AMONG THE BEES

Manawatu Times, Volume LV, Issue 7179, 28 March 1930, Page 9

AMONG THE BEES

Apiary Notes for April (By D. S. Bobinson, Apiary Instructor) All surplus honey should have been removed from hivos by this date.' The longer; the honey is now left on the hives, the more difficult will he the extracting. Bees should be wintered in one super, but where supers are put on the hives for the bees to clean up, a mat with a hole in the centre should be placed over the first super or brood nest, and tho other supers placed over this mat.. The bees, finding the ctxra combs partly cut off by the mat, soon got busy removing the honey and storing it in the brood nest. A very strict watch should be kept for foul brood. As this disease has now so often been dealt with in theso articles we do not propose to describe it, but any apiarist who .is in doubt and lias some suspicious-looking combs should take or send samples of 'comb to the nearest apiary instructor in whose district ho resides, for verification and instruction in treatment.. ’

Hives should be carefully overhauled and the following facts attended to: — A laying queen is present in the hive. Hivo is free from foul' brood- or wax moth. Sufficient stores are present for tho bees to winter on, namely, 30 to 4011>s. That' the mat dbos ■ not hang outsido the supers. Such a mat is worse than useless, a.s it absorbs the moisture from the outside. : This is carried by capillary attraction to tho portion under the roof, and the result is a damp hive, mouldy combs - and • unhealthy bees. Ascertain that supers are in good order and that the roof is watertight. In places where floods are liable to occur, see that hives are raised above possible flood level. Tho bottom board should be scraped clean and all debris removed. The bottom boards should bo raised at least six inches from the ground. The entrances of hives may now be contracted to at least half the summer width, and where reversible bottom boards aro in use, these should bo turned over pud the lesser depth opening side used.. Hives should not bo kept in shady positions, nor kept pear a hedge, as draughts are hard to avoid and the result ip the bees need far more stores to keep up the temperature of the hive. All weeds should be removed from around the hives ,and long grass out; this helps to keep tha hives dry, and thus lengthens the life of the woodwork.

In the honey, house all appliances used in extracting should bo thoroughly washed and freed from every parbiolo of honey. Floor# too, should be wall scrubbed using hot water and a liberal amount of causitc soda. Cleanliness in the honey house is one of the most essential factors in successful beekeeping, for two factors, tlio chief being honey is a food usually consumed as it is supplied by the beekeeper and not cooked. Secondly, honey spilt about on extracting building attracts moisture and fermentation is set up. These ferment germs ore liable to .get into of honev that are not properly sealed and the result would be fermented honey. It is a good proceeding to keep . a note book in the workshop and to jot down any littlo repair work that may require to be carried out to supers, roofs or any apiary appliances. Spare time in the winter may thus be occupied instead of waiting till the spring when there is much other work .on hand. Storing combs after extraction has been finished and the bees have cleaned up the combs, the combs should be oracled, damaged combs put out to bo down or to. be repaired, combs suitable for brood rearing (that is combs free from drone cells) should be kept separate. Combs containing xilusty drone cells should ho incited down, or if kept, should be used in the third or fourth super on a hive. Combs should so be stored that mica are unable to gain access to the supers, as these vermin will, if given the opportunity destroy a great amount of combs. In apiaries infested with wax moth, provisions should be made to fumigate the combs. This matter will be referred to next month.