TEANSFEEBING 315 



If there is danger of robbers, it is preferable not to put 

 the bees into the hive till late in the afternoon. They should 

 be shaken in front of the new hive on a sheet (427) like a 

 natural swarm. 



When the weather is cool, the transfer should be made in 

 a warm room, to prevent the brood from being fatally chilled. 

 An expert Apiarist can complete the whole operation — from 

 the driving of the bees to the returning of them to their new 

 hive— in about an hour, and with the loss of very few bees, 

 old or young. 



580. When transferring in early Spring, it should be 

 remembered that the worker-brood (168) is of great value; 

 and not the least bit of it should be neglected or wasted 

 unnecessarily. After a week, or more, according to the 

 season, the hive may be opened and the fastenings removed. 



Let not the novice, however, think that transferring bees 

 is a task that requires but little skill. He who transfers suc- 

 cessfully a larger number of colonies may he called an expert 

 in handling bees. 



The process, as it has been conducted by careless Apia- 

 rists, has resulted in the wanton sacrifice of thousands of 

 colonies. 



581. For the benefit of those who are timid in manipu- 

 lations, we will give Mr. Jas. Heddon's method for trans- 

 ferring, (page 562 of "Gleanings,'' 1885). About swarming 

 time Mr. Heddon drives the old queen and a majority of the 

 bees into the forcing-box, he then removes the old hive a few 

 feet back, and 'places the new hive with frames full of foun- 

 dation on its standj and "runs in" the forced swarm. It 

 would be well to return a part of the bees to the old hive, as 

 its brood might be chilled if the weather becomes cool. 



Twenty-one days after the transfer of the bees, he drives 

 the old hive clean of all its bees, uniting them with the former 

 drive. As the worker-brood of the old hive is all hatched, 

 there is nothing left in it but the combs and the -honey, which 

 can be transferred at leisure in cool weather, or, the honey 



