44 



before removal from the hive — that is, all capped over, as it is so dense 

 that there would be little chance of getting rid of any surplus moisture 

 afterwards. 



OBJECTIONS TO THE USE OF QUEEN-EXCLUDERS. 



Queen-excluding honey-boards, now better known as " queen-excluders," 

 are valuable for use in special cases, such as in queen-rearing ; but for the 

 purpose for which they are usually employed — that is, for coniimng the 

 queen to the lower story of the hive during the honey season — I have no 

 hesitation in saying they are unsatisfactory, and against the most profitable 

 working of an apiary. The one and onl}' valid reason for their use is that 

 they prevent the queens from breeding in the combs of the upper stories, 

 in which we look for the surplus honey to be stored. There is no gainsaying 

 that this is a great convenience, and would warrant their use were their 

 advantages in this respect not more than counterbalanced by great dis- 

 advantages and loss in others. 



In the third edition of my " Australasian Bee Manual," published in 

 1886, I pointed out some of their disadvantages. Further experience has 

 strongly confirmed my first impressions, and brought to light other evils 

 connected with their use. Very few experienced beekeepers use queen- 

 excluders, but I have met with a number who have used and discarded them. 

 It is, however, the beginner who is apt to be misled, and it is chiefly to guide 

 him in the most profitable working of his bees that this bulletin is published. 



The most important point to observe during the honey season in working 

 to secure a maximum crop of honey is to keep down swarming, and the 

 main factors to this end are ample ventilation of the hives, and adequate 

 working-room for the bees. When either or both these conditions are absent, 

 swarming is bound to take place. The free ventilation of a hive containing 

 a strong colony is not so easily secured in the height of the honey season, 

 even under the best conditions, that we can afiord to take liberties with it ; 

 and when the ventilating-space between the lower and upper boxes is more 

 than half cut off by a queen-excluder, the interior becomes almost mibearable 

 on hot days. The results under such circumstances are that a very large 

 force of bees that should be out working are employed fanning, both inside 

 and out, and often a considerable part of the colony will be hanging outside 

 the hive in enforced idleness imtil it is ready to swarm. 



Another evil caused by queen-excluders, and tending to the same end — 

 swarming — is that during a brisk honey-flow the bees will not readily travel 

 through them to deposit their loads of surplus honey in the supers, but 

 do store large quantities in the breeding-combs, and thus block the breeding- 

 space. This is bad enough at any time, but the evil is accentuated when it 

 occurs in the latter part of the season. A good queen gets the credit of 

 laying from two to three thousand eggs per day : supposing she is blocked 



