Part 7

All experienced apiculturists know that no colony of bees thrives, or works so well, as one that is populous at the outset. Should any doubt exist on this point, it is often expedient to unite a second smaller swarm to the first, but this can only be attempted within a few days, before many combs are made, or mischief would result. Our recommendation applies with greater force in a late season, or to the case of second swarms, which are rarely strong enough, separately, to collect sufficient winter stores. Of the mode of proceeding in effecting these junctions we shall hereafter speak, when treating of Uniting Swarms, under the section _Spring Management_.

The plan originally proposed in the Bee-keeper's Manual supposes, as has before been intimated, an arrangement embracing directions for the management of an apiary, "according to the order of the seasons." Our legitimate commencement, therefore, must practically date from the separate existence of the recently established colony; noticing, as we proceed, the various substances stored or used in a hive, and collected more or less abundantly, according to circumstances and season.

Should the weather now be fine, operations are commenced with astonishing activity, the bees being at first solely intent on preparing their new dwelling for its intended objects--the rearing of young, and storing supplies for the future requirements of the family. If, however, circumstances are such as to prevent them from quitting the hive for several successive days following swarming, and before provision is accumulated, recourse to feeding becomes expedient, or starvation might ensue. Under any circumstances, some apiculturists have advised giving honey, or a syrup of sugar, to a newly-hived colony. It is well known that, on leaving the parent stock, the bees carry with them a good deal of honey. There is little doubt that the main object in this provident proceeding is to enable them at once to commence the work of building: this they do almost as soon as they are hived, a piece of comb being frequently made on the same day, which is as quickly appropriated, either as a receptacle of honey or of eggs, if the Queen is already fertile. Where a young Queen has accompanied the swarm, such is not always the case, and this occasions a delay in laying of several days.

The entrance of the hive should now (and at all times when the bees are at full work) be opened to its whole extent.[P]

[P] To the spectator the view of a recent swarm is animated in the extreme, and probably suggested the

SONG OF THE BEES.

We watch for the light of the morn to break, And colour the gray eastern sky With its blended hues of saffron and lake; Then say to each other, "Awake, awake! For our winter's honey is all to make, And our bread for a long supply."

Then off we hie to the hill and the dell, To the field, the wild-wood and bower; In the columbine's horn we love to dwell, To dip in the lily, with snow-white bell, To search the balm in its odorous cell, The thyme and the rosemary flower.

We seek for the bloom of the eglantine, The lime, pointed thistle, and brier; And follow the course of the wandering vine, Whether it trail on the earth supine, Or round the aspiring tree-top twine, And reach for a stage still higher.

As each for the good of the whole is bent, And stores up its treasure for all, We hope for an evening with hearts content, For the winter of life, without lament That summer is gone, with its hours misspent, And the harvest is past recall!

_Wax and Combs._--The material of which the combs are so curiously formed is wax, _secreted by the bees_ themselves, and not any substance directly conveyed into the hive, as is generally, but erroneously, supposed. Its component parts are carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen. To enable them to form this secretion, the workers must have access to honey or some other saccharine matter; and this is the first thing sought by a new colony. The quantity required is very great, it being estimated that thirteen to twenty pounds are necessary to make one pound of wax. The common opinion is, that the substance often seen adhering so abundantly to the legs of bees is wax, and as such is the basis of the combs. Has it never appeared strange to the observer of a new swarm, that at the time when comb-building is proceeding more rapidly than at any other period, the bees are loaded with but little of this substance? On the other hand, is it not equally clear, that in the early spring, when few or no combs are constructed, they carry it into the hive with the utmost avidity? "To see the wax-pockets in the hive-bee," observes Kirby and Spence, "you must press the abdomen, so as to cause its distension; you will then find on each of the four intermediate ventral segments, separated by the carina or elevated central part, two trapeziform whitish pockets, of a soft membranaceous texture; on these the laminæ of wax are formed, in different states, more or less perceptible." "Whenever combs are wanted," says Dr. Bevan, "bees fill their crops with honey, and, retaining it in them, hang together in a cluster from the top of the hive, and remain apparently in a state of profound inactivity about twenty-four hours. During this time, the wax is secreted, and may be seen in laminæ, under the abdominal scales, whence it is removed by the hind legs of the bee, and transferred to the fore legs; from them it is taken by the jaws, and after being masticated, the fabrication of comb commences." An extraordinary degree of heat always accompanies comb-building, supplied no doubt by the large quantity of oxygen at that time generated.

"In the height of the honey season," Dr. Dunbar observes, "in one day the bees will construct no fewer than 4000 cells. The whole structure is so delicately thin, that three or four of their sides, placed upon one another, have no more thickness than a leaf of common paper." The best authorities have estimated that about half a pound of wax is yielded to fifteen pounds of honey.

The form and number of the combs in a hive vary considerably, the bees adapting them according to the shape of their domicile, so as to fit and fill in every part, and often very irregularly. At first they are beautifully white, but soon, from the heat of the hive, become tinged, and finally turn nearly black. The worker-breeding cells are made the first: they are invariably hexagonal in form, and of one uniform size and depth; but those intended only for the storing of honey are often somewhat larger and elongated; sometimes more so on one side than the other. A small dip or inclination upwards is given to the cells, the better to prevent the honey from running out, assisted, moreover, by a small bar or thickened border of wax, at the entrances. The cells in which the drones are bred are larger in diameter than the common ones, and they are generally placed nearer the outside of the hive, though occasionally joined on to the others. When this takes place, our little architects have the sagacity to interpose two or three rows of cells of an intermediate size, gradually enlarged to the proper dimensions. In this, as in everything else, the bees adapt their operations according to circumstances; constructing their combs, either by suspending them from the top of their dwelling, or occasionally by working them from the bottom, upwards.

_Propolis._--To attach the combs firmly in their place, the bees employ a pliable substance of balsamic odour, called _propolis_, a glutinous exudation from certain trees, or their buds, of a grayish colour, which they collect immediately on swarming, blending with it a portion of wax. With this material they varnish the lids of the closed honey-cells, glue up all crevices in the hive, and cement it down to the floor.

_Honey._--We have seen that the first want of the swarm is honey, for the purpose of comb-building. This valuable article the bees collect, by means of their proboscis, from the nectaries of certain flowers, from whence it derives a higher or less degree of flavour, together with its colouring matter; sometimes nearly transparent, to various shades of brown. They receive it into their first stomach or honey-bag, the greater portion being subsequently regurgitated into the cells, employing for the purpose those of both workers and drones. As these become severally filled, they are coated over or sealed with a thin covering of wax. The honey-cells, when thus closed, are distinguishable from those containing brood, by being whiter in appearance, and often slightly concave. The brood-cells are more coloured, besides being a little convex. In some seasons honey is abundantly collected when in the state of what is termed _honey-dew_, a viscous substance found adhering to the leaves of particular trees, especially the oak. This only occurs in certain years, for in others it is found very sparingly, or not at all.

_Pollen, or Farina._--The hive will be rapidly filled with combs, and progressively with an increased population, for the eggs, as we have seen in page 13, are matured in three weeks. In the mean time, the bees will have commenced a new labour--that of collecting pollen or farina. This is the anther-dust of the stamina of flowers, varying in colour according to the source from whence it is derived; and it may be remarked that the bees in their collection never mix together the pollen of different plants, but in each excursion visit only one species of flower. By a peculiar adaptation, they are enabled to brush this off, and pack it into the spoon-like cavities (or baskets as they have been termed), furnished for this object, on the centre joint of their hind legs; being often, as has been already pointed out, mistaken for wax. The powder or meal thus conveyed into the hive is by other bees afterwards kneaded up into paste, and stored for use in the worker cells, adjoining those containing brood. To preserve it from the air, a small portion of honey is put on the top of each cell, coated over with wax. Thus prepared, it is a very heavy substance; and this often leads to a false estimate of the value of a hive; for the annual collection of pollen has been variously estimated at thirty to one hundred pounds in a single family.

Naturalists are, I believe, pretty well agreed that the store of pollen or farina is used (with a mixture of honey and water) chiefly for feeding the larvæ; though a portion of such compound may form, occasionally, the sustenance of the bees themselves. Indeed, it has been asserted that pollen is often found in the stomach of bees engaged in the fabrication of wax.

_Water._--At certain dry periods, but always in the breeding time, bees require a supply of water, which is necessary in preparing the farina and honey for the brood, as well as to enable them to secrete wax. If no pond or brook is within a reasonable distance, a shallow vessel will do, filled frequently to the brim, having a piece of thin perforated wood floating on it and covering the whole surface; or it may be filled with moss or pebbles, pouring in water to the top, and placing it near the apiary. Precaution is necessary, for the bees easily slip into the water and are drowned. So essential is water, that it has been recommended to place a supply, early in the year, within the hive.

_Shade._--It has already been observed that out-door hives ought not to be left exposed to the mid-day and afternoon sun in sultry weather; the heat not only rendering the bees extremely irascible, but subjecting the combs to melting, and especially in wooden boxes, with most disastrous consequences. In all such cases it is well, therefore, to give the comfort of a mat, or something of the kind, thrown over them. In the words of Gelieu, "they delight best in thick forests, because they there find a uniform temperature and a propitious shade. It is a mistake to suppose that bees exposed to the sun produce the earliest and strongest swarms: I have often experienced the reverse. Bees like the shade when working, and the sun only when in the fields."

_Moths, Wasps, Hornets, and other Enemies._--In the warm summer evenings, bees are often much annoyed by the attempted inroads of moths, particularly the small _Wax Moth (Tinea Mellonella)_, of a whitish gray colour. These are sometimes formidable foes, and their appearance at dusk on the alighting-board is the signal for a commotion. It is difficult to eject them if they obtain a footing in a hive, where they will deposit their eggs, spinning their silken webs, and they now and then increase so as to cause its entire destruction. When these vermin have established themselves, there is no remedy but driving the bees into another hive. To prevent the ingress of these troublesome invaders, it is sometimes desirable for an hour or two in an evening to close the entrance, by placing before it a screen of gauze, wire-grating, or perforated zinc, to be removed at dark.[Q]

[Q] A difficulty sometimes occurs when it is necessary to confine bees, or drive them into the hive, as the alighting-board is often covered with them in an evening, and the numbers are increased on the least alarm. In this case take a small watering-pot, and gently sprinkle the board and entrance, when the bees, mistaking this for rain, will retire withinside.

Poultry, and some kinds of birds, are destroyers of bees; and many, that from weakness or other causes fall to the ground, become a sacrifice to them. In particular, that little marauder, the Blue Tomtit or Titmouse (_Parus major_ of Linnæus), must not be tolerated. In summer he will devour bees, and feed his young with them; and in winter he will even try to force an entrance into the hive.[R] Rats and mice must also be guarded against, as well as slugs and snails.

[R] In some parts these birds are very numerous; and poison has been found efficacious, placed at the hive mouth, in little balls of lard, oatmeal, and nux vomica, mixed together.

The nests of wasps ought to be destroyed: from their superiority in strength and activity, they are very annoying, and often destructive, to bees towards the end of summer; and the nuisance must forthwith be met by contracting the entrance to the hive, when the passage is more readily defended.[S] In this place it may be well to draw attention to a very simple mode of dealing with wasps attacking a hive. We shall have occasion hereafter to notice the fondness of bees for barley-sugar: let a piece of this be laid across, or just within, the entrance of the hive, so as greatly to narrow it. This is so attractive to the bees, that they muster at the door in greater force than the wasps durst venture to assail. As fast as the fortification is devoured, it ought to be renewed, and the out-generalled enemy will retire from a hopeless contest.

[S] Amongst well-informed apiculturists an apology might seem to be necessary in referring to so bigoted an author as Huish; but Huber's observations on some of the habits of bees have frequently been the subject of his ignorant ridicule; and particularly where he says that they occasionally erect barricades, for greater security. Mr. Golding has given a confirmation of Huber's assertion. He says, "At the end of summer, a kind of curtain, apparently a compound of wax and propolis, and about a sixteenth of an inch thick, was erected before the entrance of one of my hives; about two inches and a half in length, and half an inch in height, with the exception of a small aperture at each end." Dr. Bevan, in the 'Honey-Bee,' exhibits a drawing of this piece of fortification. My own experience is perfectly conclusive, as the following extract from my journal will show:--"July 31, 1842. Weather fine. Removed a box of honey from a collateral hive. The wasps had been troublesome for some days, and as the entrance to the centre box was left fully open, the bees had contracted it for better defence. A thin wall of what appeared to be propolis was attached from the upper edge of the doorway, extending along its centre, and closing all up but a space of about three quarters of an inch at each end. I never witnessed a more convincing proof of the sagacity of the bees than this beautiful proceeding." So runs my journal; to which I may add, that the entrance to the box, so contracted, was five inches in length, and three eighths of an inch high; or double that of Mr. Golding's. From the hint thus derived from the bees themselves, I constructed the moveable blocks or mouth-pieces described and shown at page 44.

Insects of all kinds, as earwigs, spiders, wood-lice, &c., should be cleared away from the hives and stands, and ants' nests destroyed. Cobwebs must not be permitted to remain, or numerous deaths would ensue to the bees from entanglement in them. In short, we may sum up by a general recommendation of cleanliness, in every way, and the removal of whatever serves as a harbour to dirt and vermin.

_Super-hiving._--Should the weather continue favorable for honey-gathering, the colony must be inspected in about three weeks from the time of hiving. Indeed in sultry weather, and where the swarm is a large one, it is often politic to place a glass or small super upon it very soon, as a ventilator, to moderate the temperature, and prevent the clustering of the bees at the mouth of the hive. If the combs are worked pretty nearly down to the floor, and the cells in a good measure filled, no time should be lost in supplying additional working-room; more especially if symptoms of crowding are apparent, for by this time young bees are coming forth. We may here observe that many experienced bee-keepers object to supering in the case of a new colony, preferring to give the requisite room at the bottom, by means of a _Nadir_; which, as the bees carry their stores upwards, often ensures abundance in the stock-hive, the nadir being removed in the autumn. Under the head _Depriving System_, are some remarks as to the mode of using nadirs; as also under that of _Nadir Hive_, and _Nadiring Stocks_.

_Bell-glasses._--As these are commonly formed, nothing can be more objectionable: inconveniently high and narrow, a few misshapen combs are all that can be packed into the space; and these are afterwards only to be extracted by a general mash. The same remark applies to all supers, of any material, where breadth of surface enough is not afforded for a large number of bees to cluster and labour at one time. Can it be a matter of wonder, that a chimney-formed vessel should be twice as long in being filled (supposing that the bees do not forsake it) as a broad one, in which a genial warmth is concentrated, and where several combs can be in progress simultaneously? A reversal of the usual proportions, both in straw and glass supers, is therefore to be recommended. The latter may advantageously be from nine to eleven inches across; the depth being about half the diameter: straight at the sides, and flat on the top. A piece or two of guide-comb, slightly melted, and fixed by its edge to the top of the glass, previously made warm, will serve as an attraction; or in a large glass, four or eight pieces, radiating from the centre uniformly, will direct the bees in working with a regular design, producing a pleasing effect. A useful adjunct to a glass is a small circular tube of perforated zinc, having a rim round its upper end, by which it is held suspended within a small hole on the top. It should be long enough to reach nearly down to the level of the floor. To the tube, when a little warmed, a narrow piece of guide-comb will adhere, and act as an attraction to the bees: it will be further useful as a central support to the loaded combs.

Whatever may be said as to the pleasing appearance of glass supers, it is doubtful whether in point of utility and economy they can compete with those of straw, made as directed under the head of "Straw Depriving Hives," and which can readily be packed and sent to a distance, if needed: or shallow supers, as wide as the stock-hive admits, may be cheaply made by means of a wood hoop, three or four inches deep, on which is fixed a thin top, by two or three small screws. These are readily withdrawn, when the top can be lifted up with the combs suspended. Under the head _Circular Wooden Hives_ are some remarks on the subject of wood supers.

In the use of Glasses it is always well at first to prevent the escape of warmth, especially at night, till the bees are well established in their new work-room; and the admission of light is best avoided. A little ventilation afterwards, in sultry weather, is desirable; which may be given by slightly wedging up the lower edge of the super. If a double adapter is in use, it is easy to insert a slip or two of tin or zinc between the two boards, so as to keep them a little separated, for the passage of air, when it seems necessary. Sometimes it is even advisable to introduce between the stock and the super a very shallow box, as a moderator of the temperature. I have found, by experiment with the thermometer, that at a temperature between 95 and 100, the combs will soften so much as to be in danger of collapsing.

_Triplets and Nadirs._--In good seasons and localities, the first super is sometimes filled in time to admit of the introduction of another (or triplet), on an adapter, observing the rules laid down at page 32. But even where the first super is completely filled, it is often politic not to remove it for a few days, as its attraction induces the bees to occupy the triplet. On the other hand, if from any cause a super has been left only partially filled upon one hive, it may be removed (the bees being first ejected), and placed upon some other for completion. Instead of a separate triplet, an addition may often be made to the first super, especially if of straw, by placing beneath it an eke, consisting merely of two or three bands of the same material; in fact a hoop. This will save the bees the labour of laying the foundations of fresh combs, as they have but to continue the old ones downwards. We may here call attention to what has been said at page 62, respecting the use of box, No. 3, of the bar-hive, and of Nadiring.

After the main honey season is over, which is usually as soon as the dry July weather sets in, it is useless, in most localities, to give any further extension of working room; and, indeed, from the end of this month there is, under common circumstances, often rather a diminution than an increase of store.

In proportion to the wealth of the colony is the determination of the bees to defend it; and their irascibility and vigilance are now greater than heretofore, the strongest stocks showing it the most. The work of the year being pretty well over, all their attention is turned towards home. They become more and more suspicious, and the less they are approached or annoyed the better; for they are slow to forget or forgive an injury.

AUTUMNAL MANAGEMENT.