_Lowell, Ky._, Aug. 12, 1870.
[For the American Bee Journal.]
Bees in Iowa.
When the spring opened, it found me well prepared with _very_ large
colonies; but while they seemed to be doing all they could and working
hard all the time, they used up all their stores, and I had to give the
larger ones honey in the comb stored last year. Then while the fruit
trees bloomed profusely, and when white clover had been in blossom a
month, my bees had not capped--even in the largest colonies--a pound of
honey, much less built any comb. Otherwise they did well.
In the winter I had thirty-five stocks. In January I smothered one, and
in April three proved queenless, and two others were robbed; thus
leaving me with twenty-nine. Since then I killed a drone layer, and in
another hive the queen died and the bees had mostly _gone up_ before I
discovered their loss. I gave them queen cells, and as they hatched out
a week ago, tomorrow I shall examine all my new swarms and see if any
failed to secure a fertile queen or lost theirs. Thus you see I was
reduced virtually to only twenty-seven stocks. Now, I have thirty-eight,
and, with the exception of one, all are very populous.
As we have not had any rain here this spring, except one or two slight
sprinklings, we are now threatened with drouth. Heavy dews and a clouded
sky have saved us so far, but have kept the bees from flying a great
deal. I shall not increase my stock any more till it rains, or honey
becomes plenty again. From the hive that I have raising queen cells, I
secured fifty in three weeks.
On the 11th of this month (June) I received an Italian queen from Mr.
Charles Dadant. I was disappointed when I first saw her, as I had formed
the opinion that the Italians were a larger bee than the blacks; yet
there is not a worker in my hives that is not larger than those that
came with the queen, and I am positive that I have black queens that are
almost three times as heavy or large as the Italian queen I received.
But the Italian is quicker than lightning and the workers are on guard
the first in the morning and the last at night. I introduced her to the
colony raising queen cells last Monday morning, giving the black queen
to a queenless colony. I examined the hive containing the Italian this
morning, and find that the swarming impulse is still on them, though the
introduced queen is of this year’s raising, as Mr. Dadant says, “she
was born this year, 1870.” On examination, I found twenty-five queen
cells in the hive, ready for the egg, if the eggs are not already in
them. It was too early and still too dark, being “before sun rise,” for
me to make out if any eggs were laid in the cells. When I removed the
black queen, I destroyed even the old queen cell foundations, so you see
my mode is not theory but fact. As fast as the queen cells are capped, I
shall remove a black queen from a colony and give it two queen cells, to
make sure of one, till all have been changed to Italians. Next year,
when I shall have none but Italian drones, I will easily secure pure
Italian stock.