748 
SHIPPING BEES 
in bad order. A delay of three or four 
weeks means a severe loss to the consignee, 
because the bees will not be able to build 
up in time for the harvest. For the pres¬ 
ent, at least, it would be better for the 
average beekeeper in the North to rely on 
packages of bees to recoup the losses that 
may accrue from wintering and to make 
such increase as he may deem possible. 
After a very severe winter, when many 
colonies die outright, and they are too 
weak to build up, the apiary can be put in 
condition to do business from package bees 
from the South more cheaply than by 
buying up colonies in the North, provided 
they can be had. A single pound of young 
bees let loose in a colony of half strength 
will put that colony in fine condition as 
nothing else will. When bees are wintered 
in quadruple cases, with plenty of stores, 
the chances are that they will make stronger 
colonies, and be better prepared for the 
harvest, than the three-pound packages of 
bees received from the South with a queen, 
even when received early. 
It is perfectly obvious that the average 
person should buy bees of the old estab¬ 
lished breeders—those who have been in 
business so long that they know not only 
how to ship bees without combs, but who 
will have enough bees in early spring to 
make deliveries in time to enable the bees 
to build up ready for the harvest. Noth¬ 
ing is more exasperating than to order a 
lot of package bees and then have them 
come two or three months late. 
Those who get bees from the South in 
package form should read the article “Be¬ 
ginning with Bees,” particularly the part 
that tells how to hive these combless bees; 
for in all essential particulars they are 
swarms and should be handled as such. Un¬ 
less precaution is taken they will be liable 
to swarm out and leave for parts unknown. 
CAGES FOR SHIPPING COMBLESS BEES. 
A number of different styles of cages for 
shipping bees without combs have been de¬ 
vised. Most of them have solid wooden 
ends with wire cloth for sides, top, and 
bottom. Others make use of a wooden 
framework around which the wire cloth is 
secured. Still others use what is essential¬ 
ly the old-fashioned nucleus shipping box 
that has sides and ends of solid wood, but 
wire cloth at top and bottom. Over the 
wire cloth are mounted protecting screens 
of wood. Such a shipping cage can ac¬ 
commodate one or more frames of founda¬ 
tion. When the combless bees are hived on 
foundation they will draw it out, and the 
queen will very often lay some eggs in the 
partly drawn comb. In such a box bees 
are screened from the hot rays of the sun, 
and at the same time are ready to begin 
housekeeping, so to speak, thus insuring a 
degree of contentment that could not be 
