Advanced bee-culture, its methods and management by Hutchinson William Z. 1851-1911

Author:Hutchinson, William Z., 1851-1911
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
Tags: Bees
Publisher: Flint, Mich., The Review Print
Published: 1891-03-25T05:00:00+00:00

ADVANCED BEE CULTURE.

Ill

Sprig of Basswood in Bloom.

ADVANCED BEE CULTURE.

escape. Findinof one opening: by means of which they can reach "home," they crowd throujjfh as fast as possible, when, in a few hours, the super is free of bees. If escape^ are put on at eveninjjf, the supers above them will be free of bees in the morninj^.

If there is not time to use escapes, or, if for some reason, it is not desirable to use them, the suiters can be freed of bees by other methods. My practice has been as follows: Have the smoker in •rood trim, take off the cover, and drive a perfect delujre of smoke down amonjj: the bees. This starts them out of the combs at a lively rate, and, before they have time tt) come back, I have the super off the hive. The super is then tremulously shaken in front of the hive until most of the remaining: bees are dislody^ed, when it is taken to the honey house and set on end. In a short time the few strajrjjflinyf bees leave the super and escape by way of the window, which should

have wire cloth over it on the

outside, lettin«r it extend several inches above the window, and terminate in a small conelike opening from which the bees can easily lind their wa^' out, but not be very likely to find their way back. If the shaking: process is found too laborious, and robbers are not troublesome (and they will not be until the close of the season), the super may be leaned a.ii:ainst the side of the hive, near the entrance, when the bees will desert the super for the hive. When robbers are troublesome, the straj^k^'lers may be driven out with smoke, and brushed off in front of the hive.

By shading: the hives, allowing: jjenerous entrances, also abundance of room in the supers, swarming: is g:reatly delayed, and often avoided entirely with many colonies. I have known seasons when, with this manag-ement, not more than one-half of my colonies swarmed, and I have frequently had seasons when not more than two-thirds of them swarmed. When a swarm does issue, I hive it in a contracted brood nest, with starters only in the brood frames, on the old stand, put on a queen excluding: honey board and transfer the supers from the old to the new hive. In 20 minutes, at the outside, the bees are back at work in the sections that they recently deserted in such a hurr3\ The old colony is placed by the side of the new one for a week, when it is moved to a new stand, thus throwing: all of its flying: bees into the colony having: the sections, and so depleting the old colony, just as the young: queens are hatching;, that there is seldom any after-swarming-. If the swarming: takes place early in the season, the old colony may do'something in the way of storing.

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