THE APIARY.

Otago Witness, Issue 2083, 25 January 1894, Page 5

THE APIARY.

By Novice.

SEASONABLE NOTES.

Although we are only about halfway through the season, and the honey is comiDg in in sufficient quantity to gladden the hearts of all beekeepers, yet by the time this is read it will be necessary to begin to make preparations for the end, by leaving in the lower storey combs that are known to be clean and free from foul brood. Most beekeepers are now fully aware of the great advantage of clean, new combs for the bees to winter on, and those who are wise, and wish to have but few losses in the next winter time, will prepare the brood nest now while the flow of honey is on. With me those colonies always winter best that have young queens, clean new combs filled with honey by the bees while it is comiDg in in a natural way, and whose brood nest in the lower storey is lef b undisturbed at the close of the honey season. In fact, I am fully convinced that most beekeepers examine their bees and disturb the brood nest ever so much too often, and suffer considerable loss in consequence. In seasons past I have many times extracted honey from the outside combs in the brood nest, as close up to the brood as it was possible to go, and afterwards fed sugar to fill up again, but long ago I found out that such a course does not pay in our locality. The stimulating effect of feeding causes them to rear brood extensively, and this at a time when no honey is to be gathered ; consequently the foragers are poking their heads into every corner wherever there is a emoll Of honey or comb, weak colonies are often robbed out of existence, strong coloni'-s are always kept on the defensive, wbile if by auy chance it becomes necessary to open a hive it is pounced upon by hundreds — nay, thousands sometimes — of bees, anxious to carry to their own homes some of the treasures of others, and the loss of bee life, both robbed and robbers, is enormous.

The work and worry of preparing over a hundred colonies of bees for winter under such conditions is a thing to be remembered, and we tried working under a movable tent, and when that failed, doing the work at dusk ; but bees crawling up trouser legs and coat sleeves and down the back of one's neck soou showed that working among them in the dark cannot be a success. Dear me ! the memory of troubles and difficulties in days of loDg. ago brings up a smile. Somehow things work out differently now to what they did then. Many of the difficulties above indicated can be avoided by a little thoughtful preparation now. First, be sure that the combs are clean and fit for tho bees to winter on ; next, make sure that each colony has a good laying queen ; and then see that the bottom board is clean, with a fall to the front of the hive, and that the lower storey, which will be the brood chamber all the winter, fits the bottom board and is bee-proof all round except at the entrance. Many an old colony that has swarmed is left queenless, and though they keep working all the summer it is with a gradually diminishing force of bees, and in the autumn or early winter they either die or are robbed out. To ascertain if they are queenless it is not necessary to find and see the - queen, but simply to lift the centre frame and Bee if there are young larva) in it. If there are not any larvse or eggs, then the easiest way is to take a frame from another hive containing larvje and eggs and give it to them. In 14 days they will have raised another queen from these for themselves, and in one month from giving them the frame she ought to be laying.