148 MONEY IN BEES IN AUSTRALASIA 



COCKROACHES, ANTS, AND SPIDERS. 



Cockroaches are sometimes seen about bee-hives but 

 they are never a pest; probably the warmth of the hive 

 attracts thein. Ants are rarely troublesome to good 

 strong colonies of bees. It is amusing to see the bees 

 pick up the little black ants and fly away, finally dropping 

 them after long sustained effort. White ants are very 

 destructive to pine bee-hives and bottom-boards; for this 

 reason it is always advisable to stand the bottom-boards 

 on two "Red gum" or "Jarrah" blocks. Both of these 

 timbers have remained sound after resting on the ground 

 for forty or fifty years, and they also resist the attacks 

 of the Termites. 



When the small black ants become troublesome in the 

 apiary or honey-house they can usually be traced to the 

 home of the colony, which should be destroyed by 

 formalin. Push a crow-bar down into the nest and on 

 withdrawing it put in about a tablespoonful of Condy's 

 crystals or permanganate, then pour in about two fluid 

 ounces of formalin (take care not to inhale the fumes) 

 and plug up the hole with clay at once. This treatment 

 produces gaseous formaldehyde which penetrates all the 

 ant chambers and is very destructive to any form of life. 



When supers are stored away it is rather an advan- 

 tage to allow the ants to range over the combs, as they 

 carry off the eggs of the wax moth which is so destructive 

 to unoccupied comb. The tiny black ants will even carry 

 away the young larvae of the moths. In some States the 

 ants cause immense damage, and bee-keepers are forced 

 to adopt special means to overcome the trouble. Some 

 use a small trough containing liquid objectionable to the 

 ants. A ridge is formed in the centre of the trough, and 

 it is on this "island" that the bottom-board rests. 



There is another pest that destroys the bees. It is 

 a black spider that makes a home for itself under the 

 hive and about the lids. It has peculiar red markings 

 on the back and is reported as poisonous; it devours any 

 bees unfortunate enough to be caught in its web. 



