THE APIARY.

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume XXXIX, Issue 1, 20 July 1929, Page 61

THE APIARY.

PREPARATIONS FOR THE NEW SEASON.

During the dormant season every spare moment should be spent in making preparations for the next- season’s work. All defective supers, roofs, and bottom-boards should be overhauled, .and where necessary given a good coat of paint. This • work,, if delayed, is apt to interfere with the main work in the apiary when the bees are calling for special attention, and should not be postponed.

If it is desired to increase the apiary, hive and frame making should be pushed on, and ample provision made for increase before the actual time arrives for putting preconceived plans into operation. Where the beekeeper does not make his own hives he should now order sufficient stocks to see him through the season. In the majority of cases it does , not pay him to make his own appliances. Hive-manufacturing in the Dominion has been brought to a .high standard, and unless the apiarist has ample capital to purchase machinery to turn out good hives he will find the home-made article too costly in the long-run. Whether the beekeeper is working, on a small or large scale, he should . aim at uniformity, and in building up an apiary decide at the beginning on the style of hive and frame he is going to use, and continue on those lines. Non-fitting supers and frames mean extra labour, and lead to endless trouble. The sizes in use are mostly ten- and twelveframe, and experience of his district will enable the beekeeper to decide as to the best one to adopt.

To meet those cases where cost is a consideration, a durable frame hive which will comply with the provisions of the Apiaries Act can be made out of a petrol-case. Petrol-cases are obtainable for a few pence, and can be readily converted by any one handy with tools. A kerosene-case may also be used, . but it will be found necessary to reinforce it, so' that the petrol-case is the handier. Particulars of a cheap home-made hive are given in the Department’s Bulletin No. 128, “ Beekeeping.”

Overhauling the hives : As advised last month, all supers should be removed and the bees confined to the brood-chamber. This will keep the bees snug and promote brood-rearing, and at the same time facilitate the work of giving the hives their first spring overhaul. During the course of the winter there is usually an accumulation of pollen, dead bees, &c., on the bottom-boards, and consequently the latter require cleansing. All operations at this period should be carried out quickly as a safeguard against robbing. To cleanse the bottom-board a spare one should be brought into use. Set the hive temporarily on the spare board, while scraping and cleansing the permanent one, . then replace the hive on its permanent stand. See that the hives have a slight cant towards the entrance. This will prevent moisture settling on the bottomboard, which is apt to cause the death of a considerable number of bees, besides making the hive damp and unwholesome.

SPRING WORK.

During August, whenever the temperature will allow, the colonies may be given their first examination. It is highly important that this work should not be postponed until brood-rearing has started in earnest, more especially in cases where ample stores were not left to carry the bees over early stages of this important function. Delay in making an examination may lead to spring losses, and nothing is more annoying than to find colonies dead through neglect to provide sufficient stores. Usually. a colony’s requirements are attended to in the late autumn, when the apiarist endeavours to gauge the amount of • food requisite to carry the bees through the winter and spring periods. It may happen, however, that mild weather is experienced, when the drain on the stores to feed the young bees, if not supplemented, will reduce a colony to starvation. Nothing should be left to chance during the critical months of spring, and no effort spared to see that each individual colony has sufficient food to meet current demands. Colonies which contain 15 lb. to 20 lb. of honey may be left, until a later examination. If the hives contain less they should be watched closely and preparation made for feeding. See Bulletin No. 128, page 27, regarding the spring feeding of bees.

QUEEN-RIGHT COLONIES.

The most important factor in a colony’s condition is its queen. Advantage should be taken of the first examination to see that the queen is all right. If a colony is in normal condition as regards strength and stores there should be fair-sized patches of brood in the centre frames, but this is not sufficient to determine that the colony is queen-right. The cells adjacent to the brood should be quickly examined for eggs, which are the only indication that the queen is present. If neither brood nor eggs are found, then shelve the question of the colony being queenless till about ten days later. At each examination make a note of each hive and its condition for future reference. —E. A. Earp, Senior Apiary Instructor, Wellington.