Part 3

During the past season I conducted some experiments in feeding clear honey and clear sugar syrup while cell-building was going on. The results of my experiments clearly show that sugar syrup with some honey is just as good to feed bees in queen-rearing as the best honey. This fact I could not believe until I had made the above experiment; therefore it will be seen that food has no influence whatever on the quality of the queens reared. Other conditions and circumstances do have a positive influence on the embryo queens; large colonies, thousands of young bees, plenty of stores of both honey and pollen, and then when the colony is put in fine condition for queen-rearing, the result is fine queens. Observe all these conditions if success is desired.

THE QUEEN NURSERY AND HOW TO USE IT

One would naturally think that when a lot of ripe queen-cells are at hand the thing to do would be to form nuclei for the reception of the cells or young queens. It is not so in my case. I never allow queens to hatch in nuclei. My reasons for this are many. I like to secure a large number of queens, say 50 or 100, and critically examine each one to see that they are all right before making up nucleus colonies.

All of my queens are hatched in nurseries and in such cages as illustrated in fig. 6. The size of these cages is such that 35 of them just fill one standard Langstroth frame having a thin top bar. These cages are sawed and fitted so nicely that they will stay in the frame without fastenings of any kind.

It will be seen that there are two holes in the edge of the cage. One is for a queen-cell, the other for a small piece of sponge which is filled with honey slightly diluted with water. The water prevents the sponge drying too quickly and the honey furnishes food for the young queens some two weeks. When the cages are ready, and the cells in them, a frame is filled and then is placed in the center of a large colony of bees, and between two full combs of brood. This sort of hive-incubator works splendidly and in the course of 48 hours all the young queens will be hatched out, when the nursery should be removed and placed in a queenless colony or in a colony nursing unhatched queens.

Before any young queens are introduced they should be closely examined, and if any are found not up to the standard, or in any way inferior, they should be destroyed. If any cells containing inferior queens are given nucleus, or inferior queens introduced, and not looked after until they have been in the hive long enough to become fertile, it will be found that much valuable time has been lost. I cannot afford to take such chances, therefore I want to see and examine all queens before giving them to colonies.

The above is one of the reasons why I use a queen nursery; another reason is that each nursery cage is equal to a nucleus colony.

My plan has always been to have queens ready to give nuclei in three days after removing a laying queen. That is as soon as a virgin queen can safely be introduced in such cases.

The queen nursery is one of the most valuable implements any queen breeder can have in his apiary. Nothing has ever been devised that equals its usefulness. I surely could not rear and ship the large number of queens I do every year without using a nursery, or going to the expense of running double the number of nucleus colonies to take the places of the nursery cages. The nursery saves about one half the expense in money and bees, as well as much labor. I not only use the nursery for virgin queens and cell-hatching, but for keeping a supply of fertile queens all through the season.

The nursery illustrated in fig. 7 is of an old pattern, takes but 18 cages and accommodates only as many queens.

FORMING NUCLEI

This part of queen-rearing reminds me of the remark made by Mr. S. M. Locke when he returned to Wenham after spending two or three seasons with D. A. Jones and J. H. Nellis, both of whom were engaged largely in the queen-rearing business.

I made up a lot of nuclei while Mr. L. looked on and saw my way of doing such things. “Well,” says Mr. L., “I never saw nuclei made up in such a quick and easy way!” My way may be better than some others do it. I plan to do all my work in the easiest and quickest way. I find no time to waste in the queen-rearing business.

In forming nucleus colonies I will first give a way that all must practice when starting in on queen-rearing. All my nucleus hives, or boxes, are the same as is illustrated in fig. 1. I like this style far better than any I have ever tried. Always have had the best of success in getting queens fertilized in them, and, in fact, never have had any trouble with these hives in any way. Some people suppose, and naturally enough too, that where these little colonies are kept in the same yard with strong colonies, that much robbing would be going on. It is not so, and I never have had any robbing in my apiary. No good bee-keeper, it seems to me, so does his work in the apiary that robbing is induced. Of course when putting up queens the nuclei must be opened in the middle of the day. Sometimes robbers come around to see what is going on. The work of removing a queen is quickly performed and if strange bees appear the hive is closed; that is, combs replaced, cover put on and a handful of grass is thrown against the entrance. While the bees of the colony can find their way out of and into the hive, no strange bee dares to try to enter.

If I were about to start in queen-rearing I would form nuclei in about this way: Rather than destroy the nice straight combs of a standard hive I would just look around the country for some box-hives. I really love to go through those back-number things; they are an eye-sore to me.

Take the hive into the bee-room and treat the bees same as in case of getting “bees for cell-building.”

Take off side of hive, cut out the combs and brush all the bees from them into a hive-cap. When all are out dump the bees into the box used for confining bees for queen-rearing. Next move is to cut the combs into the little frames. After first nailing screens to cover entrance to the hives in such a way that the bees will have plenty of fresh air, the boxes should each have three combs put in them. One of the combs should be brood, the others may be brood, honey, etc. One comb of honey may be put in after the bees are in.

Have at hand all the covers so they can be put on quickly after the bees are put in.

We return now to the bees in the confining box, and all is in readiness for dividing them up in pint lots among the hives.

Next step is to get the bees in condition to be handled without flying while they are being doled out to the several hives. Blow tobacco smoke among them until they seem quiet. Now this does not mean to keep up a flow of smoke until the bees drop to the bottom of the box. Use but little smoke at any time, or until the bees stop running about the box. In the course of 5 or 10 minutes they will be ready to handle. Strike the bees down into the bottom of the box by dropping it on the floor. With a light measure (tin one is best) holding about a pint and having a handle several inches long, divide the bees among the nucleus hives in nearly equal parts as possible. If the bees have been put in the right condition by the tobacco, they can be handled just about the same as so many beans.

Of course there will be a queen to look up. However, this is an easy matter. Rather than spend the time to look her up she is allowed to go in with the bees. When the nuclei are formed, the bees in the hive in which the queen happens to be will be found more quiet than those that have no queens. Unless I have some use for such a queen she is allowed to remain with the bees and build up a prosperous colony; that is, prosperous for such a small hive.

Sometimes I have as many as half a dozen queens caged in my bee-room. They are placed on the bottom sash of the window and all the bees in the room collect and cluster on the cages, attracted and held there a long time by the queens. The bees feed and otherwise take good care of them.

Another way to do, and a thing I often do is this: I sometimes purchase bees in box-hives, transfer the combs and then put bees and combs in a hive that takes 13 of the frames, using two sections for a large colony. The 26 combs give a large amount of breeding room and such a colony very quickly builds up to a large and prosperous one. Such a hive is illustrated in fig. 8.

The bees thus treated soon repair the combs and get into fine condition to be transferred to the small hives. When nuclei are formed as above, they should be kept confined in the hives from 24 to 48 hours before being released, then remove the screens at night when too late for bees to fly. The next morning the colony will be found ready for business.

By this time the bees will have more or less queen-cells, or cell-cups started, and fully reconciled to the new state of things, and only a few of the older bees will return to the stand they had previously occupied.

The only thing that can be done with these hives is to set them on the ground in any place in the apiary. Still, it is a good idea to take them away from home for several weeks when they may be returned to the home yard and no bees would return to the old location.

I sometimes have several queen-rearing yards two miles apart where my nuclei are kept during the entire season—several hundred nucleus colonies are made up and at once taken away and in this way our apiaries are established, but for nuclei only.

If more convenient to do so bees may be brought from a distance for forming nucleus colonies, and when this method is practiced the bees can be placed in the home yard. This plan works nicely as I have found when forming nuclei.

INTRODUCING QUEENS

We have now come to one of the most interesting parts of apiculture, and that part of queen-rearing that has been the cause of much trouble and a great deal of discussion for many years. When it comes to the introduction of queens, either fertile or unfertile, nearly all bee-keepers, whether experts or novices, are all at sea.

In the case of introducing unfertile queens, one thing should be kept in mind, namely, the older the virgin queen the more difficult and dangerous it is to safely introduce them. Virgin queens, so far as bees are concerned, cease to be “baby” queens when they are three days old; after that it is very difficult to introduce them, though I have no trouble in introducing them successfully by using tobacco smoke.

I cannot say which is the most difficult to introduce, virgin or fertile queens. It requires in either case some little experience in order to be successful. Some times bees will destroy a strange queen even when she is introduced under the most favorable conditions. No one can introduce a virgin queen successfully unless the bees to receive her have been queenless at least three days.

In all my experience I have practiced but one method of introducing queens. It is what I term the three-day plan. I seldom lose a queen by it. No doubt other bee-keepers have as good methods of introducing queens as I have. But the first and last queens I have introduced were by the system given below. I cannot think of giving up a sure thing for something I know nothing about.

HOW TO INTRODUCE VIRGIN QUEENS

My plan is to let colonies, whether full stocks or nucleus, remain queenless three days, or not far from 72 hours. Then just before dark the queens are given the bees by this process: I generally have from 25 to 50 virgin queens to introduce at one time. The cages are placed in a convenient box having a handle. Then as many plantain leaves as there are queens to introduce are pulled and put in the box ready for use. These leaves are for closing the entrance to each hive in which queens are to be placed. Armed with the pipe before mentioned, all is in readiness for introducing the queens. The feeder used at the top of the hive is removed, a good dose of smoke is blown in among the bees and combs. The feeder replaced until the stopper in the cage is removed, and then the queen by a quick motion is thrown out and into the feeder hole. Then the feeder is again quickly put in position, and no further attention is given the bees.

I have introduced successfully as many as fifty virgin queens in thirty minutes.

The art of introducing unfertile queens requires more experience to be successful than it does to introduce fertile queens. In fact, one must be very apt, possess a good deal of tact, and I can almost say, must be very scientific. However, most any bee-keeper can learn how to perform such work successfully. One may read how others do these things, but practical knowledge, in order to know all the little details of such intricate and delicate work as introducing queens can only be had by long practice and experience. Just how much tobacco smoke to give the bees when introducing a queen is a point that requires more or less practice and good judgment.

I never have been so unfortunate as to give bees too much smoke at such times. Am not certain that bees can be killed by tobacco smoke if they can get fresh air soon after smoking them. The effect of the smoke soon passes off and the bees resume a normal condition.

Bear in mind that unless the work of introducing queens by using tobacco is done very late in the day, or on some cool day when bees cannot fly very much, your apiary will be ruined, as robbing may be induced. Tobacco smoke puts the bees in such a condition they cannot defend their stores from robber bees, and once robbing is commenced among the small nuclei it is almost impossible to stop it. Should such a thing happen it would be necessary to remove the entire nuclei to a distant location.

INTRODUCING FERTILE QUEENS

It requires some experience and practice to introduce fertile queens. Allow all full colonies to be queenless three days before giving them a strange queen. Even a queen removed from a colony but twenty-fours, if returned would be received as a strange queen. Now when the colony has been queenless seventy-two hours, give the bees tobacco smoke and let the queen in; or allow the bees to eat the candy-food out and liberate her. The smoke from a cigar or pipe will do to introduce fertile queens, but not virgin queens.

Never put a queen near the bees of a colony she is to be given to until ready to introduce her. Many make this mistake. Toward dark is the time to introduce queens whether or not tobacco is used. Certainly this has been my experience.

In introducing queens by using tobacco it is not necessary to give the bees a powerful dose of smoke. Give enough smoke so that the bees will feel the effects of it pretty well. The tobacco sort of odorizes the combs, bees and queen, so that all are scented alike. When the bees recover from the effects of the smoke they really don’t remember whether they were ever without a queen, so they take kindly to the new queen and no trouble ensues.

I once tried a “chew” of tobacco. Was on my way to school. In a short time I didn’t care whether school kept or not, in fact, I hardly knew anything about it I was so sick. That was my first and last “chew” of tobacco. Now I imagine the bees feel somewhat in that way when they are made sick by tobacco.

Bees cannot be killed by tobacco if they are given the air. The plantain leaves by which the entrance hole is stopped is thrown out, or so loosened before the next morning that the bees get all the air they need. One passing by the hives in which queens were introduced the previous evening cannot discover that such work was done by any indications about the hive or bees.

OBJECTIONABLE DRONES; HOW TO CATCH AND DESTROY

If black bees, hybrid bees, or, in fact any bees that are to be used in queen-rearing have undesirable drones among them they can be easily caught and destroyed. The most effective way of doing this is when the bees are put to work building queen-cells. My way of doing it is as follows: At the time the hive for cell-building is prepared and is ready to place over the bees as given on page 23, a metal division-board is put on the box and then the hive containing the prepared strips, combs, etc., is quickly placed on the metal. Nearly all the worker bees at once go up into the box above, leaving the drones below.

In placing the bees on the stand it is not necessary to use smoke of any kind. First, place a bottom-board in position and quietly raise the box containing the bees, letting the rear end strike the bottom-board in such a way that the combs will not be disturbed and gradually lowering the hive so as not to crush any bees.

The box of drones may be so placed against the front end of the bottom-board that all the young bees, if any are left in the box, may run out, leaving the drones below the metal to perish.

Just such a frame as is used for the wire screen cover may be used to nail the metal to, as the entire top of the box should be covered in order to catch all the drones.

How to catch and destroy drones in full colonies will be explained under the head of “Drone and Queen-traps.”

DESCRIPTION OF QUEEN-CELL FRAME

In my early experience in rearing queens I used combs in standard L frames to attach the strips of comb containing the eggs for queen-cells. While such an arrangement worked well in 3-frame nucleus colonies, there are disadvantages in so doing when used in full colonies and by my present system of queen-rearing; therefore I adopted the all-wood frame and in combination with the wood-strips as shown in fig. 5 and it works nicely.

The frame is a standard L style into which are nailed two pieces of wood A A. There are four notches cut in on the inner edges two inches a part, into which the four pieces of wood are placed and are thus held firmly in position.

By examining the queen-cells illustrated in fig. 5, it will be seen that they are long and pointed, also very heavily waxed and corrugated. They do not much resemble the row of queen-cells lately illustrated in one of the bee-papers.

The heavy waxing and large, long cells are the strongest indications that such cells contain very hardy and perfect queens. Fig. 9 illustrates a perfect queen-cell, while fig. 10 shows a queen-cell that always contains inferior queens.

Queen-cells that are short, blunt-end, thin-walled and thinly waxed, as shown in fig. 10, contain very inferior queens, and all such cells should be destroyed. They are just such queen-cells as bees make when they have a queen of any kind in the hive.

The cells shown in fig. 5 were built in a powerful queenless colony late in September, 1902, and were the last lot of cells built in my apiary that season, consequently not as many cells were built as would have been the case had the season not been quite so far advanced, yet the number of cells are as many as the strongest colony of bees should be allowed to build or finish up from the 24-hour cell-cups. The mistake many queen-breeders make is in permitting one colony of bees to build so many cells in one batch.

A colony that has cast a swarm seldom leaves over eight or ten queen-cells. In rearing queens it seems to me the breeder might be governed somewhat as to the number of cells a colony should build by the judgment of the bees when working as Nature designed them to work. However, bees do not do things as we think they should, therefore many try to improve matters, and I freely admit that I think in some cases man has made the bees do many good things they would not have done had they not been compelled to, or been assisted to do in their work.

For instance, let us take up the way bees construct queen-cells when left to do it in their way, or, in the natural way. Fig. 11 illustrates how bees build queen-cells when they have their way in the matter. Now how can cells built in that manner be cut out without destroying many of them? It cannot be done. The cells are built in a cluster and all fastened to each other. Some of them could be patched up as described on another page, and many good queens would be reared. The very best queens are produced by the cells built as shown in the cluster, nevertheless. Fig. 12 illustrates the improved way of compelling bees to construct queen-cells. It will be seen that all the seven cells can be separated without destroying any of them when necessary to cut them out to place in the nursery or in nuclei.

TRANSFERRING CELLS TO NUCLEI OR TO THE QUEEN-NURSERY

As queen-cells are now built so that they are easily cut out and separated without destroying any of them, the work of transferring them to nuclei or to the queen-nursery is not difficult, nor does it require much time or labor to complete the work. Put all the cells in the nursery and allow them to hatch and then after selecting the best queens introduce them to nucleus colonies prepared as given on another page. Sometimes there is difficulty in separating all the cells without cutting into the side of a few of them. Excepting the time required to patch them up, no great harm is done.

When the cells are ripe, and that is on the twelfth day from the day the cells were started, remove from the hive, brush the bees from them and at once take them into a warm room, providing the weather is cool, and ’tis most always cool in the months of May and June.

The knife used to separate the cells should be very thin, sharp and warm. If a cell is cut into, just take a piece of thin foundation, slightly warm it, place it over the aperture and at once smooth it down with a warm knife so that it will be perfectly air-tight, if not so done, the queen might not hatch out, and she certainly would not if she is not within six hours of being ready to. If a patched cell is given to a nucleus colony, and not made perfectly air-tight, the bees would quickly destroy it. Bees will not accept any inferior work about queen-cells. Perfection is their motto. Nevertheless, I sometimes think bees lack in judgment in many things; such for instance as in destroying a fine young queen when they seem badly in need of one. But they lack in judgment very much when they use their stings to their own destruction.

DESCRIPTION OF PIPE FOR BURNING TOBACCO

I have always used tobacco smoke for light handling of bees, but more particularly for introducing queens.

I shall state here that for general use in the apiary tobacco is not the thing to burn. Doing light work and temporary use the tin pipe can be made to work all right. As I am constantly working in my queen-rearing apiary, I find tobacco smoke much the handiest, as well as the most convenient.

I do not wish any reader to think I recommend the filthy weed because I am a tobacco fiend. Although I have used the vile stuff in my apiary more than forty years, I have not been able to acquire the tobacco habit. So it will be seen that in order for me to use tobacco about my bees, I must have some special device to burn the stuff in.

I devised the pipe illustrated in fig. 13 many years ago. Body of pipe is about 6 inches long × ⅞ in. in diameter and made of tin. At each end is a wooden stopper, one a mouth piece, the other has a ¼ in. tin tube running through it and projecting about an inch beyond the wood through which the smoke is directed among the bees.

The pipe is filled with fine, dry tobacco, and is lighted by placing the small tube in the mouth and puffing away the same as any old smoker does when he puts fire to his old T. D. When the pipe is well fired up, the mouth piece is put in and all that is needed to break up a town meeting is to blow the breath through the pipe.