Fig. 10.—The honey bee: a, Worker; b, queen; c, drone. Twice natural size.
In the North, when the activity of the spring begins, the normal colony consists of the queen and some thousands of workers. As the outside temperature raises, the queen begins to lay eggs (fig. 12,a) in the worker cells. These in time develop into white larvæ (fig. 12,b,c), which grow to fill the cells. They are then capped over and transform first into pupæ (fig. 12,d) and then into adult worker bees. As the weather grows warmer, and the colony increases in size by the emergence of the young bees, the quantity of brood is increased. The workers continue to bring in pollen, nectar to be made into honey, and water for brood rearing. When the hive is nearly filled with bees and stores, or when a heavy honey flow is on, the queen begins to lay eggs in the larger cells, and these develop into drones or males. Continued increase of the colony would result in the formation of enormous, colonies, and unless some division takes place no increase in the number of colonies will result. Finally, however, the workers begin to build queen cells (fig. 13). These are larger than any other cells In the hive and hang on the comb vertically. In size and shape they may be likened to a peanut, and are also rough on the outside.In preparing for swarming the queen sometimes lays eggs in partly constructed queen cells, but when a colony becomes queenless the cells are built around female larvæ. The larvæ in these cells receive special food, and when they have grown to full size they, too, are sealed up, and the colony is then ready for swarming.
Fig. 11.—Comb architecture:a, Vertical section at top of comb;b, vertical section showing transition from worker to drone cells;c, horizontal section at side of comb showing end bar of frame;d, horizontal section of worker brood cells;e, diagram showing transition cells. Natural size.
The issuing of the first swarm from a colony consists of the departure of the original queen with part of the workers. They leave behind the Honey stores, except such as they can carry in their honey stomachs, the brood, some workers, drones, several queen cells, from which will later emerge young queens, but no adult queen. By this interesting process the original colony is divided into two.
The swarm finds a new location in some place, such as a hollow tree, or, if cared for by the bee keeper, in a hive. The workers build newcombs, the queen begins laying, and in a short time the swarm becomes a normal colony.
Fig. 12.—The honey bee:a, Egg;b, young larva;c, old larva;d, pupa. Three times natural size.
The colony on the old stand (parent colony) is increased by the bees emerging from the brood. After a time (usually about seven or eight days) the queens in their cells are ready to emerge. If the colony is only moderately strong the first queen to emerge is allowed by the workers to tear down the other queen cells and kill the queens not yet emerged, but if a "second swarm" is to be given off the queen cells are protected.
If the weather permits, when from 5 to 8 days old, the young queen flies from the hive to mate with a drone. Mating usually occurs but once during the life of the queen and always takes place on the wing. In mating she receives enough spermatozoa (male sex cells) to last throughout her life. She returns to the hive after mating, and in about two days begins egg laying. The queen never leaves the hive except at mating time or with a swarm, and her sole duty in the colony is to lay eggs to keep up the population.
When the flowers which furnish most nectar are in bloom, the bees usually gather more honey than they need for their own use, and this the bee keeper can safely remove. They continue the collection of honey and other activities until cold weather comes on in the fall, when brood rearing ceases; they then become relatively quiet, remaining in the hive all winter, except for short flights on warm days. When the main honey flow is over, the drones are usually driven from the hive. By that time the virgin queens have been mated and drones are of no further use. They are not usually stung to death, but are merely carried or driven from the hive by the workers and starve. A colony of bees which for any reason is without a queen does not expel the drones.
Fig. 13.—Queen cells. Natural size.
Many abnormal conditions may arise in the activity of a colony, and it is therefore necessary for the bee keeper to understand most of these, so that when they occur he may overcome them. If a virgin queen is prevented from mating shegenerally dies, but occasionally begins to lay eggs after about four weeks. In this event, however, all of the eggs which develop become males. Such a queen is commonly called a "drone layer."
If the virgin queen is lost while on her flight, or the colony at any other time is left queenless without means of rearing additional queens, it sometimes happens that some of the workers begin to lay eggs. These eggs also develop only into drones.
It also happens at times that when a queen becomes old her supply of spermatozoa is exhausted, at which tune her eggs also develop only into drones. These facts are the basis of the theory that the drone of the bee is developed from an unfertilized egg or is partheno-genetic. A full discussion of this point is impossible in this place.
The work of the hive is very nicely apportioned among the inmates, so that there is little lost effort. As has been stated, the rearing of young is accomplished by having one individual to lay eggs and numerous others (immature females or workers) to care for the larvæ. In like manner all work of the colony is apportioned. In general, it may be stated that all inside work—wax building, care of brood, and cleaning—is done by the younger workers, those less than 17 days old, while the outside work of collecting pollen and nectar to be made into honey is done by the older workers. This plan may be changed by special conditions. For example, if the colony has been queenless for a tune and a queen is then given, old workers may begin the inside work of feeding larvæ, and these may also secrete wax. Or, if the old workers are all removed, the younger bees may begin outside work. As a rule, however, the general plan of division of labor according to age is probably followed rather closely.
DIRECTIONS FOR GENERAL MANIPULATIONS.
Bees should be handled so that they will be little disturbed in their work. As much as possible, stings should be avoided during manipulation. This is true, not so much because they are painful to the operator, but because the odor of poison which gets into the air irritates the other bees and makes them more difficult to manage. For this reason it is most advisable to wear a black veil (fig. 4) over a wide-brimmed hat and to have a good smoker (fig. 3). Gloves, however, are usually more an inconvenience than otherwise. Gauntlets or rubber bands around the cuffs keep the bees from crawling up the sleeve. It is best to avoid black clothing, since that color seems to excite bees; a black felt hat is especially to be avoided.
Superfluous quick movements tend to irritate the bees. The hive should not be jarred or disturbed any more than necessary. Rapid movements are objectionable, because with their peculiar eye structure bees probably perceive motion more readily than they do objects. Persons not accustomed to bees, on approaching a hive, often strikeat bees which fly toward them or make some quick movement of the head or hand to avoid the sting which they fear is to follow. This should not be done, for the rapid movement, even if not toward the bee, is far more likely to be followed by a sting than remaining quiet.
The best time to handle bees is during the middle of warm days, particularly during a honey flow. Never handle bees at night or on cold, wet days unless absolutely necessary. The work of a beginner may be made much easier and more pleasant by keeping gentle bees. Caucasians, Carniolans, Banats, and some strains of Italians ordinarily do not sting much unless unusually provoked or except in bad weather. Common black bees or crosses of blacks with other races are more irritable. It may be well worth while for the beginner to procure gentle bees while gaining experience in manipulation. Later on, this is less important, for the bee keeper learns to handle bees with little inconvenience to himself or to the bees. Various remedies for bee stings have been advocated, but they are all useless. The puncture made by the sting is so small that it closes when the sting is removed and liquids can not be expected to enter. The best thing to do when stung is to remove the sting as soon as possible without squeezing the poison sac, which is usually attached. This can be done by scraping it out with a knife or finger nail. After this is done the injured spot should be let alone and not rubbed with any liniment. The intense itching will soon disappear; any irritation only serves to increase the afterswelling.
Before opening a hive the smoker should be lighted and the veil put on. A few puffs of smoke directed into the entrance will cause the bees to fill themselves with honey and will drive back the guards. The hive cover should be raised gently, if necessary being pried loose with a screwdriver or special hive tool. When slightly raised, a little more smoke should be blown in vigorously on the tops of the frames, or if a mat covering for the frames is used, the cover should be entirely removed and one corner of the mat lifted to admit smoke. It is not desirable to use any more smoke than just enough to subdue the bees and keep them down on the frames. If at any time during manipulation they become excited, more smoke may be necessary. Do not stand in front of the entrance, but at one side or the back.
After the frames are exposed they may be loosened by prying gently with the hive tool and crowded together a little so as to give room for the removal of one frame. In cool weather the propolis (bee glue) may be brittle. Care should be exercised not to loosen this propolis with a jar. The first frame removed can be leaned against the hive, so that there will be more room inside for handling the others. During all manipulations bees must not be mashed or crowded, for it irritates the colony greatly and may make it necessary to discontinueoperations. Undue crowding may also crush the queen. If bees crawl on the hands, they may be gently brushed off or thrown off.
Fig. 14.—Handling the frame: First position.
In examining a frame hold it over the hive if possible, so that any bees or queen which fall may drop into it. Freshly gathered honey also often drops from the frame, and if it falls in the hive the bees can quickly clean it up, whereas if it drops outside it is untidy and may cause robbing. If a frame is temporarily leaned against the hive, it should be placed in a nearly upright position to prevent breakage and leaking of honey. The frame on which the queen is located should not be placed on the ground, for fear she may crawl away and be lost. It is best to lean the frame on the side of the hive away from the operator, so that bees will not crawl up his legs.
Fig. 15.—Handling the frame: Second position.
In hanging frames the comb should always be held in a vertical position, especially if it contains much honey. When a frame is lifted from the hive by the top bar, the comb is vertical with one side toward the operator (fig. 14). To examine the reverse side, raise one end of the top bar until it is perpendicular (fig. 15), turn the frame on the top bar as an axis until the reverse side is in view, and then lower to a horizontal position with the top bar below (fig. 16). In this way there is no extra strain on the comb and the bees are not irritated. This care is not so necessary with wired combs, but it is a good habit to form in handling frames.
It is desirable to have combs composed entirely of worker cells in order to reduce the amount of drone brood. The use of full sheets offoundation will bring this about and is also of value in making the combs straight, so that bees are not mashed in removing the frame. It is extremely difficult to remove combs built crosswise in the hive, and this should never be allowed to occur. Such a hive is even worse than a plain box hive. Superfluous inside fixtures should be avoided, as they tend only to impede manipulation. The hive should also be placed so that the entrance is perfectly horizontal and a little lower than the back of the hive. The frames will then hang in a vertical position, and the outer ones will not be fastened by the bees to the hive body if properly spaced at the top.
Fig. 16.—Handling the frame: Third position.
In placing frames in the hive great care should be exercised that they are properly spaced. Some frames are self-spacing, having projections on the side, so that when placed as close as possible they are the correct distance apart. These are good for beginners or persons who do not judge distances well and are preferred by many professional bee keepers. If unspaced frames are used, the brood frames should be 13/8inches from center to center. A little practice will usually enable anyone to space quickly and accurately. Careful spacing is necessary to prevent the building of combs of irregular thickness and to retard the building of pieces of comb from one frame to another.
A beginner in beekeeping should by all means, if possible, visit some experienced bee keeper to get suggestions in handling bees. More can be learned in a short visit than in a considerably longer time in reading directions, and numerous short cuts which are acquired by experience will well repay the trouble or expense of such a visit. Not all professional bee keepers manipulate in the very best way, but later personal experience will correct any erroneous information. Above all, personal experimentation and a study of bee activity are absolute necessities in the practical handling of bees.
TRANSFERRING.
In increasing the apiary it is sometimes best to buy colonies in box hives on account of their smaller cost and to transfer them to hives with movable frames. This should be done as soon as possible, forbox hive colonies are of small value as producers. The best time to transfer is in the spring (during fruit bloom in the North) when the amount of honey and the population of the colony are at a minimum.
Transferring should not be delayed until spring merely because that season is best for the work. It may be done at any time during the active season, but, whenever possible, during a honey flow, to prevent robbing. If necessary, it may be done in a tent such as is often used in manipulating colonies. By choosing a time of the day when the largest number of bees are in the field the work will be lessened.
Plan 1.—The box hive should be moved a few feet from its stand and in its place should be put a hive with movable frames containing full sheets of foundation. The box hive should be turned upside down and a small, empty box inverted over it. By drumming continuously on the box hive with sticks for a considerable time the bees will be made to desert their combs and go to the upper box, and when most of them are clustered above, the bees may be dumped in front of the entrance of the hive which is to house them. The queen will usually be seen as the bees enter the hive, but, in case she has not left the old combs, more drumming will induce her to do so. It is necessary that the queen be in the hive before this manipulation is finished. The old box hive containing brood may now be placed right side up in a new location and in 21 days all of the worker brood will have emerged and probably some new queens will have been reared. These bees may then be drummed out and united with their former hive mates by vigorously smoking the colony and the drummed bees and allowing the latter to enter the hive through a perforated zinc to keep out the young queens. The comb in the box hive may then be melted up and any honey which it may contain used as the bee keeper sees fit. By this method good straight combs are obtained. If little honey is being gathered, the colony in the hive must be provided with food.
Plan 2.—If, on the other hand, the operator desires to save the combs of the box hive, the bees may be drummed into a box and the brood combs and other fairly good combs cut to fit frames and tied in place or held with rubber bands, strings, or strips of wood until the bees can repair the damage and fill up the breaks. These frames can then be hung in a hive on the old stand and the bees allowed to go in. The cutting of combs containing brood with more or less bees on them is a disagreeable job, and, since the combs so obtained are usually of little value in an apiary, the first method is recommended.
Plan 3.—Another good plan is to wait until the colony swarms and then move the box hive to one side. A movable frame hive is now placed in the former location of the box hive and the swarm is hived in it. In this way all returning field bees are forced to jointhe swarm. In 21 days all of the worker brood in the box hive will have emerged. These young bees may then be united with the bees in the frame hive and the box hive destroyed.
Colonies often take up their abode in walls of houses and it is often necessary to remove them to prevent damage from melting combs. If the cavity in which the combs are built can be reached, the method of procedure is like that of transferring, except that drumming is impractical and the bees must simply be subdued with smoke and the combs cut out with the bees on them.
Another method which is often better is to place a bee escape over the entrance to the cavity, so that the bees can come out, but can not return. A cone of wire cloth about 8 inches high with a hole at the apex just large enough for one bee to pass will serve as a bee escape, or regular bee escapes (fig. 8) such as are sold by dealers may be used. A hive which they can enter is then placed beside the entrance. The queen is not obtained in this way and, of course, goes right on laying eggs, but as the colony is rapidly reduced in size the amount of brood decreases. As brood emerges, the younger bees leave the cavity and join the bees in the hive, until finally the queen is left practically alone. A new queen should be given to the bees in the hive as soon as possible, and in a short time they are fully established in their new quarters. After about four weeks, when all or nearly all of the brood in the cavity has emerged, the bee escape should be removed and as large a hole made at the entrance of the cavity as possible. The bees will then go in and rob out the honey and carry it to the hive, leaving only empty combs. The empty combs will probably do no damage, as moths usually soon destroy them and they may be left in the cavity and the old entrance carefully closed to prevent another swarm from taking up quarters there.
In transferring bees from a hollow tree the method will depend on the accessibility of the cavity. Usually it is difficult to drum out the bees and the combs can be cut out after subduing the colony with smoke.
UNITING.
Frequently colonies become queenless when it is not practicable to give them a new queen, and the best practice under such conditions is to unite the queenless bees to a normal colony. If any colonies are weak in the fall, even if they have a queen, safe wintering is better insured if two or more weak colonies are united, keeping the best queen. Under various other conditions which may arise the bee keeper may find it desirable to unite bees from different colonies. Some fundamental facts in bee behavior must be thoroughly understood to make this a success.
Every colony of bees has a distinctive colony odor and by this means bees recognize the entering of their hive by bees from othercolonies and usually resent it. If, however, a bee comes heavily laden from the field and flies directly into the wrong hive without hesitation it is rarely molested. In uniting colonies, the separate colony odors must be hidden, and this is done by smoking each colony vigorously. It may at times be desirable to use tobacco smoke, which not only covers the colony odor but stupefies the bees somewhat. Care should be taken not to use too much tobacco, as it will completely overcome the bees. The queen to be saved should be caged for a day or two to prevent the strange bees from killing her in the first excitement.
Another fact which must be considered is that the bees of a colony carefully mark the location of their own hive and remember that location for some time after they are removed. If, therefore, two colonies in the apiary which are not close together are to be united, they should be moved gradually nearer, not more than a foot at a time, until they are side by side, so that the bees will not return to their original locations and be lost. As the hives are moved gradually the slight changes are noted and no such loss occurs. As a further precaution, a board should be placed in front of the entrance in a slanting position, or brush and weeds may be thrown down so that when the bees fly out they recognize the fact that there has been a change and accustom themselves to the new place. If uniting can be done during a honey flow, there is less danger of loss of bees by fighting, or if done in cool weather, when the bees are not actively rearing brood, the colony odors are diminished and the danger is reduced.
It is an easy matter to unite two or more weak swarms to make one strong one, for during swarming the bees have lost their memory of the old location, are full of honey, and are easily placed wherever the bee keeper wishes. They may simply be thrown together in front of a hive. Swarms may also be given to a newly established colony with little difficulty.
PREVENTING ROBBING IN THE APIARY.
When there is no honey flow bees are inclined to rob other colonies, and every precaution must be taken to prevent this. Feeding often attracts other bees, and, if there are indications of robbing, the sirup or honey should be given late in the day. As soon as robbing begins, manipulation of colonies should be discontinued, the hives closed, and, if necessary, the entrances contracted as far as the weather will permit. If brush is thrown in front of the entrance, robbers are less likely to attempt entering. At all times honey which has been removed from the hives should be kept where no bees can get at it, so as not to incite robbing.
FEEDING.
During spring manipulations, in preparing bees for winter, and at other times it may be necessary to feed bees for stimulation or to provide stores.Honey from an unknown source should never be used, for fear of introducing disease, and sirup made of granulated sugar is cheapest and best for this purpose. The cheaper grades of sugar or molasses should never be used for winter stores. The proportion of sugar to water depends on the season and the purpose of the feeding. For stimulation a proportion of one-fourth to one-third sugar by volume is enough, and for fall feeding, especially if rather late, a solution containing as much sugar as it will hold when cold is best. There seems to be little advantage in boiling the sirup. Tartaric acid in small quantity may be added for the purpose of changing part of the cane sugar to invert sugar, thus retarding granulation. The medication of sirup as a preventive or cure of brood disease is often practiced, but it has not been shown that such a procedure is of any value. If honey is fed, it should be diluted somewhat, the amount of dilution depending on the season. If robbing is likely to occur, feeding should be done in the evening.
Numerous feeders are on the market, adapted for different purposes and methods of manipulation (figs.17,18,19). A simple feeder can be made of a tin pan filled with excelsior or shavings (fig. 20). This is filled with sirup and placed on top of the frames in a super or hive body. It is advisable to lean pieces of wood on the pan as runways for the bees, and to attract them first to the sirup, either by mixing in a little honey or by spilling a little sirup over the frames and sticks.
It may be stated positively that it does not pay financially, or in any other way, to feed sugar sirup to be stored in sections and sold as comb honey. Of course, such things have been tried, but the consumption of sugar during the storing makes the cost greater than the value of pure floral honey.
SPRING MANAGEMENT.
The condition of a colony of bees in the early spring depends largely upon the care given the bees the preceding autumn and in the method of wintering. If the colony has wintered well and has a good prolific queen, preferably young, the chances are that it will become strong in time to store a good surplus when the honey flow comes.
The bees which come through the winter, reared the previous autumn, are old and incapable of much work. As the season opens they go out to collect the early nectar and pollen, and also care for the brood. The amount of brood is at first small, and as the new workers emerge they assist in the brood rearing so that the extent ofthe brood can be gradually increased until it reaches its maximum about the beginning of the summer. The old bees die off rapidly. If brood rearing does not continue late in the fall, so that the colony goes into winter with a large percentage of young bees, the old bees may die off in the spring faster than they are replaced by emerging brood. This is known as "spring dwindling." A preventive remedy for this may be applied by feeding, if necessary, the autumn before, or keeping up brood rearing as late as possible by some other means.
Fig. 17.—Division-board feeder to be hung in hive in place of frame.
If spring dwindling begins, however, it can be diminished somewhat by keeping the colony warm and by stimulative feeding, so that all the energy of the old bees may be put to the best advantage in rearing brood to replace those drying off. The size of the brood chamber can also be reduced to conserve heat.
Fig. 18.—Feeder set in collar under hive body.
It sometimes happens that when a hive is examined in the spring the hive body and combs are spotted with brownish yellow excrement. This is an evidence of what is commonly called "dysentery." The cause of this trouble is long-continued confinement with a poor quality of honey for food. Honeydew honey and some of the inferior floral honeys contain a relatively large percentage of material which bees can not digest, and, if they are not able to fly for some time, the intestines become clogged with fæcal matter and a diseased condition results. Worker bees never normally deposit their fæces in the hive. The obvious preventive for this is to provide the colony with good honey or sugar sirup the previous fall. "Dysentery" frequently entirely destroys colonies, but if the bees can pull through until warm days permit a cleansing flight they recover promptly.
Fig. 19.—"Pepper-box" feeder for use on top of frames.
Bees should not be handled in the early spring any more than necessary, for to open a hive in cool weather wastes heat and may even kill the brood by chilling. The hive should be kept as warm as possible in early spring as an aid to brood rearing. It is a good practice to wrap hives in black tar paper in the spring, not only that it may aid in conserving the heat of the colony, but in holding the suns heat rays as a help to the warmth of the hive. This wrapping should be put on as soon as an early examination has shown the colony to be in good condition, and there need be no hurry in taking it off. A black wrapping during the winter is not desirable, as it might induce brood rearing too early and waste the strength of the bees.
As a further stimulus to brood rearing, stimulative feeding of sugar sirup in early spring may be practiced. This produces much the same effect as a light honey flow does and the results are often good. Others prefer to give the bees such a large supply of stores in the fall that when spring comes they will have an abundance for brood rearing, and it will not be necessary to disturb them in cool weather. Both ideas are good, but judicious stimulative feeding usually more than pays for the labor. Colonies should be fed late in the day, so that the bees will not fly as a result of it, and so that robbing will not be started. When the weather is warmer and more settled the brood cluster may be artificially enlarged by spreading the frames so as to insert an empty comb in the middle. The bees will attempt to cover all the brood that they already had, and the queen will at once begin laying in the newly inserted comb, thus making a great increase in the brood. This practice is desirable when carefully done, but may lead to serious results if too much new brood is produced. A beginner had better leave the quantity of brood to the bees.
Fig. 20.—Pan in super arranged for feeding.
It is desirable early in the season, before any preparations are made for swarming, to go through the apiary and clip one wing of each queen (see p. 30). This should be done before the hive becomes too populous. It is perhaps best to clip queens as they are introduced, but some colonies may rear new ones without the knowledge of the owner, and a spring examination will insure no escaping swarms. The beginner should perhaps be warned not to clip the wings of a virgin queen.
Queens sometimes die during the winter and early spring, and since there is no brood from which the bees can replace them, the queenless colonies are "hopelessly queenless." Such colonies are usually restless and are not active in pollen gathering. If, on opening a colony, it is found to be without a queen and reduced in numbers, it should be united with another colony by smoking both vigorously and caging the queen in the queen-right colony for a day or two to prevent her being killed. A frame or two of brood may be added to a queenless colony, not only to increase its strength, but to provide young brood from which they can rear a queen Bee keepers in the North can frequently buy queens from southern breeders early in the spring and naturally this is better than leaving the colony without a queen until the bees can rear one, as it is important that there be no stoppage in brood rearing at this season.
SWARM MANAGEMENT AND INCREASE.
The excessive rearing of brood at the wrong season or increase in the number of colonies greatly reduces the surplus honey crop by consumption. The ideal to which all progressive bee keepers work, when operating simply for honey, is to stimulate brood rearing to prepare bees for gathering, to retard breeding when it is less desirable, and to prevent swarming. Formerly the measure of success in beekeeping was the amount of increase by swarming, but this is now recognized as being quite the contrary of success.
The stimulation of brood rearing in the spring, however, makes it more likely that swarming will occur; so that the operator must counteract the tendency to swarm. This is especially true in comb honey production. Very few succeed in entirely preventing swarming, but by various methods the situation can be largely controlled.
When a swarm issues, it usually first settles on a limb of a tree or bush near the apiary. It was formerly common to make a noise by beating pans or ringing bells in the belief that this causes the swarm to settle. There is no foundation for such action on the part of the bee keeper. If the bees alight on a small limb that can be sparedit may simply be sawed off and the bees carried to the hive and thrown on a sheet or hive cover in front of the entrance. If the limb can not be cut, the swarm can be shaken off into a box or basket on a pole and hived. If the bees light on the trunk of a tree or in some inaccessible place they can first be attracted away by a comb, preferably containing unsealed brood. In these manipulations it is not necessary to get all the bees, but if the queen is not with those which are put into the hive the bees will go into the air again and join the cluster.
If a queen is clipped as recommended under "Spring management" (p. 29) the swarm will issue just the same, but the queen, not being able to fly, will simply wander about on the ground in front of the hive, where she can be caught and caged. The parent colony can then be removed to a new stand and a new hive put in its place. The bees will soon return and the queen can be freed among them as they enter. The field bees on returning will enter the new hive with the swarm, thus decreasing still more the parent colony and making a second swarm less probable. To make sure of this, however, all queen cells except one good one can be removed soon after the swarm issues. Another method of preventing second swarms is to set the old hive beside the swarm and in a week move the old hive to another place. The field bees of the parent colony then join the swarm and the parent colony is so much reduced that a second swarm does not issue.
To hold a swarm it is desirable to put one frame containing healthy unsealed brood in the new hive. The other frames may contain full sheets or starters of foundation. Usually comb honey supers or surplus bodies for extracting frames will have been put on before swarming occurs. These are given to the swarm on the old stand and separated from the brood chamber by queen-excluding perforated zinc. In three or four days the perforated zinc may be removed if desired.
When clipping the queen's wing is not practiced, swarms may be prevented from leaving by the use of queen traps of perforated zinc (fig. 6). These allow the workers to pass out, but not drones or queens, which, on leaving the entrance, pass up to an upper compartment from which they can not return. These are also used for keeping undesirable drones from escaping, and the drones die of starvation. When a swarm issues from a hive provided with a queen trap, the queen goes to the upper compartment and remains there until released by the bee keeper. The workers soon return to the hive. When the operator discovers the queen outside, the colony may be artificially swarmed to prevent another attempt at natural swarming. A queen trap should not be kept on the hive all the time for fear the old queen may be superseded and the young queen prevented from flying out to mate.
ARTIFICIAL SWARMING.
If increase is desired, it is better to practice some method of artificial swarming and to forestall natural swarming rather than be compelled to await the whims of the colonies. The situation should be under the control of the bee keeper as much as possible. The bees, combs, and brood may be divided into two nearly equal parts and a queen provided for the queenless portion; or small colonies, called nuclei, may be made from the parent colony, so reducing its strength that swarming is not attempted. These plans are not as satisfactory as shaken swarms, since divided colonies lack the vigor of swarms.
A good method of artificially swarming a colony is to shake most of the bees from the combs into another hive on the old stand with starters (narrow strips) of foundation. The hive containing the brood with some bees still adhering is then moved to a new location. If receptacles for surplus honey have been put on previously, as they generally should be, they should now be put over the artificial swarm separated from the brood compartment by perforated zinc.
This method of artificially swarming (usually called by bee keepers "shook" swarming) should not be practiced too early, since natural swarming may take place later. The colony should first have begun its preparations for swarming. The method is particularly useful in comb honey production. The bees may be prevented from leaving the hive by the use of a drone trap (fig. 6) or by putting in one frame containing unsealed brood. Some bee keepers prefer using full sheets of foundation or even drawn combs for the artificial swarm, but narrow strips of foundation have some advantages. By using narrow strips the queen has no cells in which to lay eggs for a time, thus reducing brood rearing, but, since by the time artificial swarming is practiced the profitable brood rearing is usually over, this is no loss but rather a gain. There are also in the brood compartment no cells in which the gathering workers can deposit fresh honey, and they consequently put it in the supers. Gradually the combs below are built out and brood rearing is increased. Later the colony is allowed to put honey in the brood combs for its winter supply. If no increase is desired, the bees which emerge from the removed brood combs may later be united with the artificial swarm and by that time there will usually be little danger of natural swarming.
Artificial swarming can readily be combined with the shaking treatment for bee diseases, thus accomplishing two objects with one manipulation. If disease is present in the parent colony, only strips of foundation should be used and the colony should be confined to the hive until a queen and drone trap and not with a frame of brood.
PREVENTION OF SWARMING.
Unless increase is particularly desired, both natural and artificial swarming should be done away with as far as possible, so that the energy of the bees shall go into the gathering of honey. Since crowded and overheated hives are particularly conducive to swarming, this tendency may be largely overcome by giving plenty of ventilation and additional room in the hive. Shade is also a good preventive of swarming. Extra space in the hive may be furnished by adding more hive bodies and frames or by frequent extracting, so that there may be plenty of room for brood rearing and storage at all times. These manipulations are, of course, particularly applicable to extracted honey production.
To curb the swarming impulse frequent examinations of the colonies (about every week or 10 days during the swarming season) for the purpose of cutting out queen cells is a help, but this requires considerable work, and since some cells may be overlooked, and particularly since it frequently fails in spite of the greatest care, it is not usually practiced. Requeening with young queens early in the season, when possible, generally prevents swarming.
Swarming is largely due to crowded brood chambers, and since eggs laid immediately before and during the honey flow do not produce gatherers, several methods have been tried of reducing the brood. The queen may either be entirely removed or be caged in the hive to prevent her from laying. In either event the bees will usually build queen cells to replace her, and these must be kept cut out. These plans would answer the purpose very well were it not for the fact that queenless colonies often do not work vigorously. Under most circumstances these methods can not be recommended. A better method is to remove brood about swarming time and thus reduce the amount. There are generally colonies in the apiary to which frames of brood can be given to advantage.
In addition to these methods various nonswarming devices have been invented, and later a nonswarming hive so constructed that there is no opportunity for the bees to form a dense cluster. The breeding of bees by selecting colonies with less tendency to swarm has been suggested.
On the whole, the best methods are the giving of plenty of room, shade, and ventilation to colonies run for extracted honey; and ventilation, shade, and artificial swarming of colonies run for comb honey. Frequent requeening (about once in two years) is desirable for other reasons, and requeening before swarming time helps in the solution of that difficulty,
PREPARATION FOR THE HARVEST.
An essential in honey production is to have the hive overflowing with bees at the beginning of the honey flow, so that the field force will be large enough to gather more honey than the bees need for their own use. To accomplish this, the bee keeper must see to it that brood rearing is heavy some time before the harvest, and he must know accurately when the honey flows come, so that he may time his manipulations properly. Brood rearing during the honey flow usually produces bees which consume stores, while brood reared before the flow furnishes the surplus gatherers. The best methods of procedure may be illustrated by giving as an example the conditions in the white clover region.
In the spring the bees gather pollen and nectar from various early flowers, and often a considerable quantity from fruit bloom and dandelions. During this time brood rearing is stimulated by the new honey, but afterwards there is usually a period of drought when brood rearing is normally diminished or not still more increased as it should be. This condition continues until the white clover flow comes on, usually with a rush, when brood rearing is again augmented. If such a condition exists, the bee keeper should keep brood rearing at a maximum by stimulative feeding during the drought. When white clover comes in bloom he may even find it desirable to prevent brood rearing to turn the attention of his bees to gathering.
A worker bee emerges from its cell 21 days after the egg is laid, and it usually begins field work in from 14 to 17 days later. It is evident, therefore, that an egg must be laid five weeks before the honey flow to produce a gatherer. Since the flow continues for some time and since bees often go to the field earlier than 14 days, egg laying should be pushed up to within two or three weeks of the opening of the honey flow. In addition to stimulative feeding, the care of the colony described under the heading of "Spring management" (p. 26) will increase brood production.
THE PRODUCTION OF HONEY.
The obtaining of honey from bees is generally the primary object of their culture. Bees gather nectar to make into honey for their own use as food, but generally store more than they need, and this surplus the bee keeper takes away. By managing colonies early in the spring as previously described the surplus may be considerably increased. The secret of maximum crops is to "Keep all colonies strong."
Honey is gathered in the form of nectar secreted by various flowers, is transformed by the bees, and stored in the comb. Bees also oftengather a sweet liquid called "honeydew," produced by various scale insects and plant-lice, but the honeydew honey made from it is quite unlike floral honey in flavor and composition and should not be sold for honey. It is usually unpalatable and should never be used as winter food for bees, since it usually causes dysentery (p. 40). When nectar or honeydew has been thickened by evaporation and otherwise changed, the honey is sealed in the cells with cappings of beeswax.
It is not profitable to cultivate any plant solely for the nectar which it will produce, but various" plants, such as clovers, alfalfa, and buckwheat, are valuable for other purposes and are at the same time excellent honey plants; their cultivation is therefore a benefit to the bee keeper. It is often profitable to sow some plant on waste land; sweet clovers are often used in this way. The majority of honey-producing plants are wild, and the bee keeper must largely accept the locality as he finds it and manage his apiary so as to get the largest possible amount of the available nectar. Since bees often fly as far as 2 or 3 miles to obtain nectar, it is obvious that the bee keeper can rarely influence the nectar supply appreciably. Before deciding what kind of honey to produce the bee keeper should have a clear knowledge of the honey resources of his locality and of the demands of the market in which he will sell his crop. If the bulk of the honey is dark, or if the main honey flows are slow and protracted, it will not pay to produce comb honey, since the production of fancy comb honey depends on a rapid flow. The best localities for comb honey production are in the northern part of the United States east of the Mississippi River, where white clover is a rapid and abundant yielder. Other parts of the United States where similar conditions of rapidity of flow exist are also good. Unless these favorable conditions are present it is better to produce extracted Honey.