THOUSAND ANSWERS 13 



(b) When is the best time? 



A. (a) I have some doubt whether there is any way by which 

 you' can get those bees into a hive — provided the tree is not to be 

 cut — without costing more trouble and labor than the bees are 

 worth. Possibly you might smoke 'em out, if you can in some way 

 secure footing enough to operate so high up in the air. The first 

 thing is to decide as nearly as you can where the colony is lo- 

 cated with reference to the entrance, for I take it from what you 

 say that there is only one entrance. That may be at the top of the 

 cavity, at the bottom, or somewhere between. With your ear 

 against the tree, listen to the noise of the bees when you pound 

 upon the tree, and you may be able to locate them. If the en- 

 trance be at the top, or near the top, then make another hole at 

 the bottom; otherwise make a hole at the top of the cavity. Then 

 into the lower of the two holes send something whose odor will 

 drive the bees out of the upper hole; carbolic acid, tobacco smoke, 

 etc. Even ordinary wood smoke from a smoker may suffice if per- 

 sisted in. As soon as the bees are out., plug the holes so they 

 cannot return, and then treat them as a swarm. 



(b) If you want to save the bees, a good time is not later than 

 fruit bloom. If you want merely to get the honey, take it at the 

 close of the honey-flow. 



Bee Martins. — Q. Do martins seriously bother bees? If so, 

 would they prove a handicap to a person who is just starting bee- 

 keeping in a community where there are a great many of these 

 birds? 



A. I have never heard that martins were seriously trouble- 

 some to bees. 



Beemoth. — Q. How does the beemoth get a start? It seems 

 to start after combs are taken off the hive. 



A. The beginning is an egg laid by the beemoth, and this 

 hatches out into the larva, or "worm," as it is commonly called, 

 in which state it does its mischief in destroying honey combs, 

 after which it changes into the moth. 



The trouble seems, as you think, to be worse off than on the 

 hive, because off the hive there are no bees to protect the combs, 

 although the eggs are generally laid on the combs while they are 

 still in the care of the bees. It seems strange that the bees will 

 allow moths to lay their eggs in the hive, but they do. At least 

 black bees do, to some extent, although Italians seldom allow it. 



Q. What can I do for worms in bees? 



