THE APIARY.

Otago Witness, Issue 3782, 7 September 1926, Page 11

THE APIARY.

By

J. A.

THE NEW SEASON. The work of the new season is on me before 1 have had time to finish the round of the year in my “Talks to Beginners.” I shall, however, endeavour to keep the beginners’ need in mind when writing, as it will be now for the season, straight from the apiary. It is very much more interesting for the writer when in actual touch with the bees and fully alive to all their needs, and no doubt it will be to the reader also if he is in touch with the many problems which make beekeeping so interesting. I *am beginning now my forty-second season since I first adopted the frame liive, and —thankfully 1 say it —it is with all the old enthusiasm. Generally towards the end of the season, when nectar is* growing short in supply and the bees are “getting nippy” through continued attempts to rob each others’ hives, the beekeeper is glad when he can close up and turfi his mind to other things. If, however, he is a beekeeper worthy of the name, he will always come back to a new season with the old enthusiasm renewed, and witji a new stock of plans and new castles in the air. Beekeeping has its surprises as well as its disappointments; but, thanks be, at the beginning of the new season the barometer is always set fair. REAL NELSON SUNSHINE. Nelson possesses no monopoly so far as the sun is concerned, but surely she gets a very generous share. We hear of floods, snow, and rain all around us, but here there is none of these things, only bright clear days with neither cloud nor wind. During all the month of August the bees have been quite busy. Pollen of very light colour was coming in early in the month, and now they are at work on the wattles (August 27), which are a glorious sight in their golden beauty. Early plums are in bloom, but the quantity is negligible. Two or three weeks, however will see the pear orchards a mass of white, and as the apples follow close behind with their pinky-white bloom the bees will be ensured of a continuous supply. Nelson’s difficulty, as far as bee feed is concerned is the midsummer months when the pastures turn brown and but little nectar is available. Only in the low-lying river flats is there a dependable supply. Nelson sunshine and Nelson conditions generally will supply us with the opportunity during the next two months to test out again plans that failed in Southland last season owing to the continuous wet weather. THE FIRST ROUND OF THE APIARY.

I would remind beekeepers in the south of the , need in the first spell of settled w r eather to look into every hive and get into close touch with every colony. This is the time when, if bees are short of food, they drop out very quickly. Brood rearing is now going on fast, and consequently the consumption of stores is large. Not only should bees be kept alive, but there should be sufficient inducement for them to continue spreading their brood and rearing young bees to take the place of the old winter bees, which do not Have a long life in the spring. The instinct of the bees tells them when .they must curtail the work of the queen, and this they will do very much against the interest of the beekeeper, who wants during spring, not honey, but l>ees. Should there be a few queenless colonies, these almost surely will have used very little of their stores. Most of the bees, like the queen, will be gone, and as the few remaining are of no value th'ey can be shaken from the combs and the combs used where most needed. This supply, however, will not go far, and feeding must be done, and done without stint. Only the colonies that require it should be fed, and these in such a way as not to stir up the cupidity of the others, and also so as to prevent the bees getting the idea that there is a field supply. It is too early in the season for that in the south. Put the feeder into the hive where required, and mark the hive. Then at sundown mix the feed—equal parts of hot water and sugar, or, better still, two of sugar to one oj water, —and feed into the feeders all that they will hold at one time. The bees will rush out in their excitement when the feed is given, but as the darkness comes on they will quieten down, and in the morning will be quite quiet again. Were this done through the day the colonies that did not need food wouM participate in the excitement, and find out where the food was, and, being stronger than the colonies that were being fed, would probably get a good share of the syrup. In the early part of the season the beekeeper’s aim should be to get these supplies where required as quietly as possible, to get as large quantities fed as quickly as he can, and then to stop. If need be, later he should go at it again. It is this reauirement that makes the feeding of combs of sealed honey so much more satisfactory than using sugar syrup, and it is here that the American idea of a food-chamber would. be invaluable.!