THE APIARY.

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume 53, Issue 6, 21 December 1936, Page 376

THE APIARY.

Use of Queen-excluders.

The coming month ..should prove the advantages to be gained by the use of excluders. In the colder districts they are of inestimable value in enabling the beekeeper to finish extracting before the hot weather has altogether, departed. Generally, they should be used only during the main honeyflow. All sealed brood should be raised above the excluder, and the queen

confined in the brood-chamber or drawn-out combs. After a few days the brood in the super should be examined in case queen-cells have been started, as it is almost impossible to find brood-combs which do not contain a few eggs, and the bees often raise queen-cells on brood from which the queen has been separated. The queen continues to lay on the empty combs provided, and, as the brood in the upper story hatches, the combs become filled with honey great boon to the beekeeper who does not wish to extract brood-combs. By delaying the use of excluders till the main flow has started, one of their chief disadvantages—the promotion of excessive swarming largely obviated, as in most localities swarming stops automatically when clover blooms freely. Extracting Operations. By the end of December extracting should be commenced in the warmer parts of the Dominion, though farther south it may not commence till some little time later. The utensils for handling the honey should be thoroughly cleansed and scalded and set up in the position they are to occupy during the season. Everything should be tested to see that it can stand the strain of the season's work. Extracting is such high-pressure work that there is little time to stop for repairs once it commences in earnest. The uncappingknives should be sharpened, strainers fitted with clean cheese-cloth, brakes and. belts inspected, and all. machinery oiled and cleaned so that matters may run smoothly during the few weeks that the main business of the apiary is in progress. • ' ‘ The honey may be extracted as soon as the combs are three parts capped, and the operation repeated two or three times during the season ; in fact, keeping the extractor running from the time the main flow sets in is perhaps the most satisfactory way of dealing with a honey crop, and is to be recommended where there is a possibility of thick honey being gathered. However, in clover districts, when the beekeeper possesses plenty of supers, the honey may be left in the hives till the end of the flow, and all the extracting done at one time. Although this ensures prime, well-ripened honey, it makes the handling of the crop very heavy work, and gives more trouble from robbers, which are always very much in evidence at the end of the season. In addition, in the colder districts heavily supered hives are apt to become chilled during the later part of the summer, and cold honey is much more difficult to extract than warm. , Once the honey leaves the hives it should be handled as cleanly and expeditiously as possible. Two or three zinc trays are a big help in disposing of drips, &c. One placed on the barrow which conveys the supers of combs to the honey-house, and another on the floor of the house to receive the supers prior to uncapping, saves much soiling of clothes. These trays should have small blocks or supports fastened in each corner to raise the supers a little, so that the drippings from burr combs, &c., may be drained away from the bottom edge of the supers. The trays are easily washed at the end of the day and drained dry ready for the next using. The extractor, uncapping-can and honey-tank when not in use. should be kept covered with clean washing covers, and care should be taken that all bees, flies, and other extraneous things are excluded from the honey. From the peculiar nature of honey-production it is impossible to clean utensils day by day as is done with most foodstuffs, and it is imperative that honey be prevented from coming into contact with dirt and foreign substances. Provision of Supers. On no account should the beekeeper neglect to vide, his swarms with storage-room. If the weather is normal, from ten to fifteen days after a strong swarm is hived it should be provided with a super. Not only is this necessary in order to obtain a surplus, but if it is not done the newly created colony will probably swarm again. A swarm is most vigorous and usually

makes more headway than an established colony/and therefore should be encouraged by the provision of ample, room. Many deplete their honey crops considerably by failing to realize the fact that early swarms particularly almost always yield a large surplus in a favourable season. - Ventilation of Hives. : Every care should be taken to provide the bees with plenty of ventilation during the height of the summer. All entrances should be enlarged to their utmost capacity, and, where the bees show a tendency to excessive fanning or clustering out, the hive should be raised from the bottom-board, and any obstruction such, as weeds, grass, &c., cleared away from the entrances. Most important of all, ample room should be provided by means of supers, as the overcrowding of the hive tends to make the bees loaf if it does not produce excessive swarming. Foul-brood. As soon as settled weather sets in the beekeeper should examine carefully his hives for disease, and, if necessary, treat as soon as possible, so as to give his bees a chance to ,gather a surplus from the main flow. On no account should the operation be delayed'until the bees are bringing in large quantities of the nectar that the beekeeper requires for extracting. . The “ shake ” or McEvoy method is the only one advocated, and the combs and frames should be treated and disposed of as soon as possible after the hives are dealt with. - - , ' Queen-raising. The beekeeper should devote all the time he can spare to the important work of replacing old and failing queens, and if his stocks are of good quality he should endeavour to raise as many queens as possible in his own yard. Cells,built . under the swarming impulse are splendid for this purpose, and there are many ways of artificial queen-raising which are to be recommended. All the cells to be hatched should .be given to nucleus hives to. care for ; queen-cells are seldom a success when introduced to full colonies. As soon as the young queens are mated and laying, they should be placed in poor colonies, after killing the old queens, and their places filled by other ripe cells. '' .'■ „ , „ „• . //. . T ■■■ ’ .

—E. A. Earp, Senior Apiary Instructor, Wellington