36 Texas Department of Agriculture. 



coarsely woven burlap over the lower open end, and being sure that 

 all cracks from which bees might escape and cause trouble are stopped 

 up, hundreds of colonies of bees are annually shipped over the country 

 for various purposes. 



Pull colonies of bees are usually moved from one place to another 

 by wagon, by express shipments and sometimes by ordinary freight 

 in entire carloads. One, two and three frame nuclei, or parts of col- 

 onies in light crates, as well as bees by the pound in specially prepared 

 screen wire cages, are always shipped by express. In addition to this, 

 queen bees, with their escorts, are sent through the mail to all parts 

 of the world, by the thousands, in small cages made for the purpose. 



MOVING BEES SHORT DISTANCES. 



Dviring cool weather of the late fall, winter and spring months, 

 when the bees are not flying very much, their colonies may be moved 

 to any new place without much difficulty. After the bees have been 

 confined for any length of time, they carefully locate the position and 

 the surroundings of their hives when they fly out for the first time, 

 so that they may return to them safely. Suddenly moving a colony 

 even a short distance away, after they have thus marked their loca- 

 tion, will result in many bees returning to the old location and per- 

 ishing there. For this reason, all short distance moving should be 

 done during the winter months, if possible. All that is necessary is 

 to close the hives by quickly pushing a strip of wood, rags, grass or 

 weeds, into the entrances, and then carrying, or hauling, the colonies 

 to their new place. The entrances should be opened only slightly, 

 leaving the obstructions partly in them, to cause the bees to notice 

 the change and mark their new location when they first fly out. As 

 the combs break easily in cold weather, the hives should iDe handled 

 carefully, to avoid possible damage. 



For moving in the summer the entrances to all colonies should be 

 closed with screen wire cloth, so no bees can possibly squeeze out 

 and cause trouble when least expected. The best entrance closer is 

 a piece of wire cloth, two inches wide, and as long as the hive en- 

 trances are wide. This is bent into a V, trough shape, and pushed 

 into the entrances by means of a flat instrument, and is easily re- 

 moved by catching one end and pulling it out. Additional ventilation 

 should be supplied by placing very thin pieces of wood, the thickness 

 of a common match, under each corner of the cover. This should be 

 done when the bees are not flying, preferably very early in the morn- 

 ing. Closing it in the evening may cause suffocation of the bees dur- 

 ing a hot, sultry night. 



Thus prepared, the colonies are allowed to remain on their old 

 stands until about 9 a. m., when they are moved, during which process 

 they are to be roughly handled and the bees shaken up considerably. 

 The use of a wheel barrow is preferable if the distance the colonies 

 are to be moved is short, and they should be taken to the new place 

 in a round-about way to increase the excitement. Hauling with a 

 wagon any long distance will stir them up sufficiently to give the de- 

 sired results. When all are located on their new stands, the en- 

 trances are opened only very slightly at first, blowing a little smoke 



