86 MONEY IN BEES IN AUSTRALASIA 



condition. When hived upon wet combs they are then 

 very glad to obtain a little food, aye even licking each 

 other dry. This is about the only time wet combs can 

 be successfully used for swarms. If the hive becomes 

 sun-heated it is a predisposing factor. 



VENTILATION AND SHADE. 



During hot weather supply plenty of ventilation by 

 raising the hive from the bottom-board with blocks 

 1 inch thick. Shade-boards (Fig. 44) made of old cases 

 provide very acceptable shade. When running for 

 extracted-honey extra ventilation supplied by one or 

 more entrances to the various supers is undoubtedly of 

 assistance in relieving the congested passages of the 

 brood-chamber. It is something to be avoided, this 

 crowding of the brood-nest; when all the field bees 

 must of necessity push their way and climb over the brood- 

 combs it must create a certain amount of delay and 

 confusion. Where an extra entrance will provide a 

 short cut to the super it is a wise plan to furnish it. 



Some go so far as to erect a shed large enough to 

 house the entire apiary. While shelter for bees — and 

 incidentally for the apiarist — has much to recommend it 

 for the hot summers of Australasia, it is not very popular 

 among Antipodean bee-farmers. In Arizona, U.S.A., 

 bee-keepers use long sheds roughly made with uprights 

 of bush timber and a number. of fencing wires rove along 

 the "roof" to form a support for the grass and bushes 

 that finally cover all. Probably the fear of bush fires 

 implanted in the breasts of most apiarists of this sunny 

 land militates against their use. A number of bee- 

 farmers prefer to get along by allowing the bees to 

 swarm with the queen's wings not clipped, but this entails 

 the purchase of a force pump and a supply of water — 

 the latter is fairly scarce in some Australasian forests. 

 When the swarm issues the apiarist must be on hand 

 to direct a spray upon the bees, thus dampening their 

 wings and impeding flight. Possibly the insects are 

 deluded into thinking it is a fall of rain and so decide to 



