Time To Expect Them
Categories: SWARMING.Bee Keeping: Mysteries Of Bee-keeping Explained
The season for regular swarms in this section, I have known to commence
the 15th of May, and in some seasons the 1st of July. The end is about
the 15th of the latter month, with some exceptions. I have had one as
late as the 21st; also a few buckwheat swarms between the 12th and 25th
of August.
The subject now before us is one of thrilling interest. To the apiarian
the prospect of an increase of stocks is sufficient to create some
interest, even when the phenomenon of swarming would fail to awaken it.
But to the naturalist this season has charms that the indifferent
beholder can never realize.
More
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Their Manner Of Attack
I must disagree with any one who says we always have warning before being stung. I have been stung _a few times_ myself. Two-thirds of them were received without the least notice--the first intimation was the "blow." At other times, when fully deter... Their Means Of Defence
Nature has armed them with means to defend their stores, and provided them with combativeness sufficient to use them when necessary. This could not be bettered. If they were powerless to repel an enemy, there are a thousand lazy depredators, man not... Their Progress Described
In a few days, I could see at first a little white dust, like flour, on the side of the combs, and on the bottom of the jar. As the worms grew larger, this dust was coarser. By looking closely at the combs, a small white thread-like line was first p... They Are Poor Dependence
Therefore I would recommend getting a royal cell whenever it is practical. There is yet another advantage; you will have a queen ready to lay eggs two or three weeks earlier, than when they are compelled to commence with the egg. I have put such pie... Three Kinds Of Bees
Every prosperous swarm, or family of bees, must contain one queen, several thousand workers, and, part of the year, a few hundred drones. ... Three Principal Sources Of Honey
There are three principal sources of honey, viz.:--clover, basswood, and buckwheat. But clover is the only universal dependance; as that is almost everywhere, to some extent, in the country. Buckwheat in some places is the main source; in others, ba... Time After The First
Whenever the first swarm in a prosperous season _was not kept back by foul weather_, the first of the young queens in the old stock is ready to emerge in about eight days. We will suppose the first swarm issued on Sunday; a week from the next Tuesda... Time Between Second And Third Issues
Piping for third swarms (when they issue) may usually be heard the evening after the second has left, though one day commonly intervenes between their issues. Here my experience is at variance with many writers, who give several days between the ... Time For Setting Out Bees
The time for carrying out bees is generally in March, but some seasons later. A warm pleasant day is the best, and one quite cold, better than one only _moderately_ warm. After their long confinement, the light attracts them out at once, (unless ... Time From The Egg To The Perfect Bee
In about six days it is sealed over with a convex waxen lid. It is now hidden from our sight for about twelve days, when it bites off the cover, and comes forth a perfect bee. The period from the egg to the perfect bee varies from twenty to twenty-f... Time Of Continuance Varies
The time of commencing will be later than this rule in some stocks, if the weather is cool, or not many bees left; it may be ten or twelve days. I once found it fourteen before I heard it. Also the swarm may not issue in two or three days after you ... Time Of Day Weather Etc
These after swarms are not very particular about the weather; heavy winds, a few clouds, and sometimes a slight sprinkling of rain, will not _always_ deter them. Neither are they very precise about the time of day. I have known them in a warm mornin... Time Of Greatest Irritability
The season of their greatest caution, in this section, is August, during the flowers of buckwheat. It is then their stores are greatest. As soon as a stock is pretty well supplied with this world's goods, like some bipeds, they become very haughty, ... Time Of Growth
When first hatched from the egg, it requires very close inspection to see them with the naked eye. The rapidity of growth depends on the temperature in which they are, as much or more than their good living. A few days in hot weather might develop t... Time Of Putting On Rule
It is probable a great many readers will need the necessary observation to tell precisely when the hive is full of honey; it may be full of bees, and not of honey. And yet the only rule that I can give to be generally applied, is, when the bees begi... Time Of Transformation
The worm, after spinning its cocoon, soon changes to a chrysalis, and remains inactive for several days, when it makes an opening in one end and crawls out. The time taken for this transformation is also governed by the temperature, although I think... Time Taken To Fill A Box
Two weeks is the shortest time I ever had any filled and finished. This, of course, depends on the yield of honey, and size of the swarm; three or four weeks are usually taken for the purpose. I have before said that the first yield of honey nearly ... Time To Expect Them
The season for regular swarms in this section, I have known to commence the 15th of May, and in some seasons the 1st of July. The end is about the 15th of the latter month, with some exceptions. I have had one as late as the 21st; also a few buckwhe... To Be Taken Off When Filled
This advantage attends glass boxes: while being filled, the progress can be watched till finished, when they should be taken off to preserve the purity of the combs. Every day the bees are allowed to run over them, renders them darker. Consequently,... To Prevent Swarms Uniting With Those Already Hived
When any of the subsequent swarms were disposed to unite with those already hived, a sheet was thrown over to keep them out. I had four so covered at once. An assistant, in such cases, is very important; one can watch symptoms and keep them back, wh... Toad Got Clear
A toad is discovered near the hives, and forthwith he is executed as a bee-eater. "He ought to be killed for his looks, if nothing else!" He is thus often sacrificed _really_ on account of his appearance, while pretending he is a villain. It is true... Tobacco Smoke Preferred To Slides
When boxes are to be taken off, if a slide of tin, zinc, &c., is used to close the holes, some of the bees are apt to be crushed, others will find themselves minus a head, leg, or abdomen, and all of them be irritable for several days. A little toba... Too Much Honey May Sometimes Be Stored
After the flowers fail, and all the brood has matured and left the combs, it sometimes happens that a stock has an opportunity of plundering, and rapidly filling all those cells that had been occupied with brood during the yield of honey, and which ... Trap To Catch Worms
You may now raise it, but you may still catch the worms by laying under the bees a narrow shingle, a stick of elder split in two lengthwise, and the pith scraped out, or anything else that will afford them protection from the bees, and where they ma... Two Families Together Will Not Consume As Much As If Separate
Even when a stock already contains bees enough to make it safe for winter, another of the same number of bees may be added, and _the consumption of honey will not be five lbs. more than one swarm would consume alone_. If they should be wintered in t... Two May Be United
Whenever these swarms issue near enough together, it is best to unite them. I have said second swarms were generally half as large as the first. By this rule, two second swarms would contain as many bees as a first one, and four of the third, or one... Two Or More Swarms Liable To Unite
If we expect to keep many stocks, the chances are that two or more may issue at one time; and when they do, they nearly always cluster together (I once knew an instance where only three stocks were kept; they all swarmed and clustered together). It ... Two Sides Of The Question
If we suppose that the eggs are all alike, and the subsequent treatment makes either workers, drones, or queens, and look to analogy for support, we shall find much against, as well as for it. For instance, we find in almost every department of anim... Two Things To Be Prevented
When the boxes are free from the bees, two things are to be prevented, if we wish to save our honey till cold weather. One is to keep out the worms, the other to prevent souring. The last may be new to many, but some few of us have had it caused by ... Uncertainty In Weight Of Bees
A large swarm will probably carry with them some five or six pounds of honey from the parent stock. I only guess at this, because I am uncertain what the bees weigh exactly. "I can tell you," some one exclaims, "I saw some weighed,--so many weigh ju... Uniting Comb And Honey As Well As Bees
The process of uniting them is simple. Smoke both the stocks or swarms thoroughly, and turn them over. Choose the one with the straightest combs, or the one nearest full, to receive the contents of the other; trim off the points of the combs to make... Uniting With Tobacco Smoke
By the use of tobacco smoke, bees may be united with nearly the same success. First, smoke the two to be united, thoroughly; disturb them and smoke again, that all may become partially drunk, and acquire the same scent. Then invert both hives, and w... Unprofitable If Too Large
If too large, more honey will be stored than is required for their winter use. It is evident a portion might have been taken, if it had been stored in boxes. The swarms will not be proportionably large when they do issue, which is seldom--but there ... Use Of Tobacco Smoke
"I would not do it for fifty dollars, the bees would sting me to death." Stop a moment, if you never tried the efficacy of tobacco smoke, you know nothing of a powerful agent; this is the grand secret of success; without it, I admit it would be some...