BEE-KEEPING

Grey River Argus, 17 December 1920, Page 5

BEE-KEEPING

(By Bee-Keeper. . . )

T3io weather for some time lately has boon wet, cold and stormy, and only the strong colonies have been getting more than the hives required whenever tnere was a chance for the bees to work. The weather is now better, however. In the writer's yard j the Italians and hybrids have done ' far better of late than the blacks. 1 Some of the latter had ample stores over a month ago, and now they are about depleted! whilst the former, be sides drawing out foundation, have a. fair amount of freshly-sealed combs. A beginner would be 'well advised not to go in. for Italians, because of their being so very apt at bringing home foul brood. They being such forragcrs they no doubt get ' into diseased hives that have become weak and listless and not able to put up a defence. Another reason is that it is almost impossible to keep the breed pure, which means that, when crossed with the black ' bees, the progeny are what are called "hybrids,", and are noted for being very cross. The mating cannot be controlled, as this takes place in the air, with whatever drone the queen chances to meet in her mating flight. The queen, if mis-mated, will always produce drones, the same as herself, but the workers will be half-breds. Strange to say, the tlrono bee has no father, but has a grandfather. The drone egg is not fertilised, and the queen, can lay these, whether mated or not. The writer would like to know if there is an insect, bird, or animal like the queen bee in this respect? At this season of the year there is always a considerable growth ' of grass in front of the hives? — more so than anywhere else about the yard; caused, no doubt, by so many thousands of dead being carried out of the hive and dropped in front. The' writoi uses a pair of old shcep-slioars, tioil across with string to prevent theb.ades opening too wide. At this time of the year it is advisable to get the beos to work out ■all the foundations, before giving the frames of worked-out combj because' the honey coming in now is of poor quality, and, also, by so doing, a largo ■ quantity of. it is used up in making j\vax. Some well-known authorities say it takes 12 to ltilb. of honey" to make lib. of wax. When adding a super of foundation, it is advisable to put it under the top one; and if any honey is coming in the bees will go to work in it right away. A lot of bee-keep-ers will be anxious to make an increase, ami in the Writer's opinion, the Alexander method is the best. ,it is here given, us written by himself in '•Gleanings," in "Bee Culture"-— INCREASE BY DIVIDING. When your colonies are nearly full enough to swarm naturally, and you wish to divide them so as to make two from one, go to the colony you wish to divide, lift it from its stand, "and put in its place a hive containing frames of comb or foundation tliu same as you would put the swarm in providing it had just swarmed. Nov.remove the centre comb from yoi.r empty hive ami put in its place a frame of brood, either from the hiv.« you- W ish. to divide, or some other coionly that can spare one, and be sure you find the queen- and put her on this frame of brood in the new hive; and also look it over very carefully to see that it, contains -no eggs or laij vac in any queen cells. If it doe.s <Icsu-y/ thy.m, now put a quecn-exclu<i-1 1 v en top of This new hive that con- ; fjius {ho queen and frame of brood jvitli their empty combs; then* set your qm-eu'less colony on top of the excluder; put in the empty comb or frame of foundation wherever you have go! your frame of brood, and" close the upper hive, except the entrance they have through the excluder into tluhive below. Now, leave them in this way for live days; then look over the combs carefully, mid destroy any larvae you may lind in the queen cells, unless they are of a good strain o.' bees you care to breed from, for they frequently start rearing queens afoov" the excluder, very soon after thei: queen has been kept below the exc.uiler. If so you had better separate them at once; but if they have no. started any queen cells above, thei. leave thorn together ten or eleve.. days, during which time the queen wii i gel a Jine lot of brood started in the lower hive, and every egg and parlicli of larva that was in the old hive oi top will have matured, so it will b< cupped over ami saved. Then separ ate then), putting the old hive on :. new stand. Jt will then bo full o young bees mostly (Uid capped brood and in about 24 hour« they will ac eept a ripe cell, a virgin or-& laying queen, as they will then realise tluu they^ro hopelessly qucenlcss, I would advise you to give them a laying queen, as 1 never like to keep afu.colony for even a day longer withou. a laying queen than I can help. 9 h. this way you have two strong colon ies from one, as you have not lost ;. vwrticlc of brood, nor checked the layifljy of your queen, and with, mi it almoafc wholly prevents swarming. j