be obtained and preserved the entire queen-rearing season. Here is how
it is done in the Bay State Apiary. When I have settled upon the colony
that it is most desirable to rear drones from, a full sheet of drone
comb is placed in the centre of the brood-nest. There being no drone
comb of any amount in the hive, the queen at once puts an egg in each
cell. This comb is allowed to remain in the colony till most of the
drone brood is capped, then it is removed and placed in a queenless
colony, or one that is caring for queen-cells, or has a lot of virgin
queens in the nursery. Another frame of drone comb is at once placed in
the same hive. The bees, finding they have no drones or drone-brood, at
once commence to rear another lot. This goes on all through the season.
I have found that one colony of bees will supply all the drones needed
for the entire queen-rearing season, or for many thousands of queens.
Please understand that when forage is cut off, the colony must be fed in
order to stimulate drone brood-rearing.
If the reader knows of any better way to get drones for queen-rearing or
for doing any of the things on the foregoing pages, by all means adopt
and practice them. I have given you methods that have been successful
many years.
WHEN, WHAT AND HOW TO FEED NUCLEI
I think I can save all who use my system of nuclei very much trouble by
giving instructions how to care for such colonies, and to make the
method a success, and prevent robbing in the apiary. Under no
circumstances ever feed anything but plain sugar syrup to the small
colonies. If you use honey your entire nucleus apiary will be ruined
within a few hours, providing there are any full colonies of bees near
them. Sugar syrup is all that is needed to keep the nuclei up to the
highest standard of prosperity.
There are three reasons why such small colonies should be fed as above
stated. 1. To keep them in food. 2. To prevent the bees from deserting
the hives and 3, to stimulate the bees and cause the queens to fly and
mate promptly. Now the last reason is very important. Unless these
little families of bees are fed as often as each five days, the bees
will desert the hive (swarm out), even though they have plenty of stores
and brood. Of course they will not “swarm out” unless there is a queen
to go with them.
Make the syrup as follows: Put 13 lbs. of granulated sugar in a 10 quart
bucket and add enough water to fill the receptacle. This is about
right—not too thin nor too heavy. See that all the sugar is dissolved
before using.
The feeder illustrated in fig. 15 is cone-shaped, made of tin and is
atmospheric in principle. When filled it is inverted; the opening
covered by a piece of thin cloth, the collar (a) put on to keep the
cloth in place, and when thus prepared the food will not leak out. An
aperture, an inch in diameter, is made in the cover of the hive about an
inch from the front edge; and as the apex of the feeder is but
seven-eighths of an inch in diameter, is held firmly in place, and no
amount of heavy wind will dislodge it.
[Illustration: Figure 14]
[Illustration: Figure 15]
The small quantity of syrup placed in the feeder is sufficient to
encourage the bees for about five days, when more food should be
supplied. It is understood, of course, that no feeding is necessary when
there is plenty of natural forage for the bees to gather. I know of no
other feeder, or system of feeding that can be applied to work so well
as the one above described.
Figure 14 represents one of the small nucleus hives with the cone-feeder
in position. As water during a rain may leak into the hive around the
feeder, it is always placed in the front part of the cover. Always place
the hive in such a position that the rear end is slightly elevated. This
keeps the water from running in at the entrance, and if any water gets
in at the top it quickly runs out.
The success of my nucleus system depends largely upon the manner of
feeding. These little miniature colonies are unlike large colonies. They
can only care for themselves when forage is abundant. Feed them
liberally and success will follow.
[Illustration: Figure 16]
THE DRONE-TRAP IN CONNECTION WITH QUEEN-REARING
The reader’s attention is called to the utility of the drone-trap in
queen-rearing. It’s a wonder to me how it is that any queen breeder can
produce queens that can be called _pure_ in the same apiary where there
are anywhere from ten to forty full colonies of bees sending out their
millions of drones every fine day throughout the season. It has always
been my practice to use the drones from only one colony for mating young
queens to. How else can any queen-breeder know by what strain of bees
his young queens are mated to? Drone-traps are kept at the entrance of
my hives the entire season, excepting on the hive from which the drones
are allowed to fly. I do not like a haphazard way of mating queens.
There is no way by which the queen breeder can have absolute control of
the fertilization of his queens as can be done by using the trap. If you
come into my apiary between May 20 and Oct. 1, you will find traps on
every hive in the yard. The trap in controlling swarming and catching
the thousands of useless drones has a world-wide reputation as all
practical bee-keepers well know.
[Illustration: Figure 17]
I regret very much to have to say that few if any of the supply dealers
are sending out queen-traps that are of any value. About all who use the
traps have an idea that they can improve its construction. Few of these
people realize that all those supposed improvements were tested in my
yard years before they ever saw the trap. Yet many of these useless and
needless improvements have been attached to the trap by those who are
selling them, rendering the trap almost worthless.
An improved queen and drone-trap is illustrated in fig. 16. This trap is
so constructed that no bees are destroyed by smothering. The trap does
not clog and the bees have a clear and easy way through it, in and out
of the hive. Three sides are covered by perforated metal, thus affording
abundance of ventilation to the hive at all times.
The trap prevents any bees from decamping either before or after a swarm
has issued or has been hived. When a swarm issues, all that need be done
is to move the hive the bees issue from to a new location, and put an
empty hive in its place; take the trap and place it at the entrance of
the new hive; the swarm soon returns, and while the bees are running in,
draw the top slide to release the queen, and she will enter with the
bees. Then stand back and see the swarm rush in pell-mell and take
possession of the hive. Whew! what fun on a hot day to have all this
work done without any effort on your part; no climbing trees, fretting,
worry or loss of bees.
Last season I saw a trap in Boston that was put up by one of the largest
supply dealers in the world. I was amazed when informed that any man who
ever kept bees would send out such a thing. The dealer who had it called
it the “Alley” trap. I said I invented the Alley trap, but I would not
own up as the inventor of a thing like the one in question.
I have not dealt in the traps for many years. But I am so disgusted by
what I have seen of the worthless things manufactured by other people, I
shall take up the manufacture of them again. Fig. 17 represents old
style trap.
BROOM FOR BRUSHING BEES
The first year I had bees I found that feathers were not just the thing
with which to brush bees, so a corn broom, such as is used for clothing
was utilized, but not until more than one-half the broom was cut out.
With a sharp knife cut out nearly two-thirds of the straw material just
under the binding. Then when the bees are brushed off the combs none
will be destroyed if any are half way in the cells.
This kind of a brush is called the “Coggswell broom.” I greatly mistake
if I did not sell the Coggswell Brothers of Groton, N. Y., the first
broom they ever used. The one I use and the so-called Coggswell brush
are quite different. There is stock enough in the Coggswell to make a
dozen of the kind used by me. See Fig. 18 for illustration of broom.
[Illustration: Figure 18]
POINTS IN QUEEN-REARING
TO INSERT A QUEEN-CELL
When a cell is introduced, it is not necessary, nor is it practical, to
cut the comb to insert the cell in, as recommended by some bee-keepers.
When a queen has been removed and the combs replaced in the hive, just
thrust your little finger down between the combs near the top-bars, and
thus make room for the cell and immediately place it in the opening
made. The bees will not destroy the cell if it contains a healthy queen.
If it is late in the season and the colony from which the queen is taken
is weak in numbers, it will be necessary to place the cell in the middle
of the cluster. Even in this case, you will not be obliged to do any
cutting as room can be made for the cell by pushing the finger through
one of the combs. Place the cell, small end downwards, in the aperture
and close the hive.
QUEENS, HOW TO PRESERVE AND CARE FOR THEM
At the swarming season many bee-keepers have more or less queen-cells,
and sometimes young queens, they would like to preserve if possible to
do so and if proper fixtures were at hand to aid them in carrying out
their desires. At just that time several cages, such as are described on
a previous page and are used in the queen-nursery, would be the right
thing to have. Remove the cells from the hive at the proper time, place
them in the nursery-cages and after supplying each cage with food
sufficient for a week, or longer, place the nursery in some full colony,
according to directions given on another page in connection with the
description of the nursery. A much better way for the novice to dispose
of queen-cells would be to supersede old queens and at once insert the
queen-cells. If this seems too risky, dequeen the hive a few days before
the cells are matured, say on the fifth day after a swarm issues. This
method of dequeening would do away with the necessity of nucleus
colonies which one would be obliged to have in order to preserve young
queens until fertilized.
AGE AT WHICH QUEENS MATE
The readers of the different bee-periodicals have not failed to notice
the reports, from time to time, of queens being fertilized when two or
three days old.
I am inclined to think that all who make reports of queens being
fertilized when under five days old must be mistaken. I never knew such
a thing to happen in my apiary. Have had thousands of young queens take
the mating flight when but five days old, but never knew one to do so
when under that age.
The fact that I spend all my time during the queen-rearing season in the
yard among my nucleus colonies, and that every means is used to force
the young queens to fly and become fertile at the earliest moment
possible, should be sufficient to satisfy the reader that I am making no
wild statement in this matter.
FORCING QUEENS TO MAKE THE MATING FLIGHT AND TO COMMENCE TO LAY PROMPTLY
The queen dealer is anxious to have his queens mate as soon as possible
after they arrive at the proper age. No special pains need be taken
while there is a flow of honey to force the queens to take a flight, as
they readily do so themselves. After the honey harvest is over, it is
quite another affair. At this time a young unfertile queen will not
leave the hive, unless encouraged to do so by _feeding_, when under ten
or twelve days old. Yet, if the weather is favorable, that is, if the
day is clear and warm, and but little wind, ninety-nine out of every
hundred queens can be forced to fly on the fifth day after they emerge
from the cell. Feeding for this purpose has been an important feature
for years in my apiary.
HOW TO KNOW A FERTILE QUEEN FROM AN UNFERTILE ONE
One who has any considerable experience in queen-rearing has no trouble
in distinguishing a fertile queen from one that is unfertile. In twelve
hours after a queen has mated there is a perceptible increase in her
size. Not only is her abdomen larger around, but it is also longer.
These conditions are noticeable in the early part of the season, but at
the last of September and during the month of October some other way of
judging and knowing whether or not a queen has been fertilized must be
adopted. While queens that are fertilized early in the season will at
once make preparations to deposit eggs, the late fertilized queens do
not. That is, the late fertilized queens will not as quickly increase in
size after becoming fertile, as they do earlier in the season. Now to
decide positively that a queen is fertile I have tested the matter in
this way: About half a pint of bees are taken from a colony having an
unfertile queen and allowed to run in the hive of the fertile one.
If the queen in the latter hive proves to be fertile, the strange bees
will not molest her; if unfertile, the bees introduced may at once ball
and eventually destroy her. This is a simple and quick way to test the
matter, and applies only to nucleus colonies, though it may be practiced
more or less successfully in full colonies.
Another way to decide whether or not a queen is fertile is to feed honey
for a day or so. If fertile she will deposit a few eggs, and lay while
the feeding is continued.
AGE WHEN YOUNG QUEENS COMMENCE TO LAY AFTER BECOMING FERTILE
Young queens, as a rule, commence to lay from thirty-six to forty-eight
hours after they become fertile.
The time varies according to the season. During the honey harvest nearly
every young queen will commence to lay in about thirty-six hours after
mating. Later in the season, when no honey is being gathered, it will be
from forty-eight hours to three days.
I never have found a young queen laying when less than seven days old.
FERTILIZING IN CONFINEMENT
I believe there is not a well authenticated case recorded where a queen
was ever fertilized in confinement. Why should any one desire to have
queens fertilized in any other way than the one provided by nature? By
the use of the improved appliances for controlling and destroying
useless and worthless drones, it is an easy matter to have any and all
queens mated to any strain of drones desired.
A practical method of having queens fertilized in confinement will not
be devised for a long time to come. However, no one can tell what a day
may bring forth. There are a good many wise heads at work upon the
knotty questions connected with bee-culture.
RESPECT BEES SHOW THEIR QUEEN
When a fertile queen moves about the combs her subjects always open a
way for her to pass, and the bees seem to vie with each other in the
respect they show their ruler.
The virgin queen never has much respect shown her. The workers do not
even trouble themselves to get out of her way when she moves about the
cluster. She must run over the bees and get about the best she can.
When a hive is opened and combs removed, a virgin queen is pretty sure
to take wing, especially if the operation of removing the frames is not
performed quietly, or late in the day. However, there is no danger of
the queen being lost as she will fly but a short distance from the hive
and immediately return.
DESTROYING QUEEN-CELLS WHEN INTRODUCING QUEENS
As stated on a previous page, some queen-cells will be built on the
combs that have brood in them. It will not be necessary to look the
combs over and destroy those cells if a _young_ queen is introduced. In
the course of twenty-four hours after the queen gets possession of the
combs, she will destroy the cells, that is, the queen will open them
near the base and sting the nymph, or nearly matured queen as the case
may be, and the bees will soon finish the work of destroying the cell,
and removing the dead queen. There are, however, exceptions to this
rule, and once in a while a young queen is permitted to “hatch out” and
take possession of the colony. In that case, the queen just introduced
is destroyed. This so seldom happens, and does not happen at all except
in cases where an _old_ queen is introduced, that it is not worth while
to spend time in looking the combs over for queen-cells.
THE OBSERVATORY HIVE FOR STUDYING THE HABITS OF BEES
I know of no better way for the novice to study the habits of the
honey-bee than can be done by an observation hive, such as is
illustrated in fig. 19. This hive has but one comb which is inserted
between two plates of glass. Anyone can make such a hive at small
expense. Get out a frame, groove for the glass to slide in, leaving an
inch and a quarter between the glass for the comb and frame. Wooden
covers are used to keep out the light. Arrange it so that the bees pass
to and from the hive under the bottom sash of a window, and in such a
way that no bees can enter the room.
When thus arranged there is no danger of anyone being stung while
observing the bees work. Here every movement of the colony and queen can
be seen, and all work from the laying of the egg to the sealed brood may
be seen at any time; how the bees remove pollen from their legs; how
they behave when deprived of their queen, and how they start and build a
queen-cell, store honey in the combs, etc.
[Illustration: Figure 19]
If the observation hive contains a small colony of bees and an unfertile
queen, it will be seen that the bees do not take the least notice of
her. Apparently she is of no more consequence before becoming fertile
than other bees in the hive; yet should she be removed from the colony,
the bees would soon miss her, and make as much fuss over her loss as
they would had she been a fertile queen. The fact that bees pay no
attention to a queen, is the best evidence that she is not fertile.
COMPARATIVE SIZE OF QUEENS
[Illustration: Figure 20]
[Illustration: Figure 21]
Figure 20 nicely and accurately represents a large, fine and
well-developed fertile queen bee. I have reared many queens equally as
large as the one illustrated in above cut.
Figure 21 is a good and life-size view of an unfertile queen. Such
queens vary much in size.
No one should judge of the size of a queen until she is given a chance
to develop in a full colony of bees.
Queens kept in small nucleus colonies never reach full development. They
must be given larger quarters in order to show to what size they will
attain.
PREVENTING HONEY FROM CANDYING
Some years ago I accidentally discovered a process by which honey that
has once candied can be preserved in the liquid state for a long time.
It is my opinion that it is much the best plan to let all honey candy
and then liquify it. Possibly there are some kinds of honey that if
treated by the process below given, would not remain in the liquid state
only a short time. But for most kinds the treatment will be a success,
and preserve it many months.
Several years ago I received some honey in sixty-pound cans that was
nearly as hard as sugar. It was melted and put in half-pound bottles. To
keep it from candying again before I could dispose of it, the bottles
were placed on a shelf over the kitchen stove, where the temperature
would rise to 110 degrees during the day and would not go below 60
degrees at night. This same lot of honey stood zero weather for two
winters without going back.
The above is the entire process. It is heat for a long time that does
the business. Honey in large cans would need to be kept in a high
temperature at least a month, but the process will surely prevent it
from candying after it is once liquified.
Arrange the details of heating to suit your conditions. Large quantities
of honey can be kept in a room well up from the floor, and a good hot
fire running for a long time.
Steam heat, if convenient to use, is the proper thing. Small quantities
of honey can be treated about as mentioned in my own case.
TO THE READER
If the methods herein given for rearing queens is not made clear I shall
be glad at any time to give personal explanation. Later on I may issue a
“supplement” in which many of the parts of my system of queen-rearing
will be illustrated and more minutely explained. Send in the questions
and they shall receive attention.
THE QUEEN-REARING OUTFIT
There are certain necessary things used in queen-rearing which I can
supply at the prices given opposite each article named.
The queen nursery, 35 cages, $1.50.
The tin pipe for burning tobacco when introducing queens, 50 cents.
Small hive, four frames, nailed ready for use, including
cone-feeder, 50 cents.
Small hive complete, including pint of bees, one best Adel breeding
queen, $5.00.
Same with select tested Adel queen, $4.00.
All the above, and one of the latest improved queen-traps, sent for
$9.00. These goods must go by express, as they are too large to go by
mail.
[Illustration: A successful swarm-catcher. Used in the Bay State Apiary
with great success many years. It consists of a brood-box in front of
the hive in connection with the queen-trap.]
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