THE APIARY.

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume XIII, Issue 5, 20 November 1916, Page 406

THE APIARY.

E. A. EARP,

Apiary Instructor.

NUCLEUS HIVES. During the summer months every attention should be paid to raising a stock of young queens to replace old and failing ones. To buy new queens each successive season is too expensive, and with a little attention and care good queens can be raised by the beekeeper in his own yard. An apiary should be requeened each year, and queens should not be tolerated for more than two seasons at the most. In the long-run it is the queens that tell in the production of big crops, and unless the beekeeper hakes the trouble to requeen in the summer only a small percentage of the stocks will yield a surplus.

In order to facilitate the work of queen-rearing a few nucleus colonies should be run in conjunction with every apiary. In these small colonies queens can be raised and cared for until they are mated and laying. It is an easy matter once the queens are laying to transfer them to the larger hives in the apiary. Perhaps no branch of - apiculture receives less attention than the production of young queens ; and yet if the beekeepers who get the big crops of honey are asked what counts most in their production the reply is invariably “ young queens.” In New Zealand it has been proved over and over again that the best' months for raising queens are from November to January. During this period everything is favourable for the operation, as the hives are at their highest state of prosperity. Under normal conditions the workers and drones are at their best, this being the swarming-period.

The best style of nucleus hive to adopt is the four-frame one. This size will give the young queen a chance to lay once she is mated, and will, besides, hold sufficient bees to care for relays of queen-cells throughout the season. To form a nucleus colony take one frame of well-capped brood with adhering bees, and one frame

containing honey and pollen, the remaining space being filled with an empty comb and feeder.. If the number. of . bees on the comb is not sufficient to form a good cluster, one or two frames of young bees may be shaken into the nucleus, this being done to replace the field-bees which return to the old hive. Place the frame of brood in the middle of the hive , and close the entrance until the following day, when the. bees may be released. In the course of a day or two the small colony will settle down, and will then be ready to receive the first queen-cell. - -

No better plan can be followed by the beginner than to utilize queen-cells produced naturally i.e., under the swarming impulse. In removing cells from the hives select the largest and most corrugated ones, and cut well into the combs so as not to injure the queens. Care must be taken not to shake the combs containing the queen-cells, as the sudden jolt jerks the larva from its base and the embryo queen will be destroyed. Before inserting the cell in the nucleus hive be sure and examine the comb, in case eggs were transferred with the frame of brood. Should queen-cells be found, destroy these, and the cell can then be grafted with safety. A hairpin makes an excellent tool for holding the cell in position. If the weather conditions are favourable, the queen should be laying within a week after hatching, ' and when eggs appear in the hive the beekeeper may conclude that she is safely mated. Leave the queen in the nucleus hive until she has proved her laying-capacity, when .she may be taken to replace an old or failing one in the apiary. If more queen-cells are available, which is almost certain to be the case where swarming is in full swing, a ripe one may be inserted to take the place of the young queen, and this can be repeated at intervals until the necessary number of queens is raised. .

It must be left to the beekeeper to regulate the number . of nucleus hives he requires, this depending upon the number of queens to be raised. There are several methods of artificial queenraising, and details of these can be obtained from text-books on the subject.

FOUL-BROOD.

Nothing retards successful beekeeping more than ' the ravages of foul-brood, and if bees are to become profitable every effort must be concentrated on the eradication of this disease. As advised previously, the beekeeper should familiarize himself with the. symptoms, so that he can detect the appearance of the disease in its early stages. No set time can be given for its treatment, but it may be carried out as soon as 1 settled weather sets in and when nectar is being freely gathered. There are many methods of treat-

ing the disease, but none is as effective as the McEvoy plan. Some of the systems practised are extremely dangerous in the hands of the beginner, and he will be wise if he keeps to the McEvoy treatment, which is the best and safest method practised. When treating a colony there should be sufficient bees to form an average-sized swarm. If, however, disease has reduced the colony until there is only a small cluster of bees left, it is advisable..tG destroy the colony, and remove all infected combs and the hive to a place of safety until such time as it can be properly cleansed. Full particulars for the treatment of foul-brood are contained in the Department's Bulletin No. I (New Series), which can be obtained free on application.

A word of caution may be given to the beekeeper in whose colonies disease reappears after treatment. Many beekeepers resort to cutting out the infected cells, and even some text-books advocate this dangerous practice, but it is only tinkering with the disease. Such advice is misleading, and is certainly not effective in eradicating ..the trouble. When diseased cells reappear after treatment by far the safest plan is to make use of a modified form of the McEvoy method. In place of shaking the bees on to strips of foundation or “ starters ” for four days, the bees are shaken on to nine sheets of foundation and an empty “ bone-dry ” comb' this being inserted in the centre of the hive. At the end of twentyfour hours . the comb can be removed, and a frame containing a sheet of. foundation put in its place. This operation should be performed quietly and quickly, with the use of very little smoke. The object of inserting the dry comb in the centre of the hive is to induce the bees to store’the honey which they took from the diseased hive when shaken. When removing the comb this diseased honey is also removed. If carried out with care this treatment will be entirely successful.

STIMULATIVE FEEDING.

• . As advised previously, a constant watch must be kept on the stores in the' hive. During the flow from the willows and fruitbloom brood-rearing is increased enormously, and the stores will rapidly dwindle during the period that follows. In order to keep up the strength of the colonies after the cessation of the fruitbloom artificial feeding should be resorted to until the beekeeper is certain that the clover is yielding nectar. In most districts there is a distinct break between the spring blossom and the clover, and it is not uncommon to find populous hives on the verge of starvation. Hives that are gently stimulated will respond to the treatment, and be in good order to work the main clover crop.

The quantity - of syrup to be fed will depend largely upon the strength of the hives. If stimulative feeding has to be resorted to, sugar syrup may be fed in a less concentrated form than that which is given in the autumn and spring months, the quantity of water being increased. A syrup fed. in the proportion of one of sugar to six of water is all that is required to stimulate the bees and prevent starvation, and will be the means of keeping the colonies strong in brood and bees. It must be remembered it is strong colonies that count in a flow, and no others should be tolerated during the busy season.

EXTRACTING. Preparations for extracting the honey must now be well in hand. In the northern parts of the Dominion, where the flow is much earlier than in the south, operations may have to be commenced towards the latter part of the month. This, however, will depend largely upon the weather prevailing. Usually the main crop is taken in January, but in Southland last season extracting was not in full swing until February, and was not completed till March. The main appliances requisite to successful work are an extractor, uncapping-knives, uncapping-can, and a good tank. It is poor policy to wait until the flow commences before securing the necessary plant. It is not uncommon to find a beekeeper unprepared, and the loss attendant on delay often renders a season’s work unprofitable. The main flow of nectar lasts but a short time, and full advantage must be taken of the short period to secure the largest possible ' return.