406 
Beekeeping 
locate the hive quickly. They then fan their wings and the 
others follow them into the hive. If this is not done the bees 
may wander about and get under the hive or in some other 
undesirable place. 
After the bees are mostly in the new hive a queen and 
drone trap (F) or a strip of perforated zinc is placed over 
the entrance to prevent the colony from deserting the hive. 
The old combs are now quickly removed. If several 
colonies are being treated at one time it may pay to stack 
several hive-bodies containing contaminated combs over a 
weak diseased colony to allow most of the healthy brood to 
emerge, thereby strengthening the weak colony. After ten 
or twelve days this colony is treated 
in turn and all the combs are rendered 
into wax. 
An apiary of any size should have 
included in its equipment a wax press 
(p. 335) for removing wax from old 
combs. After the contaminated frames 
are taken to the honey-house the combs 
should be kept carefully covered, so 
that no bees can reach them until the 
wax can be rendered. This should 
not be delayed very long or the 
combs may be ruined by wax-moths. 
The slumgum or refuse remaining after the wax is re¬ 
moved should be burned as it is usually not sterilized in 
the rendering of the wax. Contaminated combs should 
not be put into a solar wax extractor for fear of spreading 
the disease. The wax from contaminated combs may safely 
be used in the manufacture of comb-foundation. 
The hive which has contained the diseased colony should 
be thoroughly cleaned of all wax and honey, and it is desirable 
that it be carefully disinfected by burning out the inside; with 
a gasoline blue-flame torch (Fig. 169). If this piece of ap¬ 
paratus is not available, several hive-bodies may be piled 
together on a hive bottom and some gasoline or kerosene 
Fig. 169. — Gasoline torch. 
