THE APIARY.

Otago Witness, Issue 3495, 8 March 1921, Page 7

THE APIARY.

By

J. A.

robbing at the apiary. invbi f/ grGat difficillti es of bee-keep-tiY h tile , late f utum " 13 the disposition of he bees to rob each other’s hives. So hev win t are thcy OYGr that they will take all manner of risks to get at the honey wherever it may be, and it really becomes necessary for the beekeeper to use every means in his power to outwit them During extracting time it £„ £ sary to put back wet combs, and this is a ins£ f nt SOlU ’ C f e ° f trol,ble llnle ss it is done aiid S S f° 83 t 0 let thom Set fixed up and quiet before morning. After clover cl'Ul a /TU is ° pened H will em ao. it a. cloud of bees was waiting to pounce upon it, and if the hive is dis organised with smoke they will often make the attack so strong that the hive gets entirely robbed out. The beekeeper who is taking off honey at this time will find that the attack is getting stronger at every succeeding hive that he opens, and that the bees get on to the combs he is taking off nnt’i aS L le - g ° eS ° n i\‘ fiy get wor se and worse found ft a* “ mP f C , d to stop - We have iound it a great help under these circumstances to use a strong solution of carbolic Our method of doing so is squares of sacking rather larger than ordinal bee aTw p a tal-e o ffff th t e 111 th ° solution - then, as we take oft ihe honey, to cover up with one of these mats. They are very Llpfu in keeping off the robber bees, and prevent a good deal of the discomfort that comes through the crossness which always accompanies robbing. Carbolic can be got in crude form at small expense, and is one of the things every beekeeper should have on hand. Another thing, it is well to attend to m this connection is to see that there are no openings in the hives where openings ought not to be. During the honey flow cracks and holes are often beneL * a * s ? on , aa robbing starts these nnD G a 1 C °' Sed 11 - D - If the bees have £im • r€gular , en trance to defend, and it this is narrowed down so that it can be easily held against the invaders it wdll make ,t easier not only for the colony that has the cracks but for the whole apiary There is a certain amount of robbing often going on that the beekeeper is not aware of unless lie is able to detect it in the crossness of the bees. If the hives are all looked over and all superfluous openings closed and the entrances narrowed down, it will make the apiary much more peaceable and much more pleasant to work in. If the hives are queen-right and normal, and the bees are given a chance to defend themselves, there will not be the loss that often occurs through robbed-out colonies Another fruitful source of robbing is in an insecure honey-house, or in leaving honey or wet combs about. The honey-house should be bee-proof, and have an escape handy to the window, so that anv intruders by the door can get out. We ‘ had some honey in a box which leaked through, and then got through past the end of the flooring. The bees soon found it out and got on to the job of licking it up. A little chap.py came over to call his granddad for afternoon tea. In a moment there was a scream, rnd we ran out to his assistance, hut as the attack increased quickly it was only after both of us had got a stinging that we got him away from them. He had olten been rhea* before, but it was not until the bees got on to illicit stores that they disturbed him. When your bees sting without apparently sufficient cause, always suspect that something of this kind ’is going on- and always remember that precaution is the easiest cure.