ILLINOIS STATE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION 



83 



I suspect there may be a difference 

 in bees themselves; in some strains 

 ■ the queens will live longer than the 

 queens in other strains. 



If that be true, where you have 

 greater longevity in the queen, will 

 you not be likely to have a greater 

 longevity in the workers? I believe 

 you will. Now I think perhaps I have 

 said enough to start you. 



Mr. Whitney — If we have a suc- 

 cession of poor seasons, won't the 

 longevity then be increased? 



Dr. Miller — Decidedly. 



Mr. Whitney — So much depends on 

 the season; I have known colonies of 

 my own to remain all summer without 

 doing a thing, and the queen and the 

 bees were apparently all alive from 

 spring until fall. 



Dr. Miller You will strike another 



thing — they will all live longer be- 

 cause they are doing less. 



Mr. Hatch — ^Would it not be fair to 

 state that the life of a bee depends 

 upon the amount of work it does? 



Dr. Miller — Diecidedly, that is true, 

 but independently of that I believe 

 there is a difference in bees under 

 the same circumstances. 



Mr. Hatch — Have the ability to do 

 more work? 



Dr. Miller— Yes. ~ * 



Mr. Hatch — I agree with you. 



Dr. Miller — As to the practical 

 thing that we are to do. I think that 

 we might gain something in this way: 

 By watching to find out which are 

 our longer- lived queens. As a general 

 proposition I would say this: Breed 

 from your 'best storing colonies, but 

 on this point I would say, take your 

 longest-lived queens; breed from 

 them; j-ou are going to increase the 

 longevity • of the queens and workers. 

 I am on dangerous ground; I am 

 talking about a thing I don't know 

 muoh about. 



Mr. Hatch — The thought has c'ome 

 to me, you know a bee working on 

 clover wears himself out faster than 

 on any other flower. 



Dr. Miller — I don't know that; I 

 won't dispute it. 



Mr. Hatch — According to my ob- 

 servation it is a fact. That comes 

 from his wearing out his wings. The 

 question arises with me, what would 

 be the effect of his having good 

 strong wings? Doesen't it make a dif- 

 ference in the vitality of the bee? 



Dr. Miller — Yes, I think iit would. 



Mr. Macklin — You said to breed from 

 your best producing queen. I had a 

 colony that stored three supers of 

 clover honey; they didn't store a pound 

 of fall honey while other colonies were 

 working nicely beside them, with the 

 same queen. Would it be advisable 

 to propagate that strain? 



Dr, Miller — Yes, if on the whole that 

 colony did better than the rest. I 

 think I can see just a little bit of rea- 

 son why they didn't do so, but taking 

 your question as a whole, I should say, 

 breed from that one that gave you the 

 most honey, whether it did the first 

 part of the season or not. 



Mr. Wilcox — There is one question 

 that sticks in my crop. I didn't know 

 that a bee didn't go to work until it 

 was 16 days old. I supposed the time 

 was about 10 days. I know some writ- 

 ers have it about 15 days, anj'way, and 

 really I would like to know the senti- 

 ment of those who have some evidence 

 on the subject. 



Dr. Miller — I can only give you the 

 tradition of the elders. Sixteen days 

 is the orthodox time, and it is not 

 so easy to establish it now as it was 

 years ago when there were fewer 

 black bees plenty in the country, and 

 few pure Italians; I know that 16 daj-s 

 was the time stated, and it was not 

 disputed; and I think, Mr. Wilcox, that 

 you have no right to say 10 days. I 

 think this, however, that it does make 

 a decided difference as to conditions; 

 & bee, under stress, will go to work much 

 earlier than is the ordinary custom. 

 At one time I had a colony oi oees 

 that were started from brood alone; 

 I put sealed brood in the hive and let 

 the young bees hatch from that; it 

 was kept over another colony so as to 

 keep up the heat, and after a while I 

 put it on a stand of its own, and op- 

 ened the entrance, and those young 

 bees, when they were 5 days old, were 

 carrying in pollen. But that does not 

 say that that is the rule. I think 

 that 16 days is the fair rule. 



A member — That may have been 

 caused by necessity. 



Dr. Miller — ^Yes, I think that under 

 other circumstances they might be 

 longer. A bee works at what is most 

 needed; it will work as a nurse-bee 

 when it is 6 months old in the spring. 



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