276 DR. MILLER S 



Q. How many days from the time the worker hatches until it 

 goes to gather honey? 



A. It is generally understood that a worker goes afield when 

 16 days old. But the wise little creatures know how to adapt 

 themselves to circumstances without following any rigid rule. 

 One time I had a valuable queen to introduce. Over a strong col- 

 ony I put an empty hive, with wire-cloth between the two stories. 

 In the empty hive I put frames of sealed brood with young bees 

 just ready to emerge, but not a bee. I put in the queen and 

 closed up tight, so no bee could get in or out. Five days later I 

 gave a very small entrance, and the bees flew. A little later some 

 of the bees returned with loads of pollen. Those babies, only 5 

 days old, were doing work that under ordinary circumstances 

 they would not have done until three times as old. So in the 

 economy of the hive while bees generally go afield when 16 days 

 old, the likelihood is that they accommodate themselves to cir- 

 cumstances. If conditions are such that there is an unusual need 

 o* nurses, some of the bees may not go afield until considerably 

 more than 16 days old, and vice versa. 



Yellow Jackets. — Q. I notice yellow jackets entering some of 

 my hives. Do you think they are doing mischief? The bees do 

 not seem to notice them. 



A. They're probably after honey, and are not likely to get off 

 scot-free. 



Yields of Honey. — Q. Is 100 pounds per colony an average, or 

 toward the maximum yield? 



»A. Hardly one or the other. One-third of that amount is 

 nearer the average yield of comb honey, and half of ihat for ex- 

 tracted, while a maximum annual average might go to ISO or more. 

 I' must not be forgotten that the yield sometimes is less than 

 nothing; that is, no surplus is taken and the bees have to be fed 

 to keep them alive. 



