Hunting Bees From Buckwheat
During buckwheat bloom, which occurs in the month of August and
early part of September, many bees are found. Some hunters line
them to the tree by sunning. This method requires a very clear day
and unless the hunter thoroughly understands this art, knows an
unloaded bee from a loaded one, he is not apt to be very
successful. Besides this fact I have known many hunters to so
injure their eyesight as to become, in old a
e, partially blind and
perhaps altogether so. I, myself, have found many bees in this way
and feel certain that my eyesight has been injured, but am very
thankful that I discarded this method many years ago.
Bees do their work on buckwheat from the time the dew is leaving
until near noon; and on a hot, clear day but few bees, if any, will
be found working on it after 12 M. One of the greatest elements of
success in hunting bees by the baiting method is to use a scent
that is the same as the flower the bee is working on. Therefore,
gather some of the flowers of the buckwheat and have them
distilled, or, if this is out of the question, put some of the
flowers in a quart jar, say half full, well packed down, then just
cover with diluted alcohol and let it stand a few days and you have
an ideal scent to use at this particular time. After getting a
course from a field of buckwheat, about ten or half-past ten go on
the course, and when you come to a place clear of underbrush and no
large trees to bother the flight of bees, sprinkle some of the
scent mentioned above on some leaves and near the scent place a
bunch of bushes sprinkled with bait made by filling a pint bottle
one-fourth full of honey, one-fourth of granulated sugar and
one-half water. Many bees, at this time of day, are going to and
fro from the field. Some of them find nectar harder to get than it
was an hour before and some fly on the homeward journey lightly
loaded. They are beginning to lose faith in the buckwheat field and
these are the very ones that detect the scent first. Others are
becoming dissatisfied as these first ones did--one rubs against
another, and in bee language tells that he has found something
mighty good down in the bushes, and by the time the bait is licked
up we should have a direct course from this location and be ready
to repeat the operation farther on the course. The next time the
bait is put down we should have plenty of bees in not more than ten
minutes, and if they are tardy about coming, providing we had a
fair amount at the first location, we have either passed the tree,
are nearly under it, or have gone far off the course.