BEE KEEPING IN MASSACHUSETTS. 101 
all of these colonies are totally ruined while in the greenhouses and 
that the demand for bees is on the increase each year, it may be 
readily seen what excellent opportunity there is of producing bees 
for greenhouse use. Considering the recorded sale of bees in 1906, 
which amounted to 1,0:27 colonies, it is probable that these sales 
must have been largely a result of the demand for greenhouse use. 
In illustration of the extent to which bees are used for this purpose 
it may be mentioned that one grower who picks 10,000 bushels 
annually requires 80 colonies of bees ; another having 40 acres under 
glass requires 35 to 40 colonies; a great many of the smaller growers 
use from 5 to 20 colonies. Cucumber growers, as a class, know little 
of bee-keeping methods, but they are anxious to learn. They feel 
that they must, in the stress of competition and high expenses, reduce 
the cost and loss in bees. 
Bees are introduced into the greenhouses as soon as the cucumber 
vines begin to bloom. If the houses are large, two or more hives, 
according to the area of the house, are placed on boxes on the beds or 
hung in the gables of the house. Various other methods of intro- 
ducing the hives are also emploj^ed. Not being able to secure suffi- 
cient stores in the winter, the colonies dwindle or become depleted in 
seven or eight weeks or less. It is a common practice among the 
growers to feed their bees sugar sirup or other sweets. Besides not 
being able to secure nectar to any extent from the cucumber blos- 
soms, the bees are also unable to gather much pollen, which is prob- 
ably a factor in the rapid depletion of the colonies. During the 
spring and summer, however, bees in the houses fare better, because 
they are able to escape, through ventilators and lights of glass re- 
moved for their exit, to the fields, where they secure nectar and 
pollen. Even under these circumstances the writer has seen colonies 
with no stores, with only a handful of bees and with scattered and 
half-starved brood. It is not surprising under such conditions that 
bee moths are such a great annoyance. To an experienced bee 
keeper the reason for their presence is obAdous; when a colony be- 
comes weakened the moth gains headway on the combs. No remedy 
for the moth in dwindled colonies can be suggested save killing the 
larvae as they appear in the hive. A means of keeping the colonies 
strong must first be looked for, which will relieve the bee-moth 
nuisance. Without doubt, however, the pest could be reduced if the 
greenhouse men would be more careful in disposing of hives in which 
the bees have died. The moths breed by thousands in discarded 
hives, and later are at hand to infest fresh material. Under no 
circumstance should discarded combs be cast outside on the rubbish 
heap to be devoured by the bee moths. Such a practice is a menace 
to bee keepers for miles around. 
