APIARISTS CONFER

Dominion, Volume 34, Issue 139, 8 March 1941, Page 7

APIARISTS CONFER

Preparing Hives For Winter At a meeting of the Wellington branch of the National Beekeepers’ Association members expressed a desire to entertain beekeepers attending the annual conference to be held in Wellington at Easter. Last year a successful tea was held, attended by approximately 120, and a colour film on beekeeping was screened. It was hoped that it would be possible to hold a similar gathering this year. A vole of thanks was passed to Mr. E A. Earp, one-time chief apiary instructor, for his generosity in presenting the Wellington branch with an observation hive. This will prove of great value, in the practical demonstration of hive activities.

In a general discussion on preparing hives for the winter a simple method of (inding the hive queen when requeening was explained by Mr. Bodwin. By placing an empty super and lid without: frames on top of the brood, chamber and drumming with sticks on the sides of the chamber, the bees would all go into the top box within 10 minutes or so, he said. A queen excluder was then placed on top nf the brood chamber and the bees given a few puffs of smoke, would soon go down again, leaving the queen in the top box. The end of March was a suitable time for closing down the hive for winter in the Wellington district. It was advisable to leave approximately '4olb. of honey in each hive for winter feeding, but less than that amount was sufficient in districts such as the Hutt Valley, where a fairly good autumn honey flow could.be generally expected. Closing down the hive to one box with a small colony of bees was considered a better policy than carrying two or three supers of bees through the winter, in which, case too much honey or feeding was required. A successful field day was held recently at Mr. Bodmin’s apiary at Takapu, where members were given the opportunity of uncapping frames of honey and helping in the general work of extracting. Microscope slides of parts of the honey bee and various flowers were on display, and were described by Mr. R. J. Wait, who also gave a practical demonstration for the benefit of new members of the best way to fake the honey from the hive.