 

 the sun was shining. It was 45° once. 

 — James Heddon. 



I should like 60° to 65° in the shade. 

 I would not remove the bees until 

 April 10, when they can commence 

 work if they keep quiet, as they will if 

 the food and the temperature of the 

 cellar is all right. If uneasy in the 

 hive, they may safely be given a flight 

 on a real warm day, even if there is 

 snow. Some cover the snow with 

 straw. — A. J. Cook. 



1. I leave my hives open all the 

 time, and allow the bees to fly out 

 whenever they choose. If any are not 

 able to return, I consider them no loss, 

 as thej' would, in my judgment, die if 

 confined. 2. It makes no dift'erence 

 with myself, whether there is snow on 

 the ground or not, for the above rea- 

 son. — J. E. Pond. 



In this climate it is never safe for 

 bees to take a flight when there is 

 snow on the ground, and they seldom 

 attempt to do so unless they have been 

 confined unusually long, and are dis- 

 tressed for a flight. It depends upon 

 the weather, in fact, more than on the 

 temperature. On a still, sunshiny daj% 

 bees may fly safely at from 50° to 56° ; 

 while they fly with dangerous conse- 

 quences at 60°, if the wind is blowing 

 a stitt' breeze. — G. W. Demaree. 



The lowest temperature that bees 

 may be taken from a cellar for a 

 flight when there is snow on the 

 ground, is 50° in the shade ; but the 

 air must be quiet and the sun .shining 

 clear. On putting them out, put straw 

 or hay in front of the hives for the 



bees to alight on. If it is a cloudy 

 day, the temperature should be 60°. 

 If there are higli winds, with the sun 

 shinging clear, the temperature should 

 be at least 55° in the shade. — G. L. 

 Tinker. 



If the bees in the cellar are restless 

 or diseased, it might be of advantage 

 to give them a flight when the tem- 

 perature is from 55° to 60° Fahr. If 

 tliey are on the summer stands let the 

 bees fly or not, as they desire, whether 

 snow is on the ground or not. To 

 take bees out of the cellar before 

 April 10, in this latitude, is very un- 

 wise. — The Editor. 



PRACTICIIVG CONTRACTION 

 AND BVILrDING COIHBS. 



Written for the American Bee Journal 



Query 524.-1. In contracting the hive to 

 five or six combs, more or less, tor wintering, 

 and the same to economize heat for breeding 

 in early spring, do you work the combs to one 

 side of the hive, and use one division-board ? 

 Or do you put the combs to the middle of the 

 hive and use a division-board on each side? 

 If you use two, what are your reasons for so 

 doing? 2. When not using loundation, what 

 way do you secure the building of the comb 

 solid to the bottom-bars of hanging frames ?— 

 Ohio. 



1. To one side. 2. I use founda- 

 tion. — C. C. Miller. 



1. I use a dummy of the right thick- 

 ness to fill the space desired. 2. By 

 putting them in an upper story. — G. 



M. DOOLITTLE. 



1. We never contract strong colo- 

 nies to such small space. For winter 

 we would use two division-boards 

 rather than one, because we can put 

 absorbents on both sides. — Dadant & 

 Son. 



1. I use a Langstroth hive 14 J 

 inches wide, with 9 frames in the win- 

 ter, and at least one inch of space over 

 the top of the frames. 2. I use full 

 frames of foundation, and consider it 

 more profitable to do so than to use 

 simple starters. — J. E. Pond. 



1. I put the combs to one side of the 

 hive in nearly every case when I have 

 to contract. 2. I use foundation.^-H. 

 D. Cutting. 



1. To one side, and one division- 

 board. 2. Strong colonies will gen- 

 erally secure the comb to the bottom- 

 bar. When they fail to do it, and it is 

 necessary to have it done, I insert bits 

 of comli to fill out J. P. H. Brown. 



I. I do not use division-boards. 2. 

 The best way to get frames filled 

 " solid " with comb, is to invert them, 

 by turning the liive upside down. Very 

 fair success may be attained by tiering 

 the hives up, putting the frames to be 

 completely filled over the brood-nest, 

 but without a honey-board. — J. M. 

 Shuck. 



