BEE-spoke-data/bees-v0 huggingface dataset:
It has been held, and is still held by many text book writers that the queen can control the fertilization of the eggs that she is laying. It is well known that the drones hatch from eggs not fertilized and the workers from fertilized eggs. [The significance of this is that in the light of these facts the beekeeper can establish pure stock more readily than in the case of poultry or cattle. If, for instance, he introduces an Italian queen that has mated with an Italian drone all the virgin queens reared will be pure Italian. If these mate with black drones, as may happen, the workers will be a mixture of Italians, blacks, and hybrids but the drones will be pure Italians, (because they receive none of the male characters), then if later more Italian queens are reared they mate with the Italian drones and pure Italian stock is the result.
When a queen ceases to perform her duty properly or dies for some cause or another, or when the bees are preparing to swarm, the workers proceed to rear another queen. The egg from which the queen is reared is one that would ordinarily develop into a worker, that is, it is fertilized. This egg, or a worker larva less than three days old is placed in a specially constructed cell somewhat resembling when completed a small peanut, and the larva, or larvae, since the colony usually rears a number of these when there is need for a queen, are fed on royal jelly. This is predigested food produced from a mixture of honey, pollen, and a secretion from glands in the head of workers. At the
Figure 1. A. Worker, B. Drone, C. Queen. (From "A B C and X Y Z of Bee Culture")
end of six days the young larva is full grown and the cell is now sealed up. After seven more days the larva has passed thru its transformation and the fully developed queen is ready to e-merge. The queen that emerges first may destroy all the others in their cells.
**The Workers.** The workers furnish all the labor for the colony. The development of the worker from the egg till it is ready to emerge is 21 days. Young workers, up to two weeks old, are employed feeding the larvae, secreting wax, and building combs. When the workers have reached the age of seventeen days they begin to gather nectar and pollen. A few of the workers are used as guards, guarding the entrance against intruders.
The workers are the smallest individuals of the colony. They differ in appearance from the drones in having a pointed abdomen while that of the drones is blunt at the posterior end. The workers are equipped with a sting, the purpose and effect of which is well known to all of us who have come in contact with bees.
The length of life of a worker is not measured in time but in the amount of work done. Workers emerging late in the fall live thru the winter, while those emerging shortly before a heavy honey flow live only about six weeks.
**The Drones.** The drones are the males and their only function is to mate with virgin queens. The drones usually appear in April and May at the height of brood rearing. They are larger than the workers and clunsy in appearance.
Drones develop from unfertilized eggs. For three days after hatching the larvae are fed on the same material as are the workers and queens; after that the food consists of a mix
Figure 2: Drone cells in the lower left hand corner, queen cells below. The others are worker cells. (From Sladen, "Bees and How to Keep Them")
to take honey from the cells and feed, but pollen apparently must be fed to them by the workers. The workers realize that the drones are a considerable drain on the colony, for whenever the honey flow comes to a sudden decline, or in case of a fall in temperature the drones are driven from the colony, so as to reduce the cost of living. Drones are not distinctly members of a certain colony; they are allowed to enter any colony without being molested by the guards, excepting, of course, during the time when drones are being driven out by the workers.
RACES OF BEES
A number of different races have been tried out in the United States, the more important among which are the Italian, German, Caucasian, Carniolan, and Cyprian.
### Italian
The name of the race indicates its origin. It is the most popular race among American beekeepers. Various strains of this race have been developed, which are designated by various trade names. The typical Italians, commonly known as three banded, are considered the most desirable for commercial beekeeping. The Italian bees are preferred to all other races because they build few queen cells, keep the hive clean, and drive out wax moths; they do not run on the combs, and they swarm less than the Carniolans; they are quite gentle, and are easily subdued by smoke. Most important of their characteristics is the resistance to European foul brood. In this respect they are vastly superior to the German or black bees.
### German
These are generally known as "black bees". They are considered undesirable because they are less prolific than the Italian, they do not keep the hive clean, and they swarm more than the Italian. While they can be subdued with smoke, they are much more difficult to handle than are the Italian. The most undesirable feature of the German bees, however, is that they succumb very readily to European foul brood. This disease when once introduced into an apiary of German bees is very difficult to eradicate.
### Caucasian
The color of this race depends on the region from which they come. The abdomen may be black or gray, or it may have three yellow bands very similar to those of the Italians. The Caucasian are perhaps the most gentle bees of all that have been tried out in America. They have, however, serious faults, on account of which most beekeepers who have tried them have abandoned them. They bring in and use freely a large amount of propolis (a sticky substance collected from the resinous buds of various trees, notably poplar and sweet gum). They also frequently build burr and brace combs.
**Carnional.** These come next to the Caucasian in gentleness. They swarm excessively, but they are good honey gatherers and it has been claimed that they resist European foul brood as well as do the Italian.
**Cyprian.** These resemble in appearance rather closely the Italian but are lighter in color. The queens are very prolific. The bees winter well but may wear themselves out by brood rearing in the winter. The workers are very pugnacious and cannot be subdued by smoke. Altho formerly widely advertised, the Cyprian have been almost totally abandoned because they are difficult to handle.
LOCATION OF THE APIARY
In choosing the site for an apiary there are at least four fundamental points that must be considered. These are shade, fresh water, protection from strong winds, and sufficient pasturage.
It is considered desirable to have the hives exposed to the sun during the early morning hours; but during the hottest part of the day the hives must be shaded, for the combs are likely to melt, and the brood to die. Then too, many of the bees are required for fanning the brood; others loiter around the hive, loafing instead of gathering nectar.
Broad rearing requires a constant supply of fresh water. This should be near the apiary and may be in the form of a small stream, a dripping hydrant, or anything that will furnish a constant supply of fresh water without drowning the bees. A vessel filled with water with a lot of chips or pieces of cork floating on it will serve very well.
Protection against strong winds is essential. If the apiary is located in the open, a windbreak as well as shade must be provided. Many beekeepers prefer to have the hives facing east or southeast, this, however, is probably not of very great importance. The essential thing is that the entrance should not face north or southwest; neither should it face the prevailing wind. if the hives are arranged in groups of four, the entrances should face east and west.
To avoid dampness the hives should not be placed directly on the ground but should be raised four or six inches, using bricks or regular hive stands as a foundation. The rear end of the hive should be one or two inches higher than the entrance so that rain coming thru the entrance may readily drain off. All grass and weeds should be kept cut low in order to allow the bees free flight to and from the hives.
If beekeeping is to be commercially profitable, the available nectar supply is a very important consideration. Any locality in the state will supply nectar for a few colonies, the surplusmay in some localities not be very large. If possible the apiary should be located in the heart of a region yielding an abundance of at least one or more of the important plants of the state from which surplus honey can be produced. Among these are sweet clover, fruit bloom, white clover, Bidens (Spanish needle),and holly. Bees will travel four or five miles in search of nectar, but they will probably not lay up any surplus honey when obliged to go more than a mile.
In the regions of Arkansas most favorable to honey production, such as the counties of the northeastern corner and the counties lying in the holly belt in the southern part of the state, an apiary may consist of 100 or perhaps more hives. In the remainder of the state apiarles would perhaps better be limited to about 50 colonies. Different apiaries should be about two miles apart.
BUYING BEES
Bees may be bought by the pound from dealers. The names of such dealers can be obtained by writing to the Experiment Station, or by referring to such periodicals as the "American Bee Journal" published at Hamilton, Illinois, or "Gleanings in Bee Culture" published at Medina, Ohio.
It is, however, much more economical to buy bees from a beekeeper in the neighborhood. A colony of good Italian stock in a frame-hive can often be bought for two or three dollars. A beginner in beekeeping should buy only a few colonies, five or six, and if possible should secure these in modern 10-frame hives. If the bees are in box hives they should be transferred to modern hives as soon as possible (see p. 11 for transferring bees.) In transporting bees on a wagon or truck, if the weather is cool, the bottom and cover are fastened by means of a rope or wire and the entrance is closed by nailing over it a piece of screen wire. If the weather is hot, hauling should be done at night, and the top cover should be replaced by a piece of screen wire. On the wagon or truck the hives should stand crosswise to the length of the wagon bed. This will help to prevent the combs from breaking loose on account of the jarring on the road.
If the bees are in hives with movable frames, the buyer should insist on examining all the colonies that he intends to get. If theappings of the cells appear to.be sunken or show irregular holes in them, or the larvae in the cells have any other color than pearly white and appear shrunken, the bees are very likely to be infected with foul brood and will die out in a short time unless the proper treatment is administered. (See p. 25 for foul brood). If bees are moved into another locality over a distance of more than two miles, no precautions need be taken to prevent them from going back to their former location. Ifthey are moved less than two miles, the bees should be made aware of the change by the placing of some brush or other obstruction in front of the entrances. The change in appearance of the surroundings will prevent the bees from leaving the hives before observing carefully the new location.
## 5.2. Equilibrium
**Hives.** The use of modern equipment cannot be urged too strongly. With the use of good equipment and a little care, a maximum yield of honey can be secured, while without such equipment it is practically impossible to get anything like a good crop of honey. Among the various articles constituting the equipment, the hive is by far the most important.
Beekeepers of many years' experience and other authorities agree that the eight-frame hive is too small. It seriously limits the size of the colony and causes much unnecessary swarming.
The hive generally recommended at this time is the standard 10-frame hive. Many beekeepers feel that even this size is too small for a brood chamber; so they use two hive bodies for the brood chamber. Still others are using larger hives, such as the Dadant or the Junbo. It is possible that these larger hives will take the place of the 10-frame standard hives that are now rather generally used.
The movable, self-spacing frames are absolutely essential. In regions where the bees gather considerable propolisis, the metal-spaced frames are very desirable. Only by the use of movable frames can the colonies be properly observed and cared for. Without them bekeeping cannot be made profitable. The use of full sheets of foundation in the brood frames as well as the extracting frames must be insisted on. These full sheets of foundation insure straight combs and they prevent the bees from building a large number of drone cells. Even if foundation costs about 85 eents a bound, it is cheaper to buy it than to let the bees build it. It costs the bees about 10 pounds of honey to build one pound of comb. At this rate foundation will cost at least two dollars a pound, not to mention the crooked combs and excessive drone population. The use of one inch starters is a waste of time and expense.
Many beginners in bekeeping hesitate in buying standard equipment on account of high prices. It is true that the hives and other equipment required for even five or six colonies of bees represent a considerable investment for a person of small means. However, if it is borne in mind that this equipment when properly cared for lasts for a long time one can easily understand that the investment is a good one. A hive properly painted and placed on bricks or other support will last almost a life time.
The frames can be used until they are broken thru carelessness. Other equipment, such as veil, smoker, hive tool, honey board or queen excluder, bee escape, wire imbedder, uncapping knife, and bee brush, is quite essential and will add very considerably to the pleasure and profit in beekeeping. All the articles mentioned above are well illustrated and described in catalogs of beekeepers' supplies (see page 32); so just a few suggestions will suffice here.
In purchasing a smoker, the small sizes should be avoided; the large or medium-sized ones are much more servicable. With reference to a honey board or queen excluder, the perforated zinc boards are not recommended. A six or seven wire-and-wood honey board is much more desirable. Wearing a veil in the apiary does not show fear, but good management. Veils made of silk tulle are preferred by many beekeepers. Veils made of screen wire will last much longer. They can be kept away from the face and neck better; but they do not feel as comfortable as do the silk tulle.
TRANSFERING BEES
When bees are purchased in box hives they must be transferred to modern hives. A good time for transferring is immediately before a good honey flow, such as comes during fruit bloom, sweet clover, or Bidens (Spanish needle). It should be done on a bright, sunny day when many of the bees are in the field.
The method of transferring most commonly used is as follows: A few puffs of heavy smoke are blown into the box hive; it is then set a few feet to the side, the top is torn off, and an empty box having the same length and width as the box hive is placed over the box hive. With two sticks the hive is now beaten vigorously on the sides for ten or fifteen minutes. This drumming will induce the bees to leave the hive and cluster in the box above. From this box the bees are shaken into the new hive placed in the position of the box hive, or preferably in front of the new hive so that the queen can be seen to enter. The hive should be equipped with movable frames and _full sheets of foundation_. If available, it is well to put into the new hive a frame from another hive containing some brood and honey. This should be placed in the middle of the new hive. If no nectar is coming in at the time of transferring it will be necessary to feed the bees as described under feeding. (See page 19). The brood remaining in the old box hive may be saved by putting this hive aside and contracting the entrance to an opening thru which only one or two bees can pass at a time. After twenty-one days all the brood will have emerged and these bees may be added to those already transferred by shaking them in front of the new hive. Both colonies should be smoked liberally to avoid fighting.
Among the young bees that are being transferred there may be one or more queens. These should be located, or kept from entering the new hive by means of an alley trap.
To save the combs when transferring bees is a somewhat disagreeable task, yet many beekeepers prefer to do this rather than render them to wax. To fit the combs into the new frames (without foundation) a large piece of comb is cut from the box hive and placed on one of the frames and then cut so that it will fit into the frame. In cutting the combs the drone comb should be eliminated. The combs fitted into the frame are easily held in place by two or three thin wires or pieces of string tied around the frame. In transferring, the bees are made to go through an experience very much like that of swarming. The smoke and drumming causes them to fill up on honey, go up, and cluster in the empty box. For this reason bees that have been transferred go to building combs, and storing honey with a very much increased vigor, just as in the case of swarming.
More detailed information can be obtained by referring to special bulletins on this subject or to one of the several text books on beekeeping.
GENERAL MANAGEMENT
Proper management of bees is based on knowledge of bee behavior. Bee behavior means the response that bees make to different environmental factors such as weather conditions, nature of the hive, etc. The response of bees is always in the form of a motion in so far as man knows. We don't know whether bees think or not; but we can observe their motions.
The lack of an adequate knowledge of bee behavior causes Arkansas beekeepers to lose about twenty-five per cent of their bees on account of improper protection during the winter. For the same reason many colonies are lost thru European foul brood. For the same reason many beekeepers are seriously troubled with wax moths. Failure to study bee behavior causes beginners to try to produce comb honey which usually results in a total failure.
**Handling Bees.** The ability to handle bees cannot be secured by reading books or bulletins; it is acquired by experience. However, a few suggestions may lessen the number of mistakes of beginners. Bees are not partial to a certain person, one man can handle them as well as another. They resent interference and are especially irritated when the intruder makes sudden movements. The best time to open hives is during a warm and sunny day. Bees should not be disturbed late in the evening, when it is cold, or during a rain.
Stings should be avoided by a judicious use of the snoker, and a veil; the odor of the poison irritates the bees and causesmuch unnecessary trouble. Good fuel for the smoker consists of burlap, dry rotten wood, or dry bark.
Standing or placing anything in front of the hive should be carefully avoided. For this reason the practice of blowing smoke into the entrance is not recommended, tho it may often be necessary. A little smoke blown over the frames immediately after lifting one corner of the inner cover, with a few additional puffs from time to time will usually serve to keep the bees in good humor. Smoke is not a narcotic; it alarms the bees and causes them to fill up on honey, and throws into confusion, more or less, the organization of the colony. Bees when they have just filled up their honey stomachs are not so apt to sting as they are otherwise. Smoke must be used with discretion, too much of it is likely to irritate the bees.
An important consideration in handling bees is that one must work slowly, and deliberately, avoiding all sudden movements. The frames are best loosened with a hive tool, though a screwdriver will do. If a number of frames are to be examined, the first one is stood up on end leaning against the outside of the hive. Care must be taken not to place outside a frame holding the queen, for she may get injured or lost. In turning a frame so as to examine both sides, it should be held vertically and turned like a door on the hinges. This will avoid dripping of unsealed honey, and breaking of freshly built combs.
**Spreading the brood.** By a proper placing of the combs one is able to increase the amount of brood and thus help in developing a large working force for the honey flow. This is known as spreading the brood, that is, shifting towards the sides the frames containing larvae and eggs. To do this successfully _requires judgement_ and _experience_. In the early spring during cool weather it is dangerous to spread the brood too much; it may readily become chilled and die. In a general way, spreading is accomplished by placing one or two empty combs in the center, next to these on both sides the sealed and emerging brood, and then the combs containing uncapped larvae and eggs.
**Fall Notes.** The season in which the beekeeper should start preparations for the following crop begins in August. In order to secure a maximum surplus of honey he must see to it that his colonies are vigorous and strong, consisting of at least 80,000 workers, at the time when the first strong honey flow is on. In order to accomplish this each colony must have in fall a young and vigorous queen which will not only maintain a sufficient number of workers to bring in the winter stores; but which will also produce a large number of young bees up to the time when the brood rearing ceases for the year. This is usually during October. All queens that are two years old or older,or have been failing should be replaced by a young and vigorous queen of good Italian stock. If a colony goes into winter quarters with a strong force of young workers, and is well protected against extreme changes of weather, it will come thru the winter with a sufficient force to care for young brood and bring in stores. If in some sections of the state there should be a dearth of nectar the bees will need to be fed in the fall in order that young bees may be reared. Only the young bees live thru the winter. Unlike practically all other insects, bees do not hibernate during the winter. They remain more or less active, and consequently require stores in order to live. Contrary to a common belief, bees do not freeze to death; they either starve to death or wear themselves out trying to keep warm. Bees are much like a storage battery. They possess a certain amount of energy, and when this is exhausted they die. In a sense bees are coldblooded animals, that is to say, their body temperature is about the same as the outside temperature. Under winter conditions this statement must be modified. Whenever the temperature drops below 59 degrees Fahrenheit, the bees become active, generating heat to raise the temperature in the hive.
As already indicated the life of a worker bee is about five or six weeks of action, measured in amount of energy expended, rather than in time. If the bees are kept busy generating heat thru a large part of the winter, most of the workers will die before spring sets in.
There is another reason why bees need protection in winter. Warm weather continuing for several days will often stimulate brood rearing long before the first honey flow sets in. Often such warm weather is followed by severe cold spells, with a result that is rather disastrous. Adequate winter packing serves to protect the bees against extremes of temperature, warm as well as cold, and serves to delay brood rearing until the proper time for it has arrived, that is, after all danger of severe cold spells is past.