1918 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



55 



plant. For this purpose it is a highly 

 desirable species. 



Horsemint 

 Many years ago, when I became in- 

 terested in bees on a Wisconsin 

 farm, we used to look forward to the 

 blooming of the horsemint (Monar- 

 da punctata). This plant could always 

 be counted on to yield an abundance 

 of nectar every season. Much of the 

 sandy prairie about one and one-half 

 to two miles from our apiary was 

 still unbroken and this plant grew in 



is correctly called Monarda fistulosa, 

 but the plant which produces the 

 honey for bees is the Monarda punc- 

 tata, which is a much better honey 

 plant so far as bees are concerned. 

 The statement made by Mr. Pellett on 

 page 132 of the American Bee Jour- 

 nal for 1915, is a very general state- 

 ment. I am inclined to think that 

 bees do not get very much honey 

 from Monarda fistulosa, notwithstand- 

 ing the opinion expressed by some 

 that they do. It is a regular bumble- 



HORSEMINT— (Monarda Fistul 



abundance. I sent a note on the 

 value of this plant as a honey plant 

 to the American Bee Journal. The 

 plant was identified. Vol. IS, page 540, 

 by Dr. J. W. Beal, of the Michigan 

 Agricultural College, as Monarda fis- 

 tulosa. The identification by Dr. Beal 

 is an error. The plant in question is 

 M. punctata. The perennial horsemint 

 is minutely downy, with lanceolate 

 petioled leaves. The lanceolate 

 bracts are yellowish or greenish yel- 

 low and purple. The flower is yel- 

 lowish, the upper lip spotted with 

 purple. The plant is found on sandy 

 soil from New York to Wisconsin 

 and Minnesota, to Texas and Florida. 

 In the more southern region the an- 

 nual lemon mint (M. citriodora) . oc- 

 curs, which is perhaps also valuable 

 as a honey plant. 



In a recent visit to La Crosse and 

 Onalaska, Wis., I noted that bees 

 abundantly visited the horsemint. 

 The bees were so abundant that it 

 sounded like a swarm. This horse- 

 mint is not common in Iowa, only 

 occurring in the sandy region along 

 the Mississippi, the Wapsipinnicon, 

 Cedar and Iowa rivers. I know of no 

 plants in central Iowa. In western 

 Wisconsin and eastern Minnesota it 

 is common on the sandy jack pine 

 and oak barrens. 



The wild bergamot or horsemint 

 figured by Mr. Pellett on page 132 of 

 the American Bee Journal for 1915, 



bee flower. At one of the meetings 

 of the Iowa State Beekeepers' Asso- 

 ciation a Mr. Brown from Sioux 

 City, I think, made the statement 

 that this plant yields honey for bees. 

 I am inclined to think the plant re- 

 ferred to by Mr. Brown is not the 

 wild bergamot or horse mint (Monar- 

 da fistulosa). It may have been the 

 Monarda punctata, which is a regular 

 honeybee flower. 



Common names are often misleading 

 and lead to erroneous conclusions. 

 The manuals give wild bergamot as 

 Monarda fistulosa. In Iowa and Wis- 

 consin, however, the M. punctata is 

 known as wild bergamot, and the 

 manuals give this as horse mint. Our 

 Iowa horse mint ('Monarda fistulosa), 

 and this applies to some other north- 

 ern regions, is not adapted to honey- 

 bees. It is adapted to bumblebees. 

 The nectar is out of reach for honey- 

 bees. The flowers are lilac or pink 

 and in the northern Rockies, in 

 northern Wyoming are a very deep 

 pink. The Monarda punctata has be- 

 come a plant of considerable eco- 

 nomic importance because it con- 

 tains considerable quantities of thy- 

 mol, which before the war was large- 

 ly imported from the continent of 

 Europe. It would seem that large 

 sandy areas might very profitably be 

 cultivated with this plant, yielding 

 not only thymol, but an excellent 

 honey. 



Watch for Starvation in 

 Spring 



By G. C. Greiner 



WHAT I expected and feared 

 on account of the unusual 

 warm spell last winter came 

 to pass in a limited way, and it was 

 only my timely attention that avert- 

 ed a dire calamity. 



It is very seldom that I disturb my 

 bees before they are unpacked and 

 placed on their summer stands about 

 May 1. Unless something unfore- 

 seen takes place, something like the 

 aforementioned emergency, I cannot 

 do them any good until the season 

 is far enough advanced to begin 

 spring management. Besides, pack- 

 ing them in chaff, as I practice it, 

 does not admit easy access to the 

 hives; it requires some preparations 

 to reach them, which are not desira- 

 ble at this time unless strictly neces- 

 sary. 



Judging from the unusual display 

 of young bees whenever a fair day 

 induced them for their customary 

 play spell, I concluded that heavy 

 breeding must have reduced their 

 stores to the danger point of starva- 

 tion. As my anxiety to ascertain the 

 condition of my bees grew stronger 

 from day to day, on April 7, the first 

 suitable day for the operation, I ex- 

 amined every colony in the yard. 

 Previously, on another suitable day 

 for that work, I had taken the pre- 

 caution to prepare the bees for this 

 examination. All the chaff packing 

 above the honey-board (inside cover) 

 I had gathered up and placed in 

 sacks, which I keep for this purpose, 

 and after being filled, I had again put 

 them in the place of the removed 

 chaff. While this does not conform 

 exactly to the theory of perfect air- 

 tight winter protection it retains the 

 heat of the hive during cool spring 

 days and nights quite well. By sim- 

 ply taking the sacks from the hives 

 I had ample opportunity to open the 

 hives for the intended purpose. 



Of course, I did not disturb them 

 more than was necessary to make a 

 superficial estimate of their supplies. 

 The result of my investigation 

 proved my correct conception of the 

 situation. Over one-half of the yard 

 was either starving or starvation was 

 knocking at their doors. 



Fortunately, when doing my last 

 extracting the fall previous, I had re- 

 served a goodly supply of heavy 

 combs for this very emergency, the 

 first time in many years, if it ever 

 happened, that this precaution 

 amounted to such an inestimable 

 benefit to my occupation. Every 

 side-comb of every hive was taken 

 out and glanced over, and when 

 found empty or insufficiently sup- 

 plied was replaced by one or two 

 combs of honey. In connection with 

 this observation, I wish to emphasize 

 the great convenience of the loose, 

 hanging frame and its superiority 

 in all its manipulations over any 

 self-spacing device. A self-spaced 

 frame would have greatly hampered 

 this work and required much more 

 time. 



