MOTH MILLER 
601 
yond the reach of the bees. The old patent 
moth-proof (?) hives of early days were 
full of these cracks and crevices, and of 
course much worse for their propagation 
than the regular simple hives without moth 
“contraptions.” 
In modem apiculture the moth, or, more 
properly speaking, wax worm, can do no 
damage except among combs which are laid 
aside for the time being. Combs -from 
colonies of Italian bees will usually be safe 
when they are put away in bee-tight ex- 
tracting-supers for the season. 
How moths ruin combs that are not taken care of. 
In this connection combs in unspaced 
frames—that is, frames without shoulders 
—are much more subject to damage from 
the wax worm than those in spaced or 
Hoffman frames. The former when put 
away for the season are generally put into 
the super and laced together in close con¬ 
tact. Combs that are spaced like the Hoff¬ 
man, the ordinary distance apart—-1% 
inches from center to center—are much 
safer, because they cannot be placed in 
close contact. If they are set 2 inches 
apart, the damage, if any, will usually be 
confined to one comb. 
It is generally regarded as perfectly safe 
to take the combs out of the hive right 
after the season is over, and confine them 
in hive Supers stacked up. If these stacked 
supers are covered so as to make them bee- 
tight there will be practically no danger 
from a bee moth. All combs should be 
put into supers so that neither the moth 
miller nor robber bees can gain access to 
them. As a general thing, some combs will 
contain a little honey; and the first warm 
day during a dearth of honey these combs, 
unless put into bee-tight compartments;, 
will invite the worst kind of robbing. Not 
only this, there will always be danger of 
the bee moth. Combs confined in bee-tight 
hives or supers, if they have eggs of the 
moth in the first place, may develop the 
wax worm later; but in an Italian apiary 
this will rarely occur; and even when the 
moth-eggs are in the comb they will be 
killed by the first winter freezing. Right 
here is one explanation of why the bee 
moth is much more destructive in the South 
than in the North. All stray eggs or larvae 
are killed by ordinary freezing weather. 
Combs stored away in the fall in bee-tight 
supers will usually be safe if freezing 
weather follows shortly after. They can 
also be rendered safe from the depreda¬ 
tions of the moth worm by the use of car¬ 
bon bisulphide, mentioned further on. 
TWO OTHER SPECIES. 
The work of the lesser wax moth is some¬ 
what similar to that of the larger species; 
but the galleries are smaller, and the webs 
are finer and more on the surface of the 
comb. The photo, by G. W. Tebbs, shows 
the characteristic nest of the lesser wax 
moth. 
There is still a smaller species that in¬ 
fests combs, known as the Mediterranean 
flour moth. This is not really a wax worm, 
and its presence is due to the fact that it 
eats the pollen in the comb; but it leaves 
in its wake a lot of webs as shown in the 
illustration on next page. 
BEE MOTH IN HIGH ALTITUDES. 
In Colorado, at least in the region of 
Denver, where the elevation is fully a mile 
above the level of the sea, the ordinary wax 
