Uncertainty In Weight Of Bees
Categories: WAX.Bee Keeping: Mysteries Of Bee-keeping Explained
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 just eight ounces." Are
you sure there was nothing but bees weighed? Was there no honey,
bee-bread, faeces, or other substance, that might deceive you? "Can't
say; I never tho
know _their_ weight, to be sure we weigh nothing else. It is evident,
that if five thousand weigh three pounds, when nothing is in their
sacks, they would weigh, when filled with honey, several pounds more.
Hence, the fallacy of judging of the size of a swarm by weight, as one
swarm might issue with half the honey of another. Perhaps eight pounds,
for large swarms, might be an average for bees and honey. This honey,
whatever it amounts to, cannot be stored till combs are constructed to
hold it. This principle holds good till the hive is full. That is,
whenever they have more honey than the combs will hold, if there is
room in the hive, they construct more. But they seem to go no farther
than this in comb-making. However large the swarm may be, this
compulsion appears necessary to fill the hive. Drone-cells are seldom
made in the top of the hive, but a part are generally joined on the
worker-cells, a little distance from the top; others near the bottom.
There seems to be no rule about the number of such cells. Some hives
will contain twice the number of others. It may depend on the yield of
honey at the time; when very plenty, more drone-cells, &c. If the hive
be very large, no doubt an unprofitable number would be constructed.
Where the large and small cells join, there will be some cells of
irregular shape; some with four or five angles; the distance from one
angle to the other is also varied. Even where two combs of cells the
same size join, making a straight comb, they are not always perfect.
More
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Their Battles
I will here describe some of their battles. I have in the spring frequently seen the whole front side of the hive covered with the combatants, (but for such hives I have no fears; they are able to defend themselves.) Several will surround one strang... Their Industry
Industry belongs to their nature. When the flowers yield honey, and the weather is fine, they need no impulse from man to perform their part. When their tenement is supplied with all things necessary to reach another spring, or their store-house ful... 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... Usual Method
Cut off the branch with the bees, if it can be done as well as not, and shake it in front of the hive, a portion will discover it, and will at once commence a vibration of their wings; this, I suppose, is a call for the others. A knowledge of a new ... Utility Of Bee-houses Doubted
I have used bee-houses, but they will not pay, and are also discarded. They are objectionable on account of preventing a free circulation of air; also, it is difficult to construct them, so that the sun may strike the hives both in the morning and a... Utility Of Moth-proof Hives Doubted
As for moth-proof hives, I have but little to say, as I have not the least faith in one of them. When I come to speak of that insect, I will show, I think, conclusively, that no place where bees are allowed to enter is safe from them. Several oth... Variation Of These Hives
First, then, the sectional hive of various patterns has been patented; it consists generally of about three boxes, one above another; the top of each has one large hole, or several small ones, or cross-bars, about an inch wide, and half an inch apar... Wasps And Hornets Not Favored
As for the frequent visits of the black-wasp in the sunny days of spring, but little can be said in their favor--they seem to have no other object but to tease and irritate the bees. I never could discover that they entered the hive for the purpose ... Water Necessary To Comb-making
Whenever bees are engaged making comb, a supply of water is absolutely necessary. Some think it requisite in rearing brood. It may be needed for that, or it may be required for both purposes; but yet I have doubts if a particle is given to the young... Wax
The careless, unreflecting observer, when seeing the bees enter the hive with a pellet of pollen on each of their posterior legs, is very apt to conclude that it must be material for comb, as it appears unlike honey. So little regard is paid to the ... Weak Families In Most Danger
It is weak families, that show no resistance, where we find the most danger. In seasons of scarcity, all _good_ stocks maintain or keep sentinels about the entrance, whose duty it appears to be to examine every bee that attempts to enter. If it is a... Weeks' Improvement
Yet Mr. Weeks makes an alteration, calls it an improvement, the expense is but a trifle more; it is sufficient to be sanctioned by a patent. From front to rear, the bottom is about three inches narrower than the top, somewhat wedge-shape; it has the... What May Be Fed
Inferior honey may be used for this purpose; Southern or West India is good, and costs but little. Even molasses sugar mixed with it will do; but they do not relish it so well when fed without the honey. I have usually taken about equal quantities o... What May Be Seen
Now instead of having one piece or pane of glass in the side of several hives, I would recommend having one or more with glass on every side; because we might have it on three sides, and not the fourth; and this might contain all the queen cells, an... What They Do With Propolis
"A snail had entered the hive and fixed itself against the glass side. The bees, unable to penetrate it with their stings, the cunning economists fixed it immovably, by cementing merely the edge of the orifice of the shell to the glass with resin, (... What Used For
This substance is first used to solder up all the cracks, flaws, and irregularities about the hive. A coat is then spread over the inside throughout; when the hive is full, and many bees cluster outside, the latter part of summer, a coat of it is al... When Bees Are Needed
I have frequently had stocks with stores amply sufficient to carry a good family through the winter, and yet too few bees to last till January, or even to defend themselves from the robbers. Hence I am in the habit of supplying bees oftener than hon... When Bees Are Safe
The only condition when we can rest and feel safe is when _we know all our stocks are full of bees_. Even the "moth-proof" hive containing combs will be scented out by the moth, when there are no bees to guard it. An argument to show that a moth can... When Care Is Necessary
Except on the day of swarming, care is necessary not to introduce a small number with a large swarm; they are liable to be destroyed. The danger is much greater than to put together about an equal number, or a large number put in with a few. The day... When Drones Are Reared
Whenever the hive is well supplied with honey, and plenty of bees, a portion of eggs are deposited in the drone-cells, which three or four days more are necessary to mature than the worker. ... When Feeding Should Be Done For Stock Hives
In some sections of country the _honey_ is more frequently wanting than bees, or comb, and some seasons in this; in such cases, it will be found an advantage to feed, until enough is stored for winter. This should be done in September or October. Bu... When It Is Useless To Expect More Swarms
Therefore, bee-keepers having but few stocks, will find it unnecessary to watch their bees when the last of the first swarms came out sixteen or eighteen days before. Much trouble may be thus saved by understanding this matter. During my early days ... When Out Of Reach
I have gone up a ladder fifteen feet, got the bees in the hive in this way, and backed down without difficulty. After putting the hive in its place, sometimes a part will go back; in that case, a small branch full of leaves should be held directly u... When Queens Are Reared
Also, when the combs become crowded with bees, and honey plenty, the preparations for young queens commence: as the first step towards swarming, from one to twenty royal cells are begun; when about half completed, the queen (if all continues favorab... When They Cannot Be Shaken Off
Swarms will sometimes get in places where it is impossible to jar them off, or cut off a branch, such as the trunk of a tree, or a large limb near it. In which case place the hive near, as first directed; take a large tin dipper, a vessel most conve... When They Grow Larger Than Usual
In a hive thus left without bees to interfere, the worms will increase to one-half or two-thirds larger than where their right to the combs is disputed. In one case they often have their growth, and actually wind up in their cocoon when less than an... When They Should Be Returned
It is always best, if possible, to have good strong families. When after swarms are late it is safest to return them, as the old stock will need them to replenish the hive, and prepare for winter. Also a less number of worms will infest it, when wel... When To Examine Stocks That Have Swarmed
Three weeks from the first swarm, will be the time to examine them. I make it a rule to inspect all my stocks at this period. It is easily done now, as about all the healthy brood (except drones) should be matured in that time. By perseverance in th... When To Take Off Boxes Part Full
It can be ascertained by occasionally raising the cover to your glass boxes. When no more is being added, all boxes that are worth the trouble should be taken off; if left longer the comb gets darker, and such cells of honey as are not sealed over, ...