1918 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



379 



Swarm Impulse; Is It Inherited? 



By Arthur C. Miller 



QUEENS from cells produced un- 

 der swarming conditions are 

 among the best, but, unfor- 

 tunately, there is a growing tendency 

 to destroy such cells because some- 

 one said that queens produced then 

 inherit the swarming tendency. Each 

 season the statement is repeated 

 without any evidence in support of it. 

 It is merely a part of current beliefs 

 as to heredity and is as erroneous as 

 many others. 



If queens produced thus were re- 

 placed with equally as good ones, no 

 fault could be found, for the only 

 loss would be the labor of the bee- 

 keeper; but the specially reared 

 queens are often inferior, due either 

 to method of production or transpor- 

 tation. The result of the change is 

 a mediocre colony until the queen is 

 superseded. "Supersedure cells" and 

 "swarm cells" are identical; the con- 

 ditions which produce one are pres- 

 ent and operative when the other is 

 produced. It takes but little obser- 

 vation to see the condition of a col- 

 ony superseding its queen. She is 

 slackening her laying, there is a dis- 

 proportionate number of nurses to 

 larva 1 , and queen matters generally 

 are on the down grade. 



At swarming time we find the same 

 relative conditions, only with greater 

 numbers and more food present. In 

 the first instance the failing queen 

 produces the condition. In the sec- 

 ond, slackening of the queen is due 

 to temporary exhaustion, or clogging 

 of combs with brood and stores, 

 forces the slackening. In each case 

 the result is the same — queen-cell 

 production. 



Swarming by no means follows 

 supersedure during the flow (usual 

 swarming time). Nor does an old 

 queen always resume her full duty 

 in the new home. It is far from un- 

 usual for an old queen to be super- 

 seded soon after the colony is es- 

 tablished in its new home. I have 

 noted five such cases this season. In 

 those instances, swarm impulse fol- 

 lowed normal failure of the queen. 



I may not have used as many thou- 

 sands of cells as some of the craft, 

 but I have used a good many since 

 1880: and I have never yet been able 

 to detect any sign of inheritance of 

 swarm impulse from use of swarm 

 cells. 



In recent years I have reduced 

 swarming to between one and two 

 per cent of my colonies, and I have 

 used many queens raised from cells 

 produced in swarming colonies of 

 my own and of other beekeepers. 



Tt is folly to discard fine cells just 

 because they were built by a swarm- 

 ing colony. Don't do it unless you 

 really like to throw away time and 

 monev. 



Save the cells which you cut from 

 colonies about to swarm, but do not 

 think that by cutting them out you 

 are using the best method of stop- 

 ping swarming. Of course, if you 

 really enjoy digging through a big 

 colony on a hot day and doing it at 

 intervals for some weeks, and to 

 many colonies, why, go ahead. Far 



be it for me to interrupt your amuse- 

 ments. 



For my own part, I prefer to re- 

 move the queen, using her elsewhere. 

 or destroying her, as I think best. 

 Usually I then cut out or destroy all 

 but two cells, leaving two of as 

 nearly the same age as possible. If 

 of the two cells left, one is ready to 

 hatch and one just ready to seal, 

 swarming with the virgin is not un- 

 usual. When two cells of nearly the 

 same age are left, one is destroyed 

 soon after the first hatches, but not 

 so when one cell is very young or 

 just started. Do not ask me why — I 

 have a theory, but am busy just now, 

 and it is of no consequence anyway — 

 'tis the fact only which is of import- 

 a ce. 



Save the "swarming cells" if the 

 stock is good. The queens will not 

 inherit any swarm impulse. 



Providence, R. I. 



A Good Plan for Filling Feeders 



In our picture we show an ar- 

 rangement in use by the Colliers at 

 Goliad, Texas, for pouring honey di- 

 rectly from a sixty-pound can into 

 the feeders. An extra screw can 

 opening is soldered into one corner 

 of the cans. For use the cap is re- 

 moved and a special spout, made for 

 the purpose, is screwed on. By loos- 

 ening the cap at the opposite side to 

 admit the air, the honey or syrup 

 will flow freely from the can. Sev- 

 eral cans can thus be fitted up with 

 extra caps and filled with honey. 

 Unless needed for feed they can be 

 used for storage as usual and will 

 be ready for instant use when need- 

 ed. They are fine for carrying syrup 

 to outyards. since the spout can be 

 put in "place on arrival at the apiary 

 and the feeding done without expos- 

 ing the feed to the bees outside, or 

 the usual difficulty of getting the 

 honey out of a barrel or other con- 

 tainer. 



Apiary Building and Equipment 



The remarks by Mr. Morley Pet- 

 tit, on page 152, American Bee Jour- 

 nal for May, instructed me very 

 much, because my thoughts have 

 been persistently traveling along the 

 same groove ; but somehow I never 

 got exactly the same deductions. 



I want Mr. Pettit to accept my as- 

 surance that any remarks I may 

 make are not due to any hyper- 

 critical condition of mind on my 

 part, but are actuated by my desire 

 to learn, or to overcome difficulties 

 which I have hitherto been unable to 

 solve to my satisfaction. There are 

 several matters which Friend Pettit 

 and myself do not view through the 

 same spectacles, which I cannot 

 touch upon without making this too 

 long; but I may mention the cap- 

 ping melter. I feel hopelessly old- 

 fashioned with regard to the use of 

 the melter. The orthodox methods 

 are to run the honey straight from 

 the extractor per medium of vari- 

 ous heaters, etc., into the jars, ready 

 for market. I have never been able 

 to do this and I fear I never shall. It 

 would be "a consummation sincerely 

 to be wished" to be able to have the 

 cappings go through a melter and be 

 separated into wax and honey with- 

 out any deterioration of the latter. 

 I know that quite a lot of people, 

 both in Australia and America, claim 

 to be doing this, and it is the fact 

 that I cannot, which makes me feel 

 old-fashioned. I have tried many 

 of these stunts, but I have always 

 been forced to the conclusion that 

 one cannot improve the lily by paintt 

 ing it. Of course, locality counts for 

 a lot — a whole lot more than people 

 generally recognize. For instance, 

 Alexander could do many stunts 

 with bees, due to his peculiar condi- 

 tions, which are utterly impossible 

 in most other places. There may be 

 peculiarities in the honey which may 

 make the use of the melter feasible 

 with the other fellow, although it is 

 not with me. I wish it were. 



I have tried the standard melters 

 and have experimented with various 

 ones which my son, Phil (who has an 

 inventive turn of mind), has made 

 from time to time, but they all dark- 

 ened the honey, and in most in- 

 stances utterly spoiled it, in my opin- 

 ion. There is a delicacy or aroma 

 and flavor about honey which is 

 easily lost if exposed to artificial 

 heat. I am loth to apply heat in any 

 form if it is possible to avoid it. I 

 use a gravitation strainer which has 

 a water jacket, but heat is never ap- 

 plied to this unless the honey is so 

 cold and thick that it will not ac- 

 commodate the stream from the ex- 

 tractor. I never could get any satis- 

 faction from straining through any 

 material; but I am not at all sure 

 that it was, or is not, due to my 

 want of knowledge on the subject, 

 because I know others who do so 

 and find it "fills the bill." I am be- 

 ginning to discover (after 30 odd 

 years of beekeeping) how little I 

 know; or, as Josh Billings puts it, 

 "How much that I know is not so. ' 

 MAJOR SHALLAD, 

 S. Woodburn, N. S, Wales, Australia, 



