APIARY.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1188, 7 December 1894, Page 6

APIARY.

The latest issue of that most admirable little journal the Australasian Bee Bulletin contains the following article headed “ Special Work for November, New Zealand ” :—Owing to the extremely bad weather we had during September the bees thixmghout New Zealand have suffered very much since. Very many colonies which previously were in a very forward state, and with more than an ordinary supply of food, were brought to the verge of starvation, and numbers that were not so well oil for food succumbed altogether—where of course they were not attended to. Swarming, which is usually in full swing north of Auckland early in October, was thrown back fully three weeks. There has been an agreeable change during the past ten days, which bids fair to last for some time, and unless we get another bad spell we shall be able to make up for lost time to a great extent. These who followed the instructions given the last month or two* have now their reward in live bees instead of dead ones. PUTTING ON SURPLUS BOXES. When the brood chamber is getting pretty full of bees, with plenty _ of young bees emerging and honey coming in freely, top boxes should be put on, taking care that the bees have not already made preparations for swarming. When working for extracted I honey it will be found a good plan to place two of the side frames from the brood chamber containing honey only, and with the adhering bees, into the centre of the super, and the two empty combs or frames of foundation from the I super into the centre of the brood | chamber. This arrangement of the combs will start the bees working in the super at once, provided it has been put on at the right time. It is a little more difficult sometimes to get the bees to start in supers containing section boxes, and there is more need to give them some inducement. In this case we have found that a few partly worked sections placed in the centre frame of the super has had the lesired effect. Should there be no partly worked sections on hand, a nice clean comb cut and placed in the section boxes will answer quite as well. For many reasons which have been frequently given, we prefer half-story supers for comb honey, putting on one first, and when the bees are pretty

well started in that placing the second one underneath, next to the brood chamber. By this system the latter is kept cool, and tends to prevent swarming, which is more likely to take place when working for comb honey than when working the larger supers and frames for extracted honey.

PREVENTING AFL'ER SWARMS

It may of course be an advantage, 'under certain circumstances, as for instance when a person is desirous of rapidly enlarging the apiary, to take every opportunity to increase the number of liis colonies regardless of any surplus honey being stored. Mr Langstroth, however, has laid down the axiom that, {i a moderate increase of colonies in any one season will in the long run prove the easiest, safest and cheapest mode of managing bees.” And that this is perfectly correct we are fully convinced. Under ordinary circumstances the number should never be more than doubled, and unless in a small apiary that would be too much. In any case, after the first swarm has issued from a hive, all further swarming from that colony should be prevented if possible, and more especially if surplus honey be the principal consideration. Shortly after the first swarm has. issued, there is p:etty certain to be one or moi*e after swarms leave the hive unless steps are taken to prevent after-swarming. Eveiy swarm will be smaller than that which preceded it, and in the end the parent colony is left very weak. As a general rule the first swarm issues on the day the first queen cell is capped over, which is about the eighth day from the egg being laid. On the sixteenth day the queen comes to maturity and emerges from her cdl, and the next day she leads off an after-swarm. The exception to this is when, through bad weather, the first swarm has been kept back t : ll about the time for the young queen to emerge, when the first and seecnd swarms have issued on following days. However, in ordinary cases the whole of the queen cells, excepting one, should bo cut out of the parent hive five days after the first swarm comes off. Should the'cells be cut out earlier than the fourth or fifth day, the bees are likely to build other cells over the young larvoe, and thus frustrate the object in view. As there is now only one queon to come to maturity she must remain at the head of the parent colony, and therefore cannot lead off an after-swarm. This will generally prevent further swarming, but wlutev’er precautions may be taken, and however careful the apiarist may be to prevent them, swarms occasionally will come off. $ RETURNING SWARMS. When honey, and not increase, is the main object, it is a .question of much importance to the beekeeper to adopt measures to prevent swarming, but as already stated this cannot be always accomplished. However, by returning tlie swarms we may with a little trouble gain the same end as though swarming had not taken place. Various methods have been adopted for returning swarms, but the following one has been successfully practised in our own apiary : Hive the swarm in the usual manner, and after cutting out all queen cellsfrom theparentstock,place the hive containing the swarm as a super on the hive it came from. In the course of a few days the hive should be examined, an .1 if there are any eggs and larvae in tho supei*, the combs containing them should be shifted to the lower body of the hive, taking care to provide plenty of room. If there should be a very large quantity of brood in the hive some of it might be given to other and weaker colonies. When the method is care-