2 THE COK>rECTICUr AGRICTJLTTJEAL COLLEGE EXTENSION SERVIOt!^' 



Do not unite ty^; weak; colani^s,, but a; -^veak .9ne/with a 

 strong one ! A weak.oojopjj.at this ;t;LTOe-oif year will have very 

 few young bees, so that t,w9-;\yeak polonies being united will be 

 but little better able to build up than, one alone. 



Bees seem to need a little salt when producing brood. It 

 is advisable to place within their reach a basin or shallow pan. 

 of dilute salt water as early in the spring as new pollen is 

 available. In order for the bees not to be drowned in this' so- 

 lution, it is necessary to put in the pan some planer shavings 

 orTjits of wood' which'will float so that the bees may ^li*ght dn 

 these and keep out of the water. Unless ;Salt is provided, the 

 bees will procure their supply from unsanitary sources. 



If it is necessary to introduce new queens in the spring, 

 they must usually^ be ordered from the South. Northern 

 breeders cannot supply queens much before May 15, at least in 

 any quantity, so it is necessary to order them from southern 

 breeders early in the winter. The very best' time for several 

 reasons for introducing new queens is the August before, but 

 if this has not been done, and new queens are needed, they 

 should be secured by the first of May if possible. 



It takes about two months for a colony to build up strong- 

 ly enough to get the most honey from any honey flow. In most 

 parts of C!onnecticut the main honey flow begins about June 

 10 — from thetenth to the fifteenth in normal seasons. Count- 

 ing back two months from that time will give. Us A:pril 15 as 

 our starting point. In normal seasons, we should have our 

 colonies begin brood rearing for the first batch not later than 

 April 15. A very prolific queen, backed by a strong force of 

 young bees, may produce a good colpny after May 1, bjit it is 

 unusual to get a colony strong enough for maximuiji produc- 

 tion after that date. It will be evident, then, that it is much 

 better to have the queens well established in the colonies be- 

 fore spring opens. ,. , , 



This is not to say that colonies which have queens intro- 

 duced after May 1 .will produjce no surplus honey .that sea- 

 son, but it is true that such colonies will produce but little from 

 the fiist part of the clover flow. Colonies which beigin build- 

 ing up May 15, should get some surplus from sumac-, provided 

 sumac gives a good flow, but not from clover. Colonies which 

 are strong when new queens are introduced have a much better 

 chance than weak colonies under the same conditions. 



