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Transcriber Note
Text emphasis denoted as _Italics_ and =Bold=.
Issued August 23, 1912.
U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.
FARMERS' BULLETIN 503.
COMB HONEY.
BY
GEO. S. DEMUTH.
_Apicultural Assistant, Bureau of Entomology._
[Illustration]
WASHINGTON:
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
1912.
LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL
U.S. Department of Agriculture,
Bureau of Entomology,
_Washington, D. C., April 16, 1912_.
Sir: I have the honor to transmit herewith a manuscript
entitled "Comb Honey," by Geo. S. Demuth, apicultural assistant in this
bureau.
In view of the increasing demand for the finest grade of comb honey
and a decrease in the amount of comb honey produced, it seems timely
to present to professional beekeepers an analysis of the best practice
as well as to point out some essentials to the production of maximum
crops of the best grade. I recommend the publication of this paper as a
Farmers' Bulletin.
Respectfully,
L. O. Howard,
_Entomologist and Chief of Bureau_.
Hon. James Wilson,
_Secretary of Agriculture_.
CONTENTS.
Page
Introduction 5
Apparatus for comb-honey production 6
Shop and honey house 6
Hives 7
Sectional hives 10
Sections and supers 10
Bee way v. plain sections 10
Dimensions of sections 11
Supers 12
The method of support 12
Protection 13
Free communication within the super 14
The use of separators 15
Shallow extracting supers 16
Combination supers 16
Other apparatus 16
Preparing supers 17
Folding sections 17
Fastening foundation in sections 17
Manipulation of the bees 18
Securing workers for the honey flow 20
Building up the colony in the early spring 21
The production of gathering bees 22
Providing sufficient stores 23
Providing available brood-rearing space 23
Summary 24
Using available workers to best advantage during the honey flow 25
Swarming 26
Preventive measures 26
Control measures 27
Control of natural swarms 28
Using the removed brood to best advantage 29
What to use in the brood chamber when hiving swarms 32
Extreme contraction of the brood chamber when hiving swarms 33
Swarm control by manipulation 34
Taking the queen from the hive 35
Removing the brood from the hive 37
Separating the queen and brood within the hive 40
Manipulation of the supers 41
Caring for the crop 44
Removing the honey from the hives 44
Care of comb honey 45
Scraping propolis from sections 45
Grading comb honey 46
Packages for comb honey 46
Marketing 47
ILLUSTRATIONS.
Page
Fig. 1. A 10-frame hive with comb-honey super and perforated
zinc queen excluder 8
2. Perforated zinc queen excluder 9
3. Beeway and plain sections, unfolded 10
4. Plain section in super, showing method of spacing 11
5. Beeway section in super, showing method of spacing 11
6. Square and oblong sections 12
7. The T super 13
8. Super with section holder for beeway sections 13
9. Super with section holder for square plain section 14
10. Super with section holder for oblong plain sections 14
11. Combination super with wide frames for oblong plain
sections 15
12. Bee-escape board for removing bees from supers 17
13. Drone and queen trap on hive entrance 28
14. Colony before swarming; supers in place 29
15. Brood placed in hive turned 00 degrees from old entrance 29
16. Hive with brood turned back to 45 degrees from old
entrance 30
17. Hive with brood turned parallel to old entrance 30
18. Hive with brood placed on other side of old entrance 31
19. Arrangement of supers 42
20. Shipping cases for comb honey 47
COMB HONEY.
=INTRODUCTION.=
The present tendency in beekeeping is decidedly toward the production
of extracted honey rather than of comb honey. The recent activity among
beekeepers toward specialization, which necessitates the establishing
of out-apiaries, and the rapidly increasing demand for extracted
honey are among the factors bringing about this condition. Enormous
quantities of honey are now used for manufacturing purposes, and this
demand is, of course, solely for extracted honey.
If the general public finally becomes convinced of the purity and
wholesomeness of extracted honey, this will become a staple article
of food. Comb honey to command the higher price--proportionate to
the greater cost of production--must justify the extra cost to the
consumer by its finer appearance. The consumer of extracted honey
is not concerned as to the straightness or finish of the combs in
which it was originally stored, but by virtue of its appearance there
will probably always be a good demand for the finest grade of comb
honey where appearance is the chief consideration. Present tendencies
therefore emphasize the desirability of producing comb honey of the
most attractive appearance possible.
Well-filled sections of comb honey with delicate white comb and perfect
cappings are obtainable only during a rapid honey flow of sufficient
duration to insure their completion. The production of comb honey, the
appearance of which is sufficient to justify its extra cost, requires
a combination of conditions that are peculiar to rather limited areas,
outside of which the beekeeper will find it decidedly advantageous to
produce extracted honey.
Comb-honey production should not be attempted in localities where the
honey flow is very slow or intermittent, where the character of the
honey is such that it granulates quickly in the comb while it is on the
market, where the honey is dark or "off color," or where honeys from
various sources are mixed if these different sources produce honey of
different colors and flavors. Local market conditions may of course in
some instances be such as to make it seem advisable to produce comb
honey in limited quantities in a locality that is not well suited to
comb-honey production, but the beekeeper who produces comb honey for
the general market should first be sure that his is a comb-honey
locality. Even in the best localities during an occasional season
conditions are such that it is not possible to produce comb-honey of
fine appearance. Some comb-honey specialists find it profitable to
provide an equipment for extracted honey for such an emergency. In some
cases comb honey is produced only during the height of the season, when
conditions are most favorable, extracting supers being used both at the
beginning and close of the honey flow.
While the professional beekeeper is thus curtailing the production of
indifferent grades of comb honey, bee diseases are rapidly eliminating
the careless producers. From the present indications, therefore, it
would seem certain that there must be a gradual elimination from the
markets of all inferior and indifferent comb honey--grades that must
compete directly with extracted honey. This should mark a new era in
the production of the beat grades of comb honey in the localities that
are peculiarly adapted to comb-honey production. The beekeeper who is
thus favorably located will do well to consider the possibilities of
future market conditions for a fancy grade of comb honey.
Tho following discussion is necessarily but a brief outline of modern
apparatus and methods and of course can not in any sense take the
place of the broad experience necessary in profitable comb-honey
production. It is assumed that the reader is more or less familiar with
the more general phases of beekeeping. (See Farmers' Bulletin No. 447.
This bulletin also contains a complete list of publications of the
Department of Agriculture on beekeeping.)
=APPARATUS FOR COMB-HONEY PRODUCTION.=
=Shop and Honey House.=
A building containing storage space for apparatus, a well-lighted
and ventilated workshop as well as a honey room, is a necessity in
comb-honey production. The arrangement and location of the shop and
honey house will depend upon local conditions and circumstances. Tho
usual mistake is in constructing those too small. In the North the
shop and honey house is usually built over the wintering repository or
collar. Since rats or mice would do great damage to the contents of
such a storehouse, the construction should be such as to exclude them.
If a concrete foundation is used and the sills are embedded in a layer
of "green" mortar, no trouble of this kind should be experienced. If a
series of out-apiaries are operated for comb honey, the supers, extra
hives, etc, are usually kept in one building located near the home of
the beekeeper. This serves as a central station and storehouse, the
supplies being hauled to and from the apiaries as needed. This building
may be supplemented by a very small building at each apiary, though in
comb-honey production this is not really necessary.
The honey room should be so located that it will receive the heat from
the sun, preferably an upstairs room immediately under the roof. When
so located a small hand elevator should be installed for taking the
honey up and down. The room should be papered or ceiled inside to keep
out insects and to permit fumigation if necessary and should contain
facilities for artificially heating in case continued damp or freezing
weather should occur before the honey is marketed. The honey room
should be provided with ample floor support for the great weight that
may be placed upon it.
=Hives.=
A beehive must serve the dual purpose of being a home for a colony
of bees and at the same time a tool for the beekeeper. Its main
requirements are along the line of its adaptation to the various
manipulations of the apiary in so far as these do not materially
interfere with the protection and comfort it affords the colony of
bees. Since rapid manipulation is greatly facilitated by simple and
uniform apparatus, one of the fundamental requirements of the equipment
in hives is that they be of the same style and size, with all parts
exactly alike and interchangeable throughout the apiary. While the
hives and equipment should be as simple and inexpensive as possible,
consistent with their various functions, a cheap and poorly constructed
beehive is, all things considered, an expensive piece of apparatus.
In this country the Langstroth (or L) frame (9-1/8 by 17-5/8 inches)
(fig. 1) is the standard frame and throughout this paper frames of
brood will be discussed in terms of this size of frame. The advantages
of standard frames and hives are so great that the beekeeper can not
afford to ignore them for the sake of some slight advantage of another
size.
There is, however, a wide difference of opinion as to the number of
frames that should be used in a single hive body. The wide variation
in the building up of colonies previous to the honey flow in different
localities and seasons, the race of bees, and the skill of the
beekeeper are all factors entering into this problem, which make it
improbable that beekeepers will ever fully agree on this point. The
races that build up more rapidly in the spring are, of course, other
things being equal, able to use to advantage a larger brood chamber
than the races that are more conservative in brood rearing. It is also
noticeable that within certain limits as the beekeeper's skill in
building up his colonies for the flow increases, so the size of the
brood chamber best adapted to his purpose increases. In other words,
while the careful and skillful beekeeper may succeed in having large
brood chambers well filled with brood at the beginning of the honey
flow, the less skillful beekeeper under similar conditions may be doing
well to approximate this condition with a much smaller brood chamber.
[Illustration: Fig. 1.--A 10-frame hive with comb-honey super
and perforated zinc queen excluder. (From Phillips.)]
For comb-honey production the brood chamber should be of such a size
that by proper management it may be well filled with brood at the
beginning of the honey flow, so that the brood and surplus apartments
maybe definitely separated. A brood chamber may be considered too large
if by proper management it is not on an average fairly well filled with
brood at the beginning of the honey flow, and too small if it provides
an average of less room than the colony is able to occupy with brood
previous to the honey flow. Unless the beekeeper practices feeding, a
brood chamber that does not contain sufficient room for both winter
stores and brood rearing during late summer and autumn may also be
considered too small. It may be well to note that by this standard
if the brood chamber seems to be too large the fault may lie in the
management during the previous autumn, winter, or spring. Of course the
brood chamber that is barely large enough for one colony will be too
large for another in the same apiary or the character of the season may
be such that all brood chambers may be too large for best results one
season and too small the next, so an average must be sought. While by
manipulation good results may be secured by the use of any of the sizes
in common use, any great departure in either direction from the size
best suited to conditions of a given locality necessitates an excessive
increase in labor to give best results. There is at the present
time a strong tendency toward the use of the 10-frame hive body as
a medium-sized brood chamber which may be used as a unit of a larger
elastic brood chamber when necessary.
[Illustration: Fig. 2.--Perforated zinc queen excluder. (From
Phillips.)]
The comb-honey producer is more exacting as to certain details of
construction of hives than is the producer of extracted honey since
it is more necessary for him to handle individual brood frames during
the honey flow. The spaces[1] above and between the top bars of the
brood frames must be accurate or they will be bridged with burr and
brace combs and these filled with honey. Burr and brace combs make the
removal and readjustment of the super and the manipulation of frames a
slow and disagreeable task, to say nothing of the waste of material,
which should have been placed in the sections in the beginning. The
use of the slatted honey board (fig. 2), while preventing brace combs
between itself and the super, does not prevent the building of burr and
brace combs between and above the top bars of the frames. This trouble
is largely eliminated by proper spacing. Most hive manufacturers are at
present making the top bars of the brood frames of such a width that
the spaces between them is from one-fourth to five-sixteenths inch with
the same spacing above them. The difficulty, however, is in maintaining
this spacing with any great degree of accuracy. Self-spacing frames[2]
are a partial solution of this difficulty. In some localities, however,
the ordinary self-spacing frames are so badly propolized as to render
their removal from the brood chamber difficult as well as materially
to interfere with the proper spacing. The advantages of such frames
are then nullified, while their disadvantages are retained or even
intensified. In such localities metal spacers having but small surfaces
of contact are sometimes used. Some beekeepers prefer omitting the
spacers entirely. However, some of the difficulties arising from the
use of self-spacing frames are the result of carelessness on the part
of the operator in not crowding the frames together properly when
closing the hive after having handled the frames.
[1] A bee space, or that space to which bees are least inclined to
put comb or propolis, is perhaps a scant one-fourth inch. In hive
construction one-fourth or five-sixteenths inch is usually used.
[2] These are so constructed that the end bars are one-fourth or
five-sixteenths inch wider than the top bars throughout a portion of
their length or furnished with projections of metal fitted to the edges
of the frame. In either case the adjustment is such that when the
frames are crowded together in the hive the spaces between the top bars
will be correct.
=SECTIONAL HIVES.=
The sectional hive in which the brood chamber is composed of two or
more shallow hive bodies, making it horizontally divisible, offers
some advantages, especially to the comb-honey specialist. Most of the
ordinary manipulations can be performed readily with such hives without
removing the frames. One of their greatest advantages in comb-honey
production is the rapidity with which the apiarist can examine the
colonies for queen cells if natural swarming is to be controlled by
manipulation. They are also very elastic, the units or sections usually
being of 5-L frame capacity, permitting a brood chamber capacity of 5
or any multiple of 5-L frames. Among the disadvantages of these hives
are the extra cost owing to the greater number of parts necessary in
their construction and the difficulty in maintaining proper spacing
without the use of top bars on the frames heavier than would seem
advisable in the middle of the brood nest.
=Sections and Supers.=
There is a wide variation in the style of sections and the supers
designed to contain them. This, whole to some extent brought about
by different local conditions, is largely due merely to the notions
of individual beekeepers. Comb-honey apparatus could probably be
standardized without sacrificing any really vital features.
=BEEWAY _v._ PLAIN SECTIONS.=
There are two general styles of sections in common use differing in the
method of spacing--the beeway section in which the spacer is a part
of the section itself (fig. 5), and the plain in which the spacer is a
permanent part of the separator (fig. 4). Each style has its advocates
and each offers some advantages.
[Illustration: Fig. 3.--Beeway and plain sections, unfolded.
(Original.) ]
Some of the advantages of the plain (fig. 3) over the beeway sections
are: (1) They are simpler in construction, therefore costing less.
(2) The edges being plain with no insets, the plain sections are more
easily cleaned of propolis when being prepared for market and are
especially adapted to cleaning by machinery. (3) By leaving the spacers
in the super, sections of the same honey content occupy less space in
the shipping case, thus reducing the cost of packages. (4) The plain
section is adapted to an arrangement permitting freer communication
lengthwise of the row of sections, especially at the corners (p. 15).
[Illustration: Fig. 4.--Plain section In super, showing method
of spacing. (Original.)]
Some of the advantages of the beeway sections (fig. 3) are: (1) The
honey is somewhat less liable to injury by handling. (2) Being wider at
the corners where folded, they are stronger. (3) Some markets, being
accustomed to the larger cases necessary to contain a given number of
beeway sections, object to the smaller package containing the same
number of plain sections, simply because it is smaller.
[Illustration: Fig. 5.--Beeway section In super, showing
method of spacing. (Original.)]
=DIMENSIONS OF SECTIONS.=
Sections of various dimensions are in use by beekeepers, but the sizes
in general use are the 4-1/4 inches square and the 4 by 5 inches. Some
producers prefer the 4 by 5 sections because of the more pleasing
appearance of the oblong package (fig. 6). The standard widths of the
4-1/4 by 4-1/4 inches section are 1-7/8 inches in the beeway style
and 1-1/2 inches in the plain section. The extra width in the beeway
style is for the purpose of spacing and does not add to the thickness
of the comb. The 4 by 5 is 1-3/8 or 1-1/2 inches wide in the plain
style and not much used in the beeway style. The 1-3/8 width of the 4
by 5 section contains practically the same amount of honey when filled
as the 4-1/4 by 4-1/4 by 1-1/2 plain or the 4-1/4 by 4-1/4 by 1-7/8
beeway, assuming of course that all are used with separators and filled
under like conditions. Since there are well-defined limits as to the
thickness of the combs most profitable to produce, the area of one comb
surface in a section weighing about a pound is usually from 16 to 20
square inches, the exact size and shape being an adaptation to given
space in the super. The thinner combs, showing more comb surface, have
the appearance of being larger and a greater number can be accommodated
on a given hive. Honey in such combs may also be ripened sooner and
possibly better than in thicker combs. They, however, require more
foundation for each pound of honey produced and a slightly greater
amount of wax, in proportion to the honey, to complete them. Also
the thinner the comb, the greater the difficulty with the sheets of
foundation swinging to one side on account of uneven work on the two
sides or because the hives do not stand level.
[Illustration: Fig. 6.--Square and oblong sections.
(Original.)]
=SUPERS.=
The main points of difference between the various types of comb-honey
supers are in (1) the method of supporting the sections, (2) the amount
of protection afforded to the outside of the section and (3) the degree
of free communication from section to section within the super.
=The Method of Support.=
Sections are supported either by means of cross supports under the
ends of the sections or by a slat of proper width supporting each
row of sections. The T super (fig. 7), so called from the shape of
a cross section of the strip of tin used to support the sections is
illustrative of the first, while the supporting slats, section holders
(figs. 8, 9 and 10), and wide frames (fig. 11) are illustrative of the
second type of support.
[Illustration: Fig. 7.--The T super. (Original.)]
=Protection.=
The T super and others of this type offer no protection against
propolizing to either the top or bottom of the sections, the section
holder or slat (figs. 8, 9, and 10) protects the bottom, while in
the wide frame (fig. 11) the entire outer surface of the sections is
protected except at the edges. The greater the protection afforded
the section, the more complicated and expensive the super, and the
more complicated supers require more labor in cleaning of propolis and
filling with sections. On the other hand, sections of honey produced in
properly constructed wide-frame supers are much more easily cleaned of
propolis, and ordinarily present a neater appearance when packed for
market.
[Illustration: Fig. 8.--Super with section holder for beeway
sections. (Original.)]
=Free Communication Within the Super.=
The use of closed-top sections (1-beeway) and solid separators, making
each section a separate compartment with openings for the bees at the
bottom only, illustrates one extreme; while the sections with openings
on all four sides (4-beeway) used without separators illustrate the
other extreme as to free communication; and between these extremes are
various intermediate types.
[Illustration: Fig. 9.--Super with section holder for square
plain sections. (Original.)]
[Illustration: Fig. 10.--Super with section holder for oblong
plain sections. (Original.)]
It would be desirable so to adjust the sections that when filled
with honey a row of them would, so far as the bees are concerned,
be equivalent to a single comb, that the bees might have the same
free access to the outside row of cells from all sides as they do
the other cells and might pass up or down from any section and the
full length of the row, as well as around the ends. While, under the
same conditions, such free access to the outside row of cells from
all sides would result in the sections being slightly better filled
than with the ordinary adjustments, such an arrangement presents some
mechanical difficulties and would add considerable to the first cost
of the supers. If separators were not necessary, such an adjustment of
sections could be readily accomplished. In Europe a type of separator
having transverse openings corresponding to the upright edges of the
sections is used to give free communication lengthwise of the row of
sections. In this country some such separators are used as well as a
separator made of wire cloth so spaced between the rows of sections as
to give free communication along the rows, as well as from one row to
another. These, however, are not widely used in the United States.
[Illustration: Fig. 11.--Combination super with wide frames
for oblong plain sections. (Original.)]
The plain section, when used in connection with the "fence" separator
(fig. 4), having the upright posts considerably shorter than the height
of the section, offers a fair compromise as to free communication
within the super. Most of the comb honey produced in this country,
however, is produced in sections which offer no communication from
section to section lengthwise of the super, being produced in the
regular 2-beeway section, having openings at the top and bottom only
(figs. 7 and 8).
=THE USE OF SEPARATORS.=
Separators are made of strips of tin or wood and are used between the
rows of sections to compel the tees to build the combs straight and
all within the section. The thicker the combs the greater becomes the
necessity for separators. While an expert can produce very uniform
comb honey without separators during a heavy honey flow by using very
narrow sections, it is usually not advisable to do so on account of
the resulting large percentage of imperfect combs, especially during
poor and indifferent seasons and at the close of any season. The use of
separators results in a much more uniform product.
=SHALLOW EXTRACTING SUPERS.=
Some comb-honey producers add to their equipment one shallow extracting
super for each colony. These are a great convenience in a comb-honey
apiary and may be used for the following purposes: (1) To keep the
brood chamber free of honey before the beginning of the main honey
flow; (2) to use at the beginning of the honey flow to induce the bees
to begin work promptly in the supers; (3) to use at the close of the
honey flow instead of the last comb-honey super; (4) to use during any
flow of inferior honey or honeydew; (5) to use during very poor seasons
when first-class comb honey can not be produced.
=COMBINATION SUPERS.=
Other comb-honey producers provide each comb-honey super with two
shallow extracting combs. These are placed one on each side of the
super with the sections between them (fig. 11). The purpose of this
arrangement is to induce the bees to begin work in the super promptly
without the use of "bait sections" (sections containing comb previously
drawn) or an extracting super and also to do away with the usual poorly
finished sections in the corners and outside rows. One great advantage
of this system over the use of an extracting super to start early super
work is that the combs are not removed. When shallow extracting supers
are used for this purpose, they are removed as soon as the bees have
started well in them and a comb-honey super substituted. This brings
back much the same conditions existing before giving the extracting
super, and while some colonies will begin work in the sections promptly
when the change is made, many colonies hesitate about beginning the
new work almost as though the extracting super had not been used. Such
colonies are thus thrown out of "condition", (p. 19) and may begin
preparations to swarm. The use of these combs in supers that are added
subsequently allows the apiarist to place the empty super over the one
already on the hive until the bees begin work therein without seriously
crowding the super room, because each super thus added contains room in
the form of empty comb into which the new nectar may be stored at once
(see p. 42).
=Other Apparatus.=
Among the other apparatus needed in commercial comb-honey production
are a honey extractor, wax press, bee-escapes, and escape boards (fig.
12), queen-excluding honey boards (fig. 2), feeders, tools, etc. It is
not necessary to provide queen-excluding honey boards for each colony
unless some special system is followed, yet a few excluders are very
desirable for various special manipulations. Good feeders may be had by
using tin pans in connection with an empty super. A handful of grass
should be placed on the sirup to prevent the bees from drowning. In
addition to these appliances in the northern States, if the hives are
single walled, some means of protection is necessary if the colonies
are wintered out of doors.
[Illustration: Fig. 12.--Bee-escape board for removing bees
from supers. (From Phillips.)]
=Preparing Supers.=
=FOLDING SECTIONS.=
Section presses and foundation fasteners are sometimes combined in
one machine by which the section is pressed together square and the
foundation is fastened by a single operation. Usually, however,
they are separate machines requiring that each section be handled
twice before it is ready to be placed into the super. Ordinarily the
one-piece sections must be dampened before folding, as otherwise
the breakage is considerable and the sections are greatly weakened
by folding. A crate of sections as it comes from the factory may be
dampened by removing one side so as to expose the V-shaped grooves,
then directing a small stream of hot water into these grooves. Care
should be taken that only the thin portion where the section is folded
be dampened. Another very satisfactory method of dampening sections is
to wrap the crates containing them in a wet blanket the day before they
are to be folded.
=FASTENING FOUNDATION IN SECTIONS.=
The use of comb foundation in full sheets filling each section as
nearly as possible is considered a necessity in the production of fancy
comb honey. This foundation should be as thin as can be used without
being gnawed or torn down by the bees. The sheet of foundation is
usually fastened centrally at the top of the section, leaving only
enough space at the sides to allow it to swing freely without binding
and about three-sixteenths to one-fourth inch at the bottom to allow
for stretching while being drawn out. To secure better attachment
of the comb to the bottom of the section, a bottom starter about
five-eighths inch wide may be used. In this case the top starter should
reach to within three-sixteenths to one-fourth inch of the bottom
starter. In some localities the character of the flow is such that
but little is gained by the use of the bottom starter, while in other
localities it is difficult to produce honey that will stand shipment
well without it.
The various types of apparatus usually used for fastening foundation
in the sections make use of a heated metal plate which, after melting
the edge of the sheet of foundation, is withdrawn, allowing the melted
edge to be brought quickly in contact with the section. This fastens
one edge of the sheet of foundation firmly to the wood. Foundation
fasteners employing this principle may be simply a hand apparatus
consisting of a metal plate of proper size provided with a handle, the
operator transferring the tool from the source of heat to the edge
of the foundation. Or the principle may be incorporated in a more or
less complex machine which provides for the maintenance of the proper
temperature of the heated plate, its movement to melt the edge of the
foundation and a proper support for the section and foundation during
the process. For the purpose of securing better filled sections of
honey various methods of attaching the sheet of foundation to the
sides as well as the top of the section have been devised, but are not
extensively used by producers. Among these methods are fitting the
sheet of foundation in place, then directing a fine stream of melted
wax along its edges, or the use of split sections in which a sheet of
foundation is continuous through a row of sections, extending through
their sides and top.
Some super construction is such that the sections may be placed
directly into the super by the operator who puts in the foundation.
This work is usually done during the winter months when the bees
require no special attention. Enough supers should be provided to take
care of the largest possible crop, even though it is not often that
all are used the same season. The beekeeper who is operating several
apiaries can not afford to take time to prepare supers for the bees
during a good honey flow. Supers of sections thus prepared in advance
should be kept clean by storing them in piles and keeping the piles
covered from dust.
=MANIPULATION OF THE BEES.=
It is important to note that there are four essential factors entering
into the securing of a crop of honey: (1) A sufficient amount of bloom
of healthy and well-nourished nectar-secreting plants growing in sou
to which they are adapted and within range of the apiary. (2) Weather
conditions favorable to nectar secretion and bee flight. (3) A large
number of workers in excess of those needed for the routine work of
the colony. (4) Conditions of the colony making the storing instinct
dominant. If any one of these factors is absent, the effect of the
other three is immediately nullified, and the amount of honey secured
will vary as these factors are present at the same time in greater or
less degree or as the time during which they are all present is longer
or shorter. It is therefore possible to have each of these factors
present at some time during the season without securing a crop of honey
and the period of time during which they are all present at the same
time is usually quite short.
Grouping the first and second factors we have a combination usually
spoken of as the locality and season. These factors are largely beyond
the control of the beekeeper except as he may choose a location in
which both are usually present at some time or times during the season,
may take advantage of the plants of several locations by practising
migratory beekeeping, or may improve a given locality by directly or
indirectly increasing the amount of nectar-secreting plants, such as
buckwheat, alsike clover, sweet clover, or alfalfa.
Grouping the third and fourth factors we have conditions capable of
being brought about by manipulation and for which the beekeeper is
more directly responsible. The beekeeper's skill therefore lies in
supplying and maintaining these factors throughout the short period
during which the bees may store more than they consume. He should know
which plants may be expected to furnish the nectar for his crop of
honey, that his various manipulations may be properly timed. It should
be noted that the shorter the duration of the honey flow, the greater
becomes the necessity of having the colonies in proper condition at its
beginning and keeping them so until its close. However lavish nature
may be with the secretion of nectar and fine weather, it is of little
avail if the beekeeper fails to secure a large force of workers to
gather and store his crop or, even having provided workers, if he fails
to keep his forces together and contented, bending all their energy
in the one direction of gathering and storing honey. It is a common
occurrence among inexperienced beekeepers to have the colonies become
strong enough to work in the supers only after the flowers have ceased
blooming or to see strong colonies during a good honey flow doing
nothing in the supers simply because conditions are not such as to make
the storing instinct dominant.
So far as the skill of the beekeeper is concerned in the production of
the crop of honey in a given location, every manipulation of the season
should be directed (1) toward securing the greatest possible number of
vigorous workers at the proper time, and (2) keeping the entire working
force of each colony together and contentedly at work throughout the
given honey flow.
=Securing Workers for the Honey Flow.=
Of course, the shorter the period for brood rearing previous to the
honey flow, the more serious the problem of getting the colonies strong
enough. Adverse weather conditions greatly retard brood rearing and
thus have the effect of shortening this period. On the other hand, in
some localities the main honey flow comes so late in the season that
the colonies may even be divided and both divisions built up.
In most comb-honey localities the season is short and there is usually
during the season only one honey flow that furnishes any considerable
surplus suitable for comb honey, with perhaps other honey flows either
very meager or furnishing honey unsuitable in color. The early minor
flows are in such localities utilized in brood rearing in preparation
for the main flow, and those occurring after the main flow may be
utilized for winter stores, or if sufficient in quantity some surplus
may be secured. In localities where the season is made up of a series
of honey flows of almost equal importance and with sometimes a long
interval between, the problem of securing workers for the harvest is
rendered more complex, since the process must be repeated for each crop
or the colonies kept very strong throughout the season. As a rule such
localities are not the best for comb-honey production.
The workers that gather and store the crop of honey are those that
emerge during the few weeks preceding and during the first part of the
honey flow. Unless it is of unusual duration, the eggs that produce
these workers are all laid before the honey flow begins, since those
which develop from eggs laid later are not ready for work until after
the close of the flow. On the other hand, the workers that emerge six
weeks or more before the honey flow will have died of old age or be too
old to be of much value during the flow. Their services, however, are
of great value provided they expend their energy to the best possible
advantage in rearing brood. If brood rearing ceases or is greatly
restricted during this period, a colony that has been strong earlier in
the season is rendered almost worthless as gatherers, since it begins
the harvest with old and worn-out workers. This is exactly what often
happens unless the beekeeper is alert and provides conditions such
that brood rearing is not restricted during this period. In the clover
belt, for example, it frequently happens that there is a scarcity of
nectar during the period when the workers for the harvest should be
reared and, unless the colonies are abundantly supplied with stores,
brood rearing is greatly restricted. This may to some extent justify
the saying among beekeepers that if the early flowers yield well the
season will be good. The progressive beekeeper, however, provides
conditions favorable to brood rearing even though the early flowers
fail to yield nectar. It is therefore highly important (1) that each
colony be in a normal condition at a period six or eight weeks previous
to the honey flow, and (2) that brood rearing be at its maximum for the
entire period of six or eight weeks during which the brood is reared to
produce workers available for the honey flow.
=BUILDING UP THE COLONY IN THE EARLY SPRING.=
The condition of the colonies in the early spring depends upon many
factors not all of which are under the control of the beekeeper. In
the white-clover belt for instance, where the honey flow comes early,
a large percentage of strong colonies in early spring means of course
that they have wintered well, which in turn is largely dependent
upon proper conditions the previous late summer and autumn. The
manipulations having for their purpose the rapid upbuilding of the
colony may therefore have their beginning at or even before the close
of the honey flow of the previous year, including late summer and fall
management and wintering. Good queens, preferably young, with enough
room for breeding purposes and a supply of stores during the previous
late summer and autumn are among the factors favoring good wintering.
During the winter the central idea is the conservation of the energy
of the bees, the complex details of which can not be presented in this
paper.
The rapidity with which the colonies build up in early spring depends
upon a number of conditions, some of which are: (1) The number and
vitality of the workers; (2) the age and fecundity of the queen;
(3) the supply and location of stores within the hive; (4) weather
conditions; (5) the supply of new pollen, nectar, and water; (6) the
conservation of heat within the brood nest; (7) the race of bees; (8)
the character of the brood combs, etc. Most of these conditions are to
a great extent within the control of the beekeeper. By supplying each
colony with a young queen the previous autumn, or at least supplanting
all undesirable ones, a greater number of young and vigorous workers
are reared late in the season, which usually means greater vitality
and numbers the next spring. Young queens reared the previous summer
or autumn should be in prime condition the next spring. If to this
combination is added an abundance of stores within the hives, brood
rearing should progress rapidly, even in spite of adverse weather
conditions. It is now the general practice among beekeepers to supply
enough stores the previous autumn not only for winter stores but for
brood-rearing purposes the next spring. Since the amount consumed
during the winter varies considerably with different colonies, an
early examination to determine the amount of stores may be necessary.
Under some conditions it may be found profitable to stimulate brood
rearing early in the spring by slowly feeding diluted sugar sirup to
each colony, by spreading brood, or by doing both, but any very early
stimulation of this kind should be used with caution. Among extensive
beekeepers the tendency is decidedly toward letting the bees alone
until the weather is more settled, simply making sure that they have
sufficient stores. The apiary should, if possible, be so located that
the bees may have access to water without the necessity of exposure of
a long flight during bad weather. In localities that do not furnish
natural pollen, it may be necessary to feed an artificial substitute,
such as rye meal. A good hive that will conserve the heat of the
cluster is also a great help in early brood rearing. Some beekeepers
who winter their colonies in the cellar in single-walled hives find
it profitable to give them some additional protection after they have
been removed from the cellar. In the northern States double-walled
hives are especially advantageous during the spring. A protected
location for the apiary in some instances makes a great difference in
early brood rearing. Some races breed up more rapidly in the spring
than others. The Italians are somewhat conservative in this respect,
but have so many excellent traits that they are generally used in this
country. In localities having intermittent honey flows Italian bees may
not give the best results because of their tendency to restrict brood
rearing during the honey flow by crowding the queen and to curtail the
production of brood during a scarcity of nectar. Drone comb within the
brood nest in early spring is a decided barrier to rapid brood rearing.
Many brood combs considered by the average beekeeper to be perfect
contain, especially in the upper portion, a large percentage of cells
which can not be used for rearing worker brood because of imperfections
in shape and size due to the stretching of this portion of the combs
during hot weather. This suggests the advisability of the use of a
heavier grade of foundation or some method of using vertical wires or
wooden splints in the upper half of the sheet of foundation.
=THE PRODUCTION OF GATHERING BEES.=
During the six or eight weeks just preceding the honey flow every
colony should be encouraged to rear the greatest possible amount
of brood. Brood rearing during this period is often restricted by
insufficient stores or by insufficient room. It is therefore of great
importance that both stores and available brood-rearing space be
supplied in abundance. If stimulative feeding or spreading the brood is
practiced, this is the time it should be done.
=Providing Sufficient Stores.=
If feeding is not practiced during this critical period, the beekeeper
should see that each colony is at all times supplied with a reserve
of stores, for surprisingly large quantities are consumed when brood
rearing is going on rapidly. If any colonies should run short, brood
rearing will be carried on sparingly and the colony so severely
crippled that it may not recover its strength until after the honey
flow is over.
Whether stimulative feeding or supplying each colony with an abundance
of reserve stores is the more profitable depends upon circumstances and
must be decided by each beekeeper for his own conditions. Stimulative
feeding, if properly done, will undoubtedly result in the rearing of
more bees for the harvest. When the beekeeper is operating several
apiaries and must travel some distance to reach them the labor involved
is considerable, and the question to be decided is whether this labor
would yield greater returns if expended in stimulative feeding or in
operating a larger number of colonies. If the brood chamber is large
and well provisioned or if the flowers furnish some nectar in early
spring the colonies may have sufficient stores for this period of heavy
brood rearing. Some beekeepers save combs of honey of the previous year
to supply food for this period. This is one of the most convenient and
satisfactory methods of feeding.
=Providing Available Brood-Rearing Space.=
There should be no restriction whatever in the room for brood rearing
up to the time of putting on the supers, just previous to the honey
flow, for a crowded brood nest at this time tends to diminish the
number of workers available for the honey flow as well as to encourage
swarming.
If the space for brood rearing should be restricted by too much early
honey in the brood chamber some of the heaviest combs should be removed
and empty ones given instead, or an extra brood chamber containing
empty combs may be given. In localities where considerable early honey
is gathered the brood chamber may be kept almost free of honey by
placing an extracting super over each colony at the beginning of such a
flow. This super should not be removed until the comb-honey supers are
given, for the honey may be needed later in brood rearing.
Should the brood nest be restricted by a small brood chamber the
colonies may be equalized by removing some frames of brood from the
stronger colonies, exchanging them for empty combs taken from weaker
colonies, or another brood chamber filled with empty combs may be
given, thus building the colonies up individually. The former method
has the following advantages: (1) After being built up to approximately
the same strength, most of the colonies will be ready for a given
manipulation at the same time, thus facilitating the work. (2) It
requires a smaller stock of extra brood chambers and combs, at least
previous to the honey flow. (3) The brood is in a more compact form,
which is a very desirable condition in comb-honey production. (4) When
properly done, the total number of young bees reared in a given time
is probably considerably greater, owing to the fact that none of the
colonies is strong beyond the capacity of the queen, the workers of the
entire apiary being so distributed that all the queens are utilized
to the best possible advantage. (5) When the honey flow begins the
colonies are ready for the supers without additional manipulation,
such as removing extra brood chambers, sorting combs of brood, etc.
In equalizing colonies combs of hatching brood with the adhering
workers, _without the queen_, are usually drawn from the strongest
colonies and given to colonies less strong, but _never to very weak
colonies_. The weakest colonies are left until the last, then built
up quickly, provided there is time enough to have all the hives well
filled with brood. If this is not possible the very weak colonies can
more profitably be used for purposes other than comb-honey production.
Another plan of equalizing is that of shaking bees from combs taken
from strong colonies at the entrance of colonies less strong. The older
bees at once take wing and return to their hives, while the younger
bees enter the weaker colony. The operator must, of course, be sure
that the queen is not on the comb thus shaken.