48 



are busy bringing in the nectar. Too many beekeepers make the mistake 

 of putting on the excluders when the supers are first placed on the hives ; 

 and it is not an easy matter to get the bees to work in the supers even 

 if combs of honey are raised from the brood-chamber, as excluders tend 

 to make the passage between the lower story and the upper more 

 difficult for the bees. Before placing on the excluders make a careful 

 examination of the colony to note its condition and to take stock of 

 the number of frames of brood in the hive. If the brood-chamber is 

 full of brood the combs may be manipulated so as to provide the queen 

 with ample room for laying during the period which follows. The best 

 plan is to place the majority of frames of capped brood over the 

 excluder, and to substitute empty combs, taking care to see that the 

 queen is confined below. As the bees hatch out over the excluder they 

 will become accustomed to passing through it, and as fast as the cells 

 become vacant they will be filled with honey. If eggs are raised with 

 the brood care must be taken to see that the bees do not raise queen- 

 ceUs ; for in the latter case the hive may swarm out, leaving one or more 

 virgins in the top story, and these queens, being confined to the hive, 

 cannot get out to be mated, and wiU eventually develop into drone- 

 layers. Within one week after raising the brood examine the combs 

 in the super to note if any queen-cells have been raised. If any are found 

 they must be destroyed. The advantage of the use of queen-excluders 

 is in saving labour at the time of extracting, by doing away with the 

 work of picking over the combs. Much time is lost in this operation, 

 and extracting is retarded when everything should be hurried. It is 

 only by the use of excluders that bee-escapes can be employed, and in 

 many seasons, depending largely on the weather, these have to be 

 brought into use. 



Bee-escapes. 



For removing honey late in the season the beekeeper may find it 

 necessary to bring into use bee-escapes. These escapes enable the honey 

 to be removed without causing any disturbance. By the employment 

 of the Porter bee-escape there is less likehhood of causing robbing, with 

 its attendant evils. More especially will the escapes be found advan- 

 tageous when removing section honey from the hive. There is far more 

 risk in removing comb-honey from the hive than extracted honey. 

 When the colony is disturbed the bees will at once start to fiU their sacs, 

 and often the cappings of the sections are punctured in order to secure 

 a supply of honey. The damage to the cappings of sections is unsightly, 

 and causes the honey to leak after removal from the hive. The escapes 

 are fitted to a board the exact dimensions of the hive in use. In inserting 

 the board gently prise up the super from the brood-chamber and insert 

 the board. A puff of smoke will suffice to control the bees while the 

 operation is being performed. If this is done late in the afternoon the 

 bees will pass through the escape during the night to the brood-nest, 

 and will be unable to return. In the morning the supers may be removed] 

 when practically no bees will be left in the super. 



The Hodson escape is fast finding favour with beekeepers. It 

 is made in the form of a frame, 20 in. long,. 15 in. wide, by 3 in., which 

 is covered with wire gauze and one or two bee-escapes fitted into it. 

 The advantage of this escape is that it allows the warmth from the 

 cluster to pass into the super during the night, thus keeping the honey 

 warm, besides which the bees can clean up the drips of honey that fall 

 from the burr-combs. 



