THE APIARY.

Otago Witness, Issue 4048, 13 October 1931, Page 11

THE APIARY.

BEES AND THE FRUITGROWER. Experienced orchardists have concluded that it pays to have bees among the trees at the rate of two or three hives an acre. They are said to be helpful in transferring pollen from one variety of tree to another and in that way effecting the cross-fertilisation of the fruit blossoms.

Referring to the matter recently, the expert of the New South Wales Department of Agriculture supported the contention that bees increased the quantity and quality of fruit, and remarked that the advisableness of associating an apiary with the orchard should not be disregarded. In addition- to being directly beneficial to the crops, he pointed out that the honey obtained would compensate for the expense and labour. Outlining the suggestion, he said that the site of the apiary need not be in the orchard. A situation adjoining where the inmates of the hives were not likely to be disturbed during orchard operations was suitable. “As a subsidiary industry to orcharding, beekeeping is one of the most suitable, since the hives do not require daily attention, though there are times when piompt attention is necessary, as during swarming or when additional super space is required. It is also necessary for the beekeeper to understand his bees, to get generally acquainted with their traits under certain conditions, and to study the order of the hive-within.” PREVENTION OF SWARMING. Frequent examinations of the colonies—every week or ten days during the swarming season—for the purpose of cutting out queen cells is a help; but this requires considerable work, and, since it frequently fails in spite of every care, it is not usually relied on (says Senior ApiaryInstructor Earp in the Journal of Agriculture). The occurrence of swarming is largely due to overcrowded brood chambers; hence the queen should be given plenty of room to lay. A suitable plan is to give a new brood chamber comprising two drawn combs and the rest frames of foundation. Secure the queen and confine her in this new- chamber below a queen excluder, placing the old brood nests directly above, thus giving additional work for the young bees and plenty of room for the queen to lay in. If for some reason this plan is not desirable the brood may be equalised by robbing the stronger colonies for the benefit of the weaker.

A young queen in the hive is an outstanding factor of success, as bees are rarely inclined to swarm with a young queen if they have reared her themselves under natural conditions. This feature, however, is not always satisfactory to the beekeeper, as he frequently buys young queens in large numbers from a queen breeder. He still has to contend against the swarming impulse, although in a lesser degree. A beekeeper rearing bis own stock should select not only prolific queens to produce from, but those that have previously shown the least tendenev to swarm. There are also other reasons w-hy young queens should be employed, and the practice of introducing them in the spring before the swarming season commences, at intervals of not longer than two years, is a very excellent one. Autumn introduction is also commendable, as the full tide of a queen’s maturity is gained from the commencement of the following spring. In order to follow the lives of the mothers as closely as possible and to avoid mistakes some svstem of recording the various ages must be employed. In addition, notes should be taken of their general behaviour, such as tendency to swarm, prolificness, and gentleness. Such notes will prove of great value in selecting a mother of future queens. A entilation also plays an important part in controlling the natural inclination to swarm, and care should be taken to provide sufficient- air at all times of the season. A well-known and effective method is to place blocks lin high under the two front corners of the brood chamber. In the very flush of the honey flowadditional ventilation may he given by drawing one of the supers forward over the rest. This forms two additional entrances and permits the workers to escape to the field without without having to traverse the whole depth of the hive. No single system will be found universally effective. Climatic conditions also frequently play an important part in the behaviour of bees. It will be found, however, that the methods here given, or variations of the same, employed either singly or in combination, will materially assist in the prevention of swarming.

PREVENTION OF AFTERSWARMING.

In many cases a prime or first swarm is desirable, and in others the bees often issue in spite of all precautions. It is a simple matter to hive the swarm, but to combat the results in the parent colonyarising from this condition entails special action. Persistent after-swarming is one of the discouraging features of natural increase and i s often hard to stop. A good plan is to place the swarm on the old location, removing the parent colony to a new stand some distance away. The immediate result is for all the flying bees to join the swarm, and thus the parent colony is still further weakened. This encourages them to tear down all queen cells but one, or to destroy all embryo queens after the first young queen has emerged from her cell. TREATMENT OF SWARMS. PROVIDING SUPERS. There is little doubt in the minds of many beekeepers who have been accustomed to box hives as to the surplus to be obtained from a swarm. It is not uncommon to find swarms put into frame hives and not provided with room for surplus. Unless supers are given to strong early swarms from 10 to 15 days after they are established, these colonies will often swarm again and no surplus will be obtained. It must be understood that

the season plays an important part in the returns netted, but large amounts are yearly lost through neglect to give ample room for the swarm to store honey, tv hen a swarm has been established a tew days a hurried examination should be made to note progress, and from this the beekeeper will be able to form some idea as to the time at which the super will be required.