THE APIARY.

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume XXVII, Issue 4, 20 October 1923, Page 267

THE APIARY.

FEEDING AS A SAFEGUARD.

In many districts there is a distinct break in the honey-flow from the cessation of the willow and fruit bloom until the clover makes its appearance. It is during this period that the bees must be carefully watched, not only to see that they are not dying of starvation, but also to provide for a sufficient increase in young bees which will develop into field workers by the time the main honey-flow arrives. Gently stimulative feeding is the best course to adopt at this period. The quantity of syrup fed will depend largely upon the strength of the hives. If feeding has to be resorted to the 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, and will be the means of keeping the colonies strong in brood and bees. The invariable rule should be observed always to feed in the evening and inside the hive.

VENTILATION.

No set time can be given for increasing the size of the entrances, but the action of the bees should be noted. If where the entrances to the hives were contracted in the autumn to prevent the intrusion of mice they have not been already widened, they should be attended to at once. Proper ventilation during the working season is an important item in bee-management, as it relieves large

numbers of workers from the duties of fanning during the hot weather. In extreme cases it may be necessary to elevate the hive-body by placing i in. blocks between it and the bottom-board. This should be sufficient to meet all requirements.

SUPERING.

Preparations should be well in hand for enlarging the. hives. ' This may be done when the brood-chamber is getting full of bees, and the operation should be carried out in mild, weather. Do not wait until the bees are cramped for room, but anticipate their wants and add supers when they are required.' Where drawn-out combs are used no trouble will be experienced in inducing the bees to enter the supers. It often happens that no combs are available, in which case sheets of foundation must be used ; but the bees will not always take readily to these unless there is a’ good flow of honey coming in, and a little encouragement will have to be given to induce them to enter the supers when only foundation is used. Should the bees fail to start work in the supers, elevate one or two frames of honey from the brood-chambers, at the same time inserting in their place sheets of foundation from the super. Do not bring excluders into use at this season, as the bees will rarely work foundation in the supers when they are used. Much time is lost by this practice, and very little honey will be gathered. .

TREATMENT OF FOUL-BROOD.

As advised last month, beekeepers should not fail, to treat all cases of foulbrood as soon as settled weather conditions prevail. Nothing is to be gained by postponing treatment, and the earlier the infected colonies are dealt with the more likelihood there is of their working up to strength for the main crop. Generally the weather is settled enough in the latter part of November for undertaking treatment in all parts of the Dominion, and usually the clover is yielding sufficiently to enable the beekeeper to carry out the work with a minimum amount of feeding.

At every inspection of the hives the condition of the brood should be noted. If any of the capped cells appear to be different from the rest an examination of the cells should be made to ascertain the cause. • The cappings of healthy brood are bright, fresh, and convex in form, whereas'those attacked by foul-brood are darker, - flat, and easily distinguishable from healthy brood by their blackishbrown colour. In the early stages of the disease on opening the cells a gluelike coffee-coloured mass will be noticed, and on the insertion of a splinter of wood the rotten mass will rope out some little distance from the cell. This ropiness is a true test for foul-brood. In the more advanced stage the disease is not so readily detected, because the rotten mass has dried upon the bottom of the cell in the form of a black scale. Generally, Italian bees will open the cells more readily than Blacks and remove the cappings, rendering it much more difficult for the beginner to detect the disease ; but even though the cappings have been entirely removed the. scale is easily detected on the base of the cell by holding the comb so that the light .will pass over the shoulder into the cell. , .

Other indications of the disease in the advanced form are ragged perforations and ' a characteristic bad odour which is emitted. When the odour can be detected on opening up the hive the latter should be destroyed at once, remembering that the treatment of such colonies is only a waste of time, and it is by far the best policy to use drastic measures. When the disease has reduced the condition of the colonies until there are only a few bees left it is useless and dangerous to undertake treatment, and much the safest plan is to destroy the hive and contents as it stands. '

Many new systems of treatment have been put forward, but with little success, and the beginner would be wise to discard any but the McEvoy treatment, which has been successfully used the world over. If it is properly carried out failure' to eradicate foul-brood is almost unknown. When treatment has to be undertaken it should be carried out, if possible, in the evening, when the bees are quiet, there being then less risk of spreading the infection to other clean hives in the apiary. In cases where the hives are close together it is safer to close the entrances of the immediately adjoining hives.

To carry out the treatment prepare a set of frames fitted with narrow strips of foundation, and put these into a clean hive. Shift the diseased hive to one side, and place the hive fitted with these “ starters ” in its place. Remove the combs one by one, and shake and brush the bees into the prepared hive. When

the bees are removed put the diseased combs into a spare super and cover immediately. Remove all parts of the infected hive and combs to a place of safety out of reach of the bees. In four days’ time the operation of removing the “ starters ” must be undertaken, when in their place frames fitted with fresh sheets of foundation are substituted. Shake the bees off each of the starter frames, and insert the frames containing full sheets of foundation. The comb built from the starters must be cut out and melted up. The object of the treatment is to induce the bees to use up the infected honey taken from the old hive, so that when they are given the second shaking they start clean.

It may happen that the bees will swarm out when given the second shaking. To prevent this either cage the queen, or, better still, place a piece of queenexcluder in front of the entrances. This will prevent the queen from leaving, and all will be well.

A further examination should be carried out in three weeks’ time to note the condition of the brood. If disease reappears after treatment do not start tinkering with the brood by cutting out isolated cells. This practice is dangerous, and although often advised is misleading. A much better plan is to remove the entire comb, or, better still, make use of a modified form of the McEvoy method. In place of shaking the bees on to strips of foundation 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 twenty-four hours the comb can be removed and a frame containing a sheet of foundation put in its place. This operation should be performed' quickly and quietly, 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.

Treated colonies : If bad weather sets in a strict watch should be kept over treated colonies to prevent them from starving out. Feed sugar-syrup in the proportion of four of water to one of sugar. Feeding should be kept up until the bees are gathering nectar freely. '

— E. A. Earp,

Senior Apiary Instructor.