BEE-spoke-data/bees-v0 huggingface dataset:
The brood combs soon become filled with honey, pollen and brood in all stages of development, and the queen is restricted for room to lay at a time when nature prompts her to do her best. (Plenty of super room given at this time and the removal of combs of hatching brood to be replaced with full sheets of foundation, a few at a time, does much to prevent swarming).
The bees start queen cells, the queen deposits eggs in them and in eight or nine days, sealed queen cells are present. If the weather is favorable, the swarm issues. At first, only a few bees appear marching out of the entrance, apparently with minds and hearts fixed on some one thing. These are followed rapidly by ever increasing numbers until it looks like a stampede. Thousands are in the air and still they come as though the last bee meant to leave the parent hive for good and all. In a few minutes they begin to cluster and settle down on the branch or trunk of a tree, a fence rail, or almost any nearby place which may appeal to them. If trees are near, a branch is most often selected and this is the most desirable place for the bee-keeper. Soon, all is still and the cluster hangs quiet, like some strange fruit which may have grown over night. From five to fifteen minutes may pass before the cluster is quiet. The cluster should then be shook down and hived as soon as possible since they sometimes break clusters and leave for parts unknown in half an hour. Usually they will remain for an hour and sometimes longer but they are apt to depart any time after one hour. Safety lies in not leaving them too long. Ten to fifteen minutes after they settle down and are quiet, they should be hived. For this reason, the hive for the new swarm should always be ready and near at hand.
While one may use starters in brood frames, it pays to use full sheets of foundation well wired in. The foundation shouldbe medium and heavy. Light brood may be used but is liable to sag or break down if a heavy swarm is lived on it unless it has first been given to a strong colony as a super to draw out and fasten securely. This is a safe practice in any case where swarms are united, though there will be little trouble where heavy brood foundation is used if securely fastened and wired in frames.
To the novice who takes down his first swarm, it is usually an experience filled with considerable misgiving and doubt but it is really a simple process if the cluster has settled on the branch of a tree and can be easily reached.
First, place the prepared empty hive on the ground near where it is to remain, block up the front end off the bottom board with one or two inch blocks, lay a board on the ground in front of the hive and level with the bottom board. Then use a light shallow box six inches deep in which to catch the swarm. This may have a handle fastened to the bottom. It will be safer for one to wear a veil, and the novice should also wear gloves. The smoker should be lighted and ready to give off a good volume of smoke if needed,--it is not often used but it should always be at hand. If the swarm is cross and the bees leave the cluster and attempt to sting, which is rare, blow a few puffs of smoke into the cluster. In most cases they will be found to be gentle and may even be taken in the bare hands if care is used not to jam them. When all is in readiness, hold the box close up under the cluster and give the limb a quick jar. Another quick snap and most of the bees will be in the box. Carry them quickly to the hive and pour gently out in front. Those left in the box may be jarred out with a quick shake. Enough may go back so that the operation may need to be repeated. The bees will soon enter the new hive and can be set on a permanent stand. If a strong colony, they should be given one or more supers at once owing to the time of season. When the prime swarm issues the old queen comes with them. From a few to perhaps twenty queen cells are left. With the emerging of the first young queen, the old colony is apt to cast a second swarm, usually about the eighth to tenth day. If the bees decide to swarm no more, the remaining queen cells are destroyed and, when the young queen mates, which will be in about a week, the colony settles down again to normal conditions. If a third swarm is thrown, it usually issues in about one to three days after the second.
For taking swarms down from tall trees, a swarm catcher (see Fig. 13) is a very convenient thing. This may be attached to a long pole. The pole may be in sections but needs to be strong and securely put together.
## Races of Bees
There are several races of bees in the United States all of which, without doubt, were at some time imported from European countries. The common Black or German bee was the one first known in America and was imported into Florida about the year 1763 by the Spaniards. There may have been and probably were later importations. Bees evidently found conditions more favorable to colonization than those who imported them, for they appeared in Kentucky in 1780, in New York in 1793, and west of the Mississippi in 1797, and can now be found in every state in the union. They were familiarly known to the Indians as " The White Man's Fly," " The Stinging Fly," and " The Honey_Making Fly." Some authoratives claim they were introduced into New England (probably from England) as early as 1638. Harbison took one hundred and sixty colonies (with a loss of only six) from Pennsylvania to California by the way of Panama in 1857. The same year the first bees were shipped from San Jose to Hawaii. The three best known of the races in the United States are the Italians, the Black or German, and the Carniolians. In recent years the Caucasian breeders are claiming good qualities, for this race especially that of gentleness. Among other races are the Egyptian, Syrian and Cyprian.
The Carniolians are natives of Austria and resemble the Black or German bees closely in appearance. They show somewhat more distinct bands and are rather a grey bee. Their friends claim for them gentleness and prolificness of queens, good comb builders and honey gatherers, that they winter well and build up early in spring under adverse climatic conditions, all of which claims I consider well founded from my own experience. Their tendency to swarm is even stronger than with the Blacks, and I find it rather more difficult to unite swarms of this race than either Italians or Blacks. The only real objection I can offer to Carniolians and their crosses between Black and Italian is that they swarm badly in comb honey production.
No other bee is so largely bred and kept for honey production in the United States by progressive bee-keepers as Italians. The first living Italian bees were landed in this country in 1859, and since then many importations have been made. They vary in color from bright golden to a very dark shade known as leather colored. In disposition, they are gentler and more easily handled than Blacks though none claim they lack ability to sting if thoroughly angered. They are generally considered better honey gatherers than the Blacks but hardly as good comb builders. Some comb honey producers prefer the Blacks or an Italian cross as they, as a rule, cap the honey so as to give it a whiter appearance, though there are some strains of Italians that excel others in this respect of producing white honey. For the production of extracted honey, it is very doubtful if there is any bee superior to them, especially in a climate where the season is a little longer than ours and where the bloom of flowers is a little later in the season.
In justice to the Blacks, I wish to say that so far as my own observation and experience goes, in Aroostook county, they have not proven superior to our common bees. I have tried in a limited way the Golden, three banded and leather colored Italians from Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Texas, and in each instance, they were a disappointment. They did not winter so well nor build up as readily in spring as the Blacks and they swarmed quite as much. In all of these qualities, they are supposed to be superior to our native bees.
My own experience has been the common one of all who have tried them in Aroostook, so far as I am able to learn. I am not able to say what results have been obtanied in the other counties of Maine. There have been both favorable and unfavorable reports.
### 24 Swarm Control
In comb honey production, the bees have to be crowded to get the best results in the super. In other words, they do not enter a comb honey super as quickly, separated as it is in smaller compartments. In consequence, it requires greater care in the control of these colonies to prevent swarming.
As the weather gets very warm, the entrance must be enlarged to full width. This can be done gradually as the strength of the colonies increases. Some use an entrance two inches in depth, others practice raising the hives on inch blocks. This provides excellent ventilation but has the objection of compelling the bee-keeper to work in front of the entrance regardless of which side he is on. Again, when the hive is dropped back at the close of the flow, there is some confusion among the bees for sometime. Neither are serious objections. Some bee-keepers practice clipping the wings of the queens. This prevents the prime or first swarm from leaving, or the loss of valuable queens. Since the queen cells have been built and sealed at the time the first swarm issues, it will only be a few days until the swarm will issue with one or more virgin queens present and the liability of loss of swarm has only been delayed by clipping. In case a queen is valuable as a breeder, she should be clipped, care being taken not to clip a virgin queen as she would then have no value. The process of clipping is simple. Pick the queen up between the thumb and forefinger and, with a fine pair of scissors, cut off one wing. Care should be taken not to jamb the queen. By having all clipped queens, one is able to keep track of them better, as an unclipped laying queen,where a clipped one has been, would indicate that the bees had for some reason replaced her, an action called supercedure.
One may go through each colony carefully about every eight days after the swarming season is on and cut out all queen cells, but this requires considerable time and care. If cells are overlooked, a swarm is apt to be lost. It should be remembered, that a swarm rarely issues with a young queen in her first laying season.
Our Method in Comb Honey Production
We feel that our own method is a fairly good one for the busy man who can be in the yard during the swarming period. We practice giving plenty of super room at all times until near the close of the flow, giving bottom ventilation and enlarging the entrance. The bees are then allowed to swarm. We plan to be in or near the yard through the middle of the day when the swarms are expected. As they issue, we hive two strong colonies together, more if second or small swarms, removing the least desirable queens and pinching off their heads. The hive is then placed on the stand of the queen that has been killed and the old hive is placed on the hive of the colony whose queen has been saved. By this method we have a strong colony of field bees in the new swarm ready for the harvest.
As supers on the hives from which the swarms issued are usually partly filled, these are placed on the new swarm with an empty one underneath or on top, as the season and flow may influence us.
The old colonies, being united, are not as apt to swarm again, as they have twice the room but if they do swarm, which we rather count on, we have one swarm of double strength where we would have had two to unite. Three or four are often tiered in this way. These united colonies give results in the supers if there is any honey to be had.
In an apiary of about thirty colonies, this plan can be followed with success and particularly so where it is desired to keep down the number of colonies in the yard. Often several colonies unite themselves at swarming time. These should be hived as one unless increase is desired and, as soon as possible after the cluster settles down, as they are more apt to leave than a swarm with their own queen alone. If too many swarms unite, it is better to divide them, as too heavy a swarm does not take kindly to this condition.
We do not try to recure the first early flow of honey in the supers, as in our location, it is apt to be dark in color, and does not command as high a price as the later flow. One practice is to give all colonies, which need super room before the white honey flows, an extra brood chamber. Dark honey can be stored in this and later used to give colonies which may be short of stores. The brood in combs may be given to weak colonies and supers then given the colony at the opening of the white honey flow. As the colony is apt to be heavy with brood at this time, if increase is not desired, it is best to remove a few frames of sealed brood and give frame filled with full sheets of foundation.
If working the bees for extracted honey, the early flow or any flow which is dark may be extracted or sold by itself.
## Uniting
It is not a difficult feat to unite swarms or colonies when nectar is coming freely, but at other times one has to be extemely careful. In springtime, two colonies to be united may be handled somewhat differently. One method is to carry the weaker colony to the stand of the stronger one, first smoking them a little. Smoke each colony enough to cause them to fill the honey sacks so that they will remain quietly on the combs. Find the queen least desirable and dispose of her, then remove from the other colony the frames which do not contain brood, take from the colony whose queen has been disposed of, one at a time, the frames of brood and bees and place in the other hive, alternating them first one of Colony No. 1, then one from Colony No. 2. If any space is left, replace combs containing new honey and pollen, then sealed stores and cover frames with quilt or board and smoke at entrance a few good puffs. Close hive for a few hours or over night if done late in the day. When hive is opened, a board should be leaned against entrance for a day or so to help the bees of the moved colony locate their new home.
Another method is to smoke both colonies gently, then set the weaker colony over the other with two thicknesses of newspaper between, through which a small hole may be punched the size of a pencil. There should be no way of exit except through the lower hive if one queen is to be destroyed. In a few days, or more, proceed as in the first case except that less smoke need to be used. If one wishes, after forty-eight hours, the upper colony may be provided with a separate entrance and allowed to keep their queen until the opening of the surplus flow when the two colonies may be united and the extra brood given to the weaker colonies. A weak colony will build up much faster when placed over a stronger one. This should be done at a time when no bees are flying or many may be lost, and care should be used that they mark the new location. Bees will hang around the old location when a colony has been carelessly moved until many or all perish.
Closing the hive for twenty-four hours or a less time, if a board or small obstruction is placed in front of entrance at an angle, will cause them to mark the new location and return though some may fly about the old one for a few days.
Each colony is supposed to have its own colony odor by which they are enabled to distinguish their own members from others, or to quickly tell their own queen from another. The odor of queens is apparently stronger than that of the workers.
If bees are to be united late in the fall, I prefer to leave them until they are put in the cellar when I place the colony having the least stores of honey at the bottom and the heavier ones on top with only a sheet of paper between having a small hole in the center perhaps one inch in diameter. In spring all can be shook into one hive and treated as one colony. If queens are of equal value, I do not trouble to look for either but let the bees decide for themselves which shall live.
## Spring Management
When bees are moved from cellar to summer stands, care should be taken to move them as quietly as possible and assist them in housecleaning by removing the bottom board (which should be loose) and brushing out all dead bees and other waste material between the combs as far as practical. If care is taken one may not need to use any smoke in this task.
It is best to place bees on the same stands that they occupied the summer before, though many bee-keepers do not take this trouble.
As soon as possible after the bees have had a good cleansing flight, if in single wall hives, they should be given some protection. This may be done by wrapping old papers about them being sure to have several thicknesses over the top, under the cover. If no more than he top is thus protected, it pays. Any protection from our inclement spring weather, that helps to conserve the heat of the colony, pays. Especially do the worker colonies need this protection.
In about a week after bees have been placed on summer stands, they should be looked over carefully to ascertain their condition. One must have a warm day for this, as the hives should be opened and the brood may be chilled. I like to have the temperature at seventy degrees but sometims the work has to be done at a lower temperature. If no brood or eggs are present, the colony is presumably queenless, and should be united with a strong colony, unless a queen can be supplied within a few days.
The bees cf weak colonies should be crowded together onto what combs they can cover by using dummy board in place of comb and filling space with some good packing material such as dry leaves, paper, old cloth or excelsior. As the weather gets warmer and more room is needed the combs must be replaced. It is better to have all colonies in the yard of nearly equal strength at the opening of the surplus flow and the bee-keeper should work to this end. When the weather is warm and settled, the weaker colonies may be greatly helped by giving them a frame of hatching brood and bees from the strong colonies, being certain that the queen is not removed. If a little smoke is used and the colonies disturbed as little as possible, no fighting will result. All grass and weeds should be kept down in front of the entrance of the hives throughout the season. A bottom board projecting in front of the hive a few inches to form an alighting place, helps. A short board resting on the ground and against the bottom board at an angle looks unsightly but it is a big help to the heavy laden bees that otherwise drop in the grass or on the ground. Hives should rest on stands off from the ground about one foot.
In a climate such as we have in Maine, the bee-keeper should endeavor from the start to build up his colonies from the opening of spring as rapidly as possible. Bees must be supplied with plenty of stores to keep up brood rearing, unless nectar is being brought in or there are plenty of stores in the hive. Only a limited number of eggs will be laid by the queen unless the beekeeper supplies this need.
Full combs of honey are the ideal food for this purpose but, unless saved carefully from the previous season, are not usually available except when spared from other colonies. Granulated sugar dissolved in an equal volume of water and fed within the hive in some sort of feeder (see Figs. 14 and 15) is the next best source. This should be fed to the bees warm, and preferably at night. Some feed what they think will be required at one time while others practice feeding a small quantity each day, called
stimulative feeding. The novice will be on the safe side to feed all at one time, that is, on successive days until the desired amount has been fed. Caution should be used not to feed more
Figure 14: Simplicity feeder, used for stimulative feeding
Figure 15: The Miller feeder, for feeding bees liquid honey or syrup
than will be used by the bees in brood rearing. If a large quantity is fed, it might later be stored in the supers and sol. Under the pure food laws, honey is defined as " The nectar of flowers gathered by the bees and stored in their combs." The chemist can distinguish between cane and beet sugar and the nectar of flowers, and the bee-keeper would thus become liable to prosecution even though he intended no violation of the law.
The bee-keeper may further help the bees by supplying artificial pollen, if lives a.e out of doors, sometime before natural pollen is available. Rye or wheat flour mixed with bran or some other coarse material makes a substitute that the bees will use freely until the natural pollen can be found.
Bees also use a large amount of water, and if this is supplied at all times in some sheltered spot where it is warm, it will save the lives of many.
The bees which live through the winter die very rapidly in spring, especially in a changeable climate like Maine, living only long enough for the young bees to mature and take their places. With bad wintering, they dwiddie so rapidly that the colony is often lost outright or only succeeds in building up to full strength, and the honey crop is lost.
Nothing is gained by uniting very weak colonies early in the spring. They had better be united with strong colonies, or tucked in snug and left until the weather is warm and settled, and both are gaining. At the opening of the surplus harvest, they may be united with profit if honey is the object sought, or left alone if increase is desired. Let it be borne in mind that the bees that gather the surplus crop must be about forty days old from the egg when the flow opens, if we are to secure the best results. The young worker bee emerges from the cell at twenty-one days, and for the next three weeks performs the work of the hive, acting as nurse bee, preparing the food, feeding the young larva, sealing them in their cells, building combs, and, at times, receiving the nectar from the field bees and storing it in the combs. They take daily flights when the weather is suitable marking their location carefully, and going farther as they grow stronger, until about the fortieth day from the egg when they become field workers. In the rush of the season, they wear themselves out in about one month. Were it not for the fact that the queen was laying from several hundred to two thousand eggs a day at this time, the colony would soon be depleted.
## 6 Securing the Honey Crop
If bees have wintered well, and have been properly cared for, they should be strong and ready for the supers by the time white clover begins to bloom. Some seasons, the supers would need to be put on earlier. There is no fixed rule or date, all depends on the season, the strength of the colony and the nectar coming in.
The super is the arrangement in which the surplus honey is secured whether as section honey, chunk, or extracted honey. When the colony has become so populous that they are crowded in between all the combs and new wax can be seen along the top bars of brood frames, it is usually time for the supers to be put on. As a rule in this State, it is not far from the first bloom of clover. Everything should be in readiness by this time, so that supers may be put on as fast as needed.
Sections in which comb honey is usually secured, come in boxes containing five hundred in the flat (see Fig. 16). The comb foundation is put up in boxes containing one to five pounds. The different grades are known as heavy, medium and light brood, and thin and extra thin supers.
Figure 16: Standard bee-way section. b. Plain sections in flat. c. The same put together ready for the foundation