196 BEE-FJRMING. 



a water or rain tub reared against his house. The water 

 being low in the tub the bees have been unable to make 

 their escape. Such vessels are veritable death-traps. My 

 bees seldom leave the garden if water is placed conve- 

 niently for them. It is surprising how soon they learn 

 where to go for the supply of water for their young brood 

 and cell-building. 



Another matter should be attended to this month, 

 although it does not exactly come within the bse-master's 

 scope, yet if he studies the welfare of his stocks he will 

 keep a sharp look out for i^een IVasps, which now begin 

 to put in an appearance. Remember each queen wasp 

 commences and sustains a new colony ; so every queen 

 destroyed in April in reality destroys a whole nest, or what 

 would be a nest later in the season. It is not uncommon 

 for one queen to rear a nest of fifty thousand. These 

 thieves can soon eat your best honey, not to mention the 

 immense number of working bees which they murder in 

 the fields. Let war to the bitter end be at once and for 

 ever declared against wasps. 



Look out for Robbers and Thieves. We dread the light- 

 fingered gentry about our houses and homes, but hive- 

 robbers are far worse to deal with. We have just men- 

 tioned a thief who is dressed in yellow hvery, but the foes 

 which bees evidently dread most are bees from a neigh- 

 bouring hive, often on the same stand, where several hives 

 are placed close together. Every warm afternoon, if you 

 can spare a few minutes, walk gently round your stocks, 

 and note the entrance of each hive ; you will easily detect 

 friend from foe. The thief is buzzing about ; when it 

 alights at the mouth of the hive it first peeps in to see if 

 the coast is clear, then, with a quickness not observed in 

 the inmates, he darts into the hive, but often, and always 

 if the stock is sti'ong, as quickly darts out again, pursued 

 by several bees. If robbing is actively going on, the 



