SWARM TO HIVES

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22512, 16 December 1947, Page 8

SWARM TO HIVES

POSITION IMPORTANT BEES FOR BEGINNERS INSTRUCTOR’S ADVICE Speaking on request for the benefit of beginners in bee-keeping, Mr D. S. Robinson, apiary instructor. Hastings, opened a hive at the field day conducted on Saturday by the Gisborne branch of the National Beekeepers’ Association at Mr A. Lloyd’s apiary, Makauri and illustrated the development from a hived swarm to a four-storey hive. Position was important, he said. Hives should not be too close to a hedge as the draughts that come under the hedge spoil the temper of the bees. Hives should not be placed directly on the ground, but should be raised on bricks or other blocks to lengthen the life of the timber. Boxes should be kept well painted and all parts should be of standard size and interchangeable.

Sheets of foundation should be firmly waxed and wired info the frames anci after being in the hive for a few days, should be inspected to see that the warmth and weight of the bees has no' caused the foundation to slip. New boxes should be put on the hive when •he previous one is about three-quarter.-full. When the fourth box was to be put on, the third, which should be all honey, should be lifted and the new box put in its place. Ample Winter Food

Mr Robinson emphasised the importance of leaving the bees ample honey for the winter. At the present price of sugar it was poor economy to take so much honey from the hives that artificial feeding would be required in the spring. In addition, hives left with ample stores began breeding earlier and more strongly in the spring. Hives should be at full strength about the middle of November and those so built up this year should return excellent crops of honey. In marketing honey, Mr Robinson strongly urged all producers to take the greatest care to supply a clean and attractive article. For the past few vears people had been willing to buy almost anything as long as it was honey. With the lifting of sugar rationing in the future public taste was bound to be more discriminating and now was the time to establish honey as a desirable sweet.

Two further demonstrations by the instructor were of a mailing cage for queen bees and the method of using it to introduce a new queen into a hive and the method of marking queens for identification and easy recogniton. Mr A. J. Evans also gave an address, giving details of a simple method of raising queens, improvising excluders and other matters. Sympathetic reference was made to Mr James Adams, claimed to be the oldest beekeeper in New Zealand, who recently suffered injuries in a fall resulting in his admission to hospital. On Saturday afternoon the chill in the atmosphere made the bees fairly lively and veils were generally worn.