THE APIARY.

Otago Witness, Issue 3519, 23 August 1921, Page 7

THE APIARY.

By

J. A.

VISIBLE AND INVISIBLE LOAFING. Geo. Demuth. says: “Comb honey producers arc well acquainted with the tendency of bees to loaf, even during a good honey flow, when conditions are not the ntq-t favourable. Sometimes the most trifling adverse condition upsets the spirit for work, and brings visible loafing. At other times the loafing is h.-s in deg: ee, and may not be noticed by tho beekeeper, in either case _ir means a less. Loafing, whether visible or invisible, usually increases until the cause is removed," and sometimes for a long time afterward. For this reason too prevention of < ven the Slightest tendency to loaf during the honey how is really one of the biggest: problems with which a comb-honey producer has to oral. lor it tins can bo accomplished, serious loafing can be prevented and swarming can be greatly reduced. During some seasons most of the colonies that prepare to swarm could have been induced by better management to work energetically throughout, the season without a thought of swarming.” Most, experienced Me keepers will recognise the truth of this statement. Many a time they are struck with the different results which thev get from different colonies with apparently equal opportunity. Amongst the contributory causes Mr Demuth.reckons the following: An inherent strain in the bees, a preponderance of old bees; old and failing queens, quccnlcssncss. discomfort (such os neat, lu-k of ventilation, and lack of room), insufficient room for ripening and storin'* nectar, ana the sealing of honey adjacent to the brood. “Any conditions within the h:,e which in any way tend to cheek the freest. expansion of the liive work apparently checks the work of the field force almost immediately, and when the field workers begin to remain in the hive during the day m increasing numbers visible loafing is soon brought about.” One method largely used in the prevention of swarming, the cutting' out of queen cells, is also resented by tiie bees. So also is the Alexander method of swarming, where the queen oil one frame of brood is put below the excaider and the brood immediately tin top- In this latter process probably every beekeeper has noticed the * inclination of the queen to sulk, but not everyone will have noticed the disastrous effect on the honey-gathering for several days. The whole position is an unnatural one for the hows. rile quee-o ;s out of ..what the hws still regard as the brood-no.-fj and the iddod combs are below, and will not at or.ee be accepted for storing purposes. Where, however, the queen is put above the excluder on .a comb of brood, and the super lias b-'en filled out with empty combs, there is hardly any pause or, the part, of the queen, and the colony as a whole will make almost the effort of a natural swarm. Wo have all noticed the vim with which a natural swarm works. Conditions there are tint- a brood-nest ins to he made and provided lor. Kind instinct leads to >th-e utmost effort. Ino beekeeper s object in the care of his colonies, should be to' keep every one of them doing their best, and doing it right through flip season. A notable example of wnat might be done along tin se Imp comes from our own experience \\u, bad for several mason- had tie- full benefit of oir scale love record spoked lie-cause of either swarming or some rjtlu-r i rou 1 1] • wc determined to give that oartici'ar colony the best attention. Our swarming method (which is well known to our readers) was adopted, and particular attention was given to the sujiering. tin- empty extracting combs being put in next to the brood-nest! and always before much scaling was done on the previous combs. We depended on ample room and always raising f }ie honey. The result was that that “colonv had throughout ample room, and worked under conditions that seemed to give if energy right through the season. It's be-M one day's work was 271 b; for four days (not consecutive' ir put on 1001 b, and the season's ret urn was 3121 b —mow than three times the average return of the aniarv. ?Sn far as T know there was nothing special about this colony, bur ir was watched* very carefully, and every care taken to keen it working under quite natural eonbiifins.' A great deal can be cone in suriering- ];v giving a. new set of extracting combs or foundation quite early, so long fl s there are plenty of bees io pike full possession. The point- seems to be that the patching-up ot extracting combs or building- out 'ho foundation draws the- voting bees, which are the fain!(buildcrs. tin.' -and -mis (be,.. ,vo,aearly The lemon we get from Ml thb is in at ir uoes not pry its run eounter to tin' instinct of the bees: we must work ah i-o- lings that will meat with their ,ip-yn-oval. and at the same time call our the best effort that thev can make: and again \\e would -IV that it Days ro haw a standard and to see that by quite natural means every colony is brought up to ip