28 DR. miller's 



tween. When I took the frames out of this top hive to hang 

 them in the basement for the winter, I found dead brood in "J^™' 

 I thought perhaps this brood was not properly taken care o* Dy 

 the bees. There was no smell, the brood was not ropy, and tne 

 unsealed brood was coffee colored, while the sealed was white 

 and thin. 



A. Like enough the few bees deserted the brood and went 

 below, leaving the brood above to starve. 



Q. I have one colony that is carrying out brood in all stages 

 of development, some alive with wings almost developed. Can 

 you tell me what is wrong? 



A. One guess is that the larva; of the bee-moth, or wax- 

 worms, have mutilated the young bees with their galleries and 

 the bees carry them out. Another is that the bees are driving 

 out the drones and destroying the dron-e larvs, or they are 

 starving. 



Brood-Frames. — Q. Should the honey of the brood-frames be 

 extracted, and can it be done without injuring the brood? 



A. Unless you are very careful you are likely to throw out 

 brood if any is in the comb; and it is not considered best to ex- 

 tract honey from such combs. 



Brood-Rearing. — Q. If there is plenty of honey, at about what 

 time do bees quit rearing brood? 



A. Somewhere about October 1, some earlier and some later, 

 depending upon age of queen, condition of colony, and part of 

 country. In the south, brood is reared practically the entire year. 



Q. I nuticc that late brood-rearing is recommended. How 

 would you encourage it? 



A. \\'ith a fall flow of even moderate extent there is no need 

 to do anything to keep up late brood-rearing, "^'oung queens, how- 

 e\er, are more reliable than old ones. If the flow stops early, 

 breeding can be kept up by light feeding every other night. 



Q. Why do bees rear brood in December and January? They 

 have very little honey, (West Virginia.) 



A. It is nothing unusual for bees wintered outdoors to begin 

 rearing brood in .February, especially as far south as \'irginia, 

 and not very unusual in January. I think December is unusual, 

 and I don't know why any of yours should begin so early. Pos- 

 sibly there is something in their condition causing it. 



Q. Will a colony rear brood in February' or ^larch if it has 

 been given frames of sealed honey in the fall? I gave it outside 

 frames, which, I don't think, had any pollen in them, or beebread. 



