Should Not Be Delayed
Categories: PRUNING.Bee Keeping: Mysteries Of Bee-keeping Explained
Should this operation be put off for a time much longer than three
weeks, the young queen will so fill the combs again as to make it a
serious loss. Therefore, I wish to urge strongly attention to this
point at the proper season. If you think it unimportant to mark the
date of your first swarms for the purposes mentioned in another place,
it will be found very convenient here, for those that need pruning.
half, in a season; thereby taking two or three years to renew the
combs. This is advisable only when the family is very small. As this
space made by pruning cannot be filled without wax and labor, our
surplus honey will be proportionate to its extent. Now suppose we take
out half the old combs, and get half a yield of box honey this year,
and the same next, or make a full operation of it and get none this
year, and a full one next. What is the difference? There is none in
point of honey, but some in trouble, and that is in favor of a full
operation at once. We have to go through with about the same trouble to
get one-third or half as to take the whole.
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Remedies For Stings
Concerning the remedies for stings, it is a hard matter to tell which is the best. There is so much difference in the effect in different individuals, and the different parts of the body, as well as the depth the sting reaches, that a great variety ... Repetition Prevented
Sometimes a swarm will issue and return three or four days in succession, but this I generally remedy, as it is often owing to some inability of the queen, and she may be frequently found while the swarm is leaving outside the hive, unable to fly. I... Requisites Before Preparation Of Queen's Cells
I have found the process for all regular swarms something like this: before they commence, two or three things are requisite. The combs must be crowded with bees; they must contain a numerous brood advancing from the egg to maturity; the bees must b... Requisites For Good Stocks
The proper requisites for a good stock are a full hive of proper shape and size, (viz., 2,000 inches,) well stored with honey; a large family of bees, and in a healthy condition, which must be ascertained by actual inspection. The age is not importa... Result Of Ignorance In Purchasing
A neighbor purchased thirteen stock-hives; six were old ones, the others swarms of the last season. As the old hives were heavy, he of course thought them good; either he knew nothing of the disease, or took no trouble to examine; five of the six ol... Returning A Part To The Old Stock
Separate one-third or more of the two swarms, being sure there is no queen with this part, (by the test given of setting them at a distance) and then return them to one of the old stocks; they will immediately enter without contention, and issue aga... Returning After Swarms To The Old Stock
Much has been said about returning all after swarms to the old stock; the advantages of which will depend on the time of issuing; whether late or early, the yield of honey, etc. It would be unusual to have many after swarms without a liberal yield o... Robberies
Robbing is another source of occasional loss to the apiarian. It is frequent in spring, and at any time in warm weather when honey is scarce. It is very annoying, and sometimes gets neighbors in contention, when perhaps neither is to blame, farthe... Robbing Usually Commences On A Warm Day
Unless it should be cool, they will continue their operations till evening. Very often some are unable to get home in the dark, and are lost. This, by the way, is another good test of robbing. Visit the hives every warm evening. They _commence_ depr... Rough Treatment Of The Young Bee
Now, if you expect to see anything of this, you must watch a little closer than I have. I have seen hundreds when biting their way out. Instead of care or notice, they often receive rather rough treatment: the workers, intent on other matters, will ... Rule
During a yield of honey, take off boxes as fast as they are filled, and put on empty ones. At the end of the season take all off. Not one stock in a hundred will starve that has worked in boxes, that is, when the hive is the proper size, and full be... Rule In Taking Bees For A Share
The rule generally adopted for taking bees is this. One or more stocks are taken for a term of years, the person taking them finding hives, boxes, and bestowing whatsoever care is necessary, and returning the old stocks to the owner with half the in... Scalding The Honey To Destroy The Poison For Feeding
The honey from the old hive may be used, if you will only first destroy the virus. This, I have ascertained, may be done by scalding: add a half-pint of water to about ten lbs.; stir it well, and heat it to the boiling point, and carefully remove al... Season For Operating
The season for operating is, generally, when all the brood has matured and left the cells. The exceptions are when there are not bees enough to protect the stores; it may then be necessary, immediately after the failure of honey. Col. H. K. Olive... Secretions Of The Aphis
The liquid ejected by the aphis, (plant louse,) when feeding or sucking the juices of tender leaves, and received by the ants that are always in attendance, is something like it; but in this case the bees were in attendance instead of ants. This ... Section Of Country May Make A Difference In What Poor Stocks Need
The kind of requisite to be supplied to our deficient stocks, will probably depend on the section of country. Where the principal source is clover and basswood, it will fail partially, at least, before the end of warm weather. Some poor or medium... Securing Bees In The Hive
The hive is inverted, and the cloth put over, neatly folded, and fastened with a tack at the corners, and another in the middle. The tack is crowed in about two-thirds of its length, it then presents the head convenient to pull out. If the bees are... See Bees Often
"_See your bees often_," is a choice recipe,--it is worth five hundred dollars at interest, even when you have but few stocks. How necessary then that we have every facility for a close and minute inspection. How much easier to turn up a hive that s... Seldom Go Off Without Clustering
Perhaps one swarm in three hundred will depart for the woods without first clustering. I have had three times that number, not one of which has ever left me thus. Yet I have evidence not to be disputed that some will do it. Three instances have occu... Shape Of No Consequence
Boards should be selected, if possible, that will be the proper width to make the hive about square, of the right size. Say twelve inches square, inside, by fourteen deep. I prefer this shape to any other, yet it is not all important. I have had som... Should Be A Last Resort
Feeding bees in spring is sometimes absolutely necessary; but in ordinary seasons and circumstances, it is somewhat doubtful if it is the surest road to success, for the apiarian to attempt wintering any stock so poorly supplied with honey, that he ... Should Be Taken To The Stand Immediately
When all are in, except a few that will be flying, let the hive down close to the board; take hold of this and carry it at once to the stand they are to occupy, and raise the front edge half an inch; let the back rest on the board; this will give th... Should Not Be Delayed
Should this operation be put off for a time much longer than three weeks, the young queen will so fill the combs again as to make it a serious loss. Therefore, I wish to urge strongly attention to this point at the proper season. If you think it uni... Singular Fatality Attendant On Silkweed
Silkweed (_Asclepias Cornuti_) is also another honey-yielding perennial, but a singular fatality attends many bees while gathering it, that I never yet saw noticed. I had observed during the period this plant was in bloom, that a number of the bees ... Singular Secretion
I once discovered bees collecting a secretion unconnected with flowers; but was not honey-dew, as it has been described. I was passing a bush of Witch-hazel, (_Hamamelis Virginiana_,) and was arrested by an unusual humming of bees. At first I suppos... Size For Warm Latitudes
This size will also do in this latitude (42 degrees,) in some seasons, but not at all in others.[3] Not one swarm in fifty will consume twenty-five lbs. of honey through the winter, that is, from the last of _September_ to the first of April, (six m... Size Important
After deciding what kind of hive we want, the next important point is the size. Dr. Bevan, an English author, recommends a size "eleven and three-eighths inches square, by nine deep in the clear," making only about 1,200 inches, and so few pounds ne... Size Of Cap And Boxes
A box for a cover or cap, that size inside, will fit any hive. The height of this box should be seven inches. Of course other sizes will do, but it is best to commence with one that we can adhere to uniformly, and no vexations arise by covers not fi... Size Of Hives Needed
But if such hive is only half full, or 2,000 inches, it is very common for them to swarm without adding any new comb; proving very conclusively that a hive that size, is sufficient for all their wants in the breeding season. When about 1,200 inches ... Sizes Of Hives Important
Another point is worthy of consideration: endeavor to get hives as near the right size as possible, _viz._, 2,000 cubic inches; better too large than too small. If too large, they may be cut off, leaving them the proper size. But yet, it often makes... Small Hives More Liable To Accidents
At all events, I think it too small for our Yankee bees in any place. We must remember, that the queen needs room for all her eggs, and the bees need space to store their winter provisions; for reasons before given, this should be in one apartment. ... Small Matters
The reader who is accustomed to doing things on gigantic principles, will consider this long "yarn" about saving a few bees in spring, a rather small affair, and so it is; yet small matters must be attended to if we succeed; "a small leak will sink ... Smoker Described
Get a tube of tin about five-eighths of an inch diameter, five or six inches in length; make stoppers of wood to fit both ends, two and a half or three inches long; with your nail-gimlet make a hole through them lengthwise: when put together it shou... Snow Need Not Always Prevent Carrying Out Bees
I am not particular about the snow being gone--if it has only lain long enough to have melted a part of it, it is "terra firma" to a bee, and answers equally well as the bare earth. When the day is right, about ten o'clock I put out twelve or fiftee... Some Advantage In Being Near The Earth
I am aware that I go counter to most apiarians, in recommending the stands so near the earth; less than two or three feet between the bees and the earth, it is said, will not answer any way. Mr. Miner is very positive on this point, in his Manual. I... Some Compulsion
After getting them in the hive for the fourth time, I resolved not to be baffled or have much more such trouble, and perhaps go to the woods at last, thereby setting a bad example. I put under the hive the wire-cloth bottom-board, opened two or thre... Some In The Best Stocks
You will probably find some in your best stocks; but don't be frightened; this is not the season when they often destroy your stocks, yet they injure them some. ... Some Precautions In Hiving Two Swarms Together
If you are disposed to separate them, but are afraid to work among them to this extent in the middle of the day, or if there is danger of more issuing, to mix with them, and add to your perplexity, of which you already have enough, then you can hive... Some Wax Wasted
When constructing comb, they are constantly wasting wax, either accidentally or voluntarily. The next morning after a swarm is located, the scales may be found, and will continue to increase as long as they are working it; the quantity often amounts... Space Between Hives
As regards the distance between hives generally, I would say let it be as great as convenience will allow. Want of room makes it necessary sometimes to set them close; where such necessity exists, if the hives were dissimilar in color, some dark, ot... Speculators Supported Long Enough
We have faithfully supported a host of speculators on our business for a long time; often not caring one straw about our success, after pocketing the fee of successful "humbuggery." One is no sooner gone, than we are beset by another, with something... Spider Condemned
Spiders are a source of considerable annoyance to the apiarian, as well as to the bees; not so much on account of the number of bees consumed, as their habit of spinning a web about the hive, that will occasionally take a moth, and will probably ent... Spring The Worst Time
As I before remarked in the commencement of this chapter, bees will plunder and fight at any time through the summer, when honey cannot be collected; but _spring_ is the only time that such desperate and persevering efforts are made to obtain it. It... State Of Queen's Cell When Used
They are about half finished, when they receive the eggs; as these eggs hatch into larvae, others are begun, and receive eggs at different periods for several days later. The number of such cells seem to be governed by the prosperity of the bees: wh...