THE APIARY.

Otago Witness, Issue 3774, 13 July 1926, Page 11

THE APIARY.

By

J. A

TALKS TO BEGINNERS: No. 11. Spring management in tlie south may fairly be said to begin about the middle of August. Usually at that time the lirst green tints are showing in the pastures and the swelling of fruit buds begins. Early in my beekeeping experience I learned to depend on experiencing at this time a few warm, sunny days which seemed to say that winter is past. These are the days I like to choose for my first survey of the apiary. In the north it may be weeks earlier, and in some localities much more so than in others. It all depends on the altitude and the lie of the land. In this survey I begin with a purpose. The bees have just passed through that dormant quiet time of winter, and are beginning to waken into new life. The queen is gradually extending her broodnest, and, as the circle enlarges, reaching ever on to new combs. The workers are taking every opportunity of flight to find fresh stores, or, working on the outside combs, gather in the farthest away portion of their winter stores and place it immediately round the enlarging broodnest. At this stage there are no drones in the hive. There are three things the beekeeper wants to know with regard to every colony. The first is: Is the colony queen right? The second: Is it free from disease? The third: Are there plenty of stores? BEING QUEEN RIGHT. There is no need to hunt up the queen to know is the colony is queen right. If there is brood in the hive that is sufficient evidence. The appearance of the brood will often indicate the quality of the queen. If it is even with all the cells used and all showing an even age, if the enlarging circles of brood as they extend outward show a regular and satisfactory progression in laying, and, further, if in the centre the bees are hatching, and hatching out clean and regularly, then I conclude that the queen is all right and of good quality. If, on the contrary, there- is irregularity in the brood, cells being missed and the brood uneven in appearance, then I conclude that the queen is not so good, and mark her hive for future observation and ultimately for supersedure. Tlie _ fact that “there is no brood at this stage is not conclusive proof that there is no queen. Some put in an anpearance much earlier than others: but if there is a very heavy supply of pollen in the combs and an odd drone or two among the bees, then that is sufficient evidence, and the only thing that can be done is to use the combs to build up other colonies. The bees themselves will be old and of no value. All the information I want in this can be gained by taking out first one of the outside combs, then prising over the others until the centre comb of brood is reached. This should be lifted out and examined, and it will -tell the whole , story. FOUL-BROOD. The second thing I shall want to know in this examination is whether the colony is free from disease. The only disease I fear is foul-brood, a bacterial disease. The spores find a lodgment in the honey fed to the young larvae, and there develop and use up the body of the larvae as their host. When the food is exhausted they return to the spore stage, while the diseased larvae, assuming a chocolate colour, sinks to the lower surface of the cell, and gradually dries out to a scale of infectious matter. The bees will not clean out this diseased matter, but leave the cell sealed over, only puncturing a small hole in it. The capping of these diseased cell? gradually flattens down, till the cell loses the rounded appearance of a healthy cell, and is easily distinguishable amongst the others. The usual test is to use something in the nature of a toothpick and remove the capping. If the chocolatecoloured matter draws out in long threads on the end of the toothpick, or if it has dried up and can, only be taken out in bits, it is an almost certain indication of foul-brood. If, on the other hand, the diseased larvae comes out w'hole and has a watery texture and a sour smell, and if dried it also comes out whole and easily, then it indicates what is known as “pickled” brood. In this latter case the queen should be marked as one to be superseded. Examine the centre comb to read the story of the queen. This is the frame which will almost invariably show diseased 'cells if they are present in the hive. . If flat and darkened cells are found amongst the others, and more especially if there is a small puncture in them, they should be examined as described above and then returned to their place. All colonies which show disease should have a prominent mark put on them, and an early opportunity taken to do something with them. I shall speak of the treatment in my next article. Meantime, having returned the centre comb to its place, the beekeeper should, in closing up the frames, make ‘ an estimate of the quantity of stores they hold. If at this stage there is not at least 201 b of honey in the hive, then preparations will have to be made for feeding. A frame of honey well filled and sealed should contain about 51b, so that there should be at least four such frames or their equivalent in each colony. If a reserve of sealed honey is kept in the honey-house, then it is invaluable nt this time, and makes feeding easy work.