THE APIARY.

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume XV, Issue 3, 20 September 1917, Page 168

THE APIARY.

E. A. EARP,

Apiary Instructor.

SEASONAL PREPARATION.

October .is perhaps the month when the apiarist can do most to help his bees to work up to full strength in time for the main honey-flow. In the warmer parts of the country swarms may be looked for about the middle of the month, but in the southern districts they 'will probably riot : appear :until three :■ or four weeks later. By ist October, unless the weather for some weeks has been , cold and wet every hive should ■ have been examined, and its condition noted with regard to stores, population, and health. No colony should be allowed to dwindle because it has not sufficient food to provide for the offspring of a prolific queen. Yet, on the other , hand, some beekeepers prefer that all. the old honey in the hive should be used up before the new

season's flow commences. The food-supply of the hive is sometimes an exceedingly puzzling matter, as it varies considerably in accordance with the weather and . the strength of the colony, and only periodical and systematic examinations can settle the question as to whether all is well with the hives in this respect. No harm can be done by feeding good white-sugar syrup, but a hive which is starved in the spring will probably not recover its strength till the main honey-flow is nearly over. By the middle of October, under normal weather conditions, every hive should have at least four frames of sealed brood,’and many will have more. Those that have fewer, unless their food-supply is very short, should be marked for requeening as soon as possible. The apiarist’s endeavour should be to keep his colonies as even as possible, thereby obtaining a uniform surplus throughout the apiary. Wherever there is a fair yield of nectar from spring flowers the beekeeper would do well to take advantage of the warm days of the month ,to treat any cases of disease which he may have noted earlier in the spring. However, no hard-and-fast rule can be laid down in this, matter, everything depending on locality and weather conditions. In some districts it would be almost suicidal for the beekeeper to treat his bees in October ; in others, where right conditions prevail, it may be carried out with ease and safety, and the bees 'brought into good condition by the time a surplus may be expected. Wherever treatment has been undertaken the colonies should be watched in order to see that there is no danger of starvation, and where the spring flow is not considered heavy enough it should be supplemented by liberal feeding. '

HIVING SWARMS.

In most text-books on beekeeping this kind of advice is given : “ When a swarm settles into a cluster take a light box and shake the bees into it,’’ &c. ‘ This advice is all right where the bees are accommodating enough to settle into a convenient position for the . shaking process to be carried out. Unfortunately, in many cases bees get'.into positions whence it is impossible to dislodge them so easily. Sometimes they will settle on a small bush, and much of the cluster will be on the ground. In this case probably the. best thing to do is to. place the box over the cluster, and if the bees do not show much disposition to climb up into the box they may be persuaded to do so by the use of a little smoke. When they cluster in the centre of a prickly hedge the box should be placed on one side of the hedge and .the beekeeper should puff smoke from the other side of the hedge, and thereby drive the bees towards the box. In the event of the swarm taking possession of a fencing-post and clustering on it from top to bottom, as they occasionally do, the smoker must again be used, and in addition it is as well to brush the bees from each side of the post in turn into , the swarm-box, with the brush which is used for the frames at extractingtime. .. .-

The usual practice is to leave the box. sheltered from the sun and covered with, a sack near the place where the swarm has settled. . Where few hives are kept this may be done with impunity, but if other swarms are expected it is well to remove the box to the place where the. colony is to stand permanently, otherwise before the close of the day the probabilities are very largely in favour of the box being taken -possession

of by three or four other swarms—a matter of annoyance to the man who wishes to keep his swarms separate. In every case a swarm should be attended to as soon as it settles. Many people are under the impression that swarms should be left undisturbed till nightfall, but this idea is an erroneous one. They should invariably be placed in the box as soon as possible after the cluster is formed, and put so that they are sheltered from the rays of the sun.

WATER-SUPPLY.

One of the most important of the minor details of apiculture is the provision of a constant water-supply for the purpose of assisting the bees in brood-rearing. Not only is it necessary to conserve the energy of the bees by having the water close at hand, but it is well to ensure that they do not prove a nuisance at taps, cattle-troughs, &c. From early spring till late autumn water is an absolute necessity to bees, and they will consume comparatively immense quantities in fine weather. It thus behoves the beekeeper to see that a liberal supply is always available. By establishing his drinking-fountain early in the season he will teach the bees where to go for supplies, and ensure their always seeking the same spot for water.

WHEN TO START AN APIARY.

One of the questions most frequently asked by the would-be beekeeper is, “ When should I start beekeeping ? ” Probably no time is better than when the bees are swarming. If the beginner procures a good prime swarm, leaves it in a clean box for three days, and then hives it in a new hive, on new frames, with full sheets of foundation, he has made the best start it is possible to make in beekeeping. The leaving of the swarm in a box for three days is purely a preliminary measure in case there is any disease in the apiary from which the swarm is procured. By the end of. three days the bees will have consumed the honey they brought from their old home, and at the same time have disposed of the foul-brood germs (which are innocuous to the adult bee), and be ready and willing to be transferred to their permanent home to start brood-rearing in earnest. As the bees will have become used to their box by the end of three days, it is as well to carry out the transfer with care. It should be done at sundown on the third day. The hive should be placed in position, a clean sack spread over the alighting-board and surrounding ground, and the hive-body raised from the bottom-board about an inch or so by means of a stone or piece of wood. The box should be firmly grasped with both hands, inverted over the sack as near the hive as possible, and the bees dumped with a brisk movement on to the alighting-board. One shake will dislodge the greater part of the cluster, and the few remaining bees can easily be shaken out and the box taken away. Be sure the queen is out of the swarm-box, and the bees will crawl in a steady stream into the entrance —their progress becoming more rapid as soon as the queen has entered the hive. When the queen is safely inside, the hive body should be lowered and the entrance slightly contracted. It is advisable to place a feeder inside the hive. Even if the weather is good and a fair supply of nectar available a few pints of

good warm , syrup fed for a day or two after hiving will work magic with the new colony, and .enable it to build up in time to yield a surplus when the main flow sets in. . i The beginner should always start in the spring, and on no account should he attempt to commence with established colonies unless they are purchased from a breeder who guarantees his bees to be clean. Old hives are too apt to be homes of disease, and are only fit to be handled by the experienced apiarist.