BEE-spoke-data/bees-v0 huggingface dataset:
The sting of the bee is an important factor in preventing over production of honey. There are many persons who have an almost unreasonable fear of bees, or, rather of getting stung, and yet there are very few people to whom a sting causes more than a sharp pain for a short time and some discomfort through swelling ot the affected part - Both pain and swelling become less and less after a number of stings have been received and the seasoned beekeeper, while reducing the number of stings he receives to a minimum by observing certain rules, takes little notice of the stings he does receive beyond removing them promptly. There are, however, some individuals to whom a sting causes serious pain and protracted discomfort, and to whom bees have a lasti g dislike--attacking them whenever they cone near hives. Such people should have nothing to do with bees. Most, however, after being stung a number of times become more or less immune, even though the first few stings caused considerable pain and swelling. With the right strain of bees ; an understanding of their habits ; correct methods of handling ; and a knowledge of irritating causes the largest apiary can be run without more than an occassional sting being received.
Of late years bce stings have been used by medical men for the cure of certain forms of rheumatism. 'That the poison of the sting has no la-ting injurious effect upon the human system seems evident from the fact that many prominent men who have lived amongst bees all their lives have attained to extreme age, e.g., Dr, Dzierszon, Rev. Langstroh, Dr. C. C. Miller, A. I. Root, and others.
To avoid stings as much as possible one should dress in light coloured clothes, bees have a rooted objection to anything black, and more so when it is rough or fuzzy 'The odours of such things as camphor, kerosene, turpentine, eucalyptus oil, carbonic acid, lysol, dogs, horses, ants, or meat, on the hands or clothes of the operator, or anywhere near the hive, will cause bees to sting. In their attacks on trespassers (as in their search of nectar) bees are largely guided by the sense of smell. The odour of flowers attracts them to the spot where the flowers grow, while the sense of sight locates the blossom.
When approaching a hive one should walk lightly and avoid standing in the line of flight of the bees leaving the hive or returning to it. Before opening the hive blow a whiff of smoke from the smoker in at the entrance, and another one or two over the top of the frames as soon as the hive cover is raised sufficiently. When these precautions are taken there need be little fear of stinging unless the bees are of a vicious strain, in which case the queen should be removed and one from a gentler stock introduced. There are, however, occasions when even the best tempered bees will sting more or less viciously 'For instance, when a honey flow has suddenly ceased and bees have had access to honey other than the nectar in flowers ; or when a colony has become hopelessly queenless, which means that they have no queen and no brood to raise one from. The remedy in the first case is never to allow bees access to honey outside the hive, and not to open hives when robber bees are seen hovering round. In the second, give the queenless colony a comb of brood from another hive, or introduce a queen.
To reduce the effect of a sting to a minimum it should be quickly removed, when very little of the poison will have entered the puncture. The sting itself is a sharp-pointed and barbed hollow shaft connected with the poison sac in the body of the bee. When the sting has entered the rubberlike human skin it cannot be withdrawn on account of the barbs, and in the effort of the bee to free itself the sting with the poison bag, and the actuating muscles attached, is torn from the abdomen. The muscles may be seen to continue working sometimes for many seconds after the sting has become detached from the bee and it is therefor advisable to immediately remove it from the skin. This is best done by scraping it away with the fingernail or if both hands are engaged rubbing it off on your clothes. On no account should a sting be picked off with the finger tips because that cannot be done without pressing the poison bag and injecting the whole of its contents into the skin.
To neutralise the effects of a sting a number of remedies are recommended. The blue bag is the most commonly advocated cure--I am no. at all sure whether green or yellow would not do as well.
Ammonia is certainly more effective, but it has the disadvantage of irritating the bees, and more stings are likely to be the result. Washing the part stung with soap and water alias irritation, whilst if many stings have been received bathing with hot water will diffuse the poison, lessen the pain, and reduce the swelling. For the average individual the best thing to do is to quickly remove the sting and think no more about it.
## 4 **Iv.--Hives.**
The hive most generally in use in Victoria is the "Langstroh " either eight or ten frame. There are however a number of beekeepers who use a modified form of the Heddon hive. Whatever hive is adopted the walls should not be less than \(\xi\) inch in thickness, otherwise extremes of temperature will affect the bees, and during very hot weather combs may melt down. All hives sold by manufacturers are made of \(\xi\)-inch wood, and \(\mathbf{I}\) strongly advise beginners who intend to make their own hives not to use thinner boards.
The eight-frame Langstroh hive, as shown in Fig. 5, is made of \(\xi\)-inch shelving, pine, or Californian redwood. It measures 20 in. by \(1.3\xi\) in. outside, and is \(9\xi\) inches deep, giving an inside measurement of \(184\) x \(12\xi\) x \(9\xi\). The ten-frame Langstroh is of the same length and depth, but of 16 inches outer and \(14\xi\) inches inner width, thus giving room for two more frames. The end boards of the hive are rebated inside to a distance of \(\xi\) inch down and \(12\) inch into the thickness of the board. On to the shoulder of this rebate is nailed a runner of folded tin so as to project \(\xi\) inch upwards. On this metal runner rest the top bars of the frames, and its purpose is to prevent the crushing of bees when handling frames and to avoid the gluing down of the latter by the bees.
Two kinds of frames are sold by dealers, the Simplicity and the Hoffmann. The outer dimensions of both are the same, viz., \(17\xi\) in. x \(9\xi\) in., with the top bar \(19\) inch long, but while in the Simplicity, or loose hanging frame, top, side and bottom bar are all of the same width, viz., \(\xi\) inch, in the Hoffmann, or self-spacing frame, the upper part of the side bars is \(18\) inch wide. When pushed close together in the hive, they give the correct spacing of the combs, viz., \(18\) inch, which is the average distance at which bees build combs when in a state of nature. Eight or ten frames in the respective hives leave a small space, this is occupied by a thin board of the dimensions of the frames and called the follower and its object is to more easily remove or handle the frames after it is withdrawn. The thickness of the bars of the Simplicity frame is top bar \(12\) inch or \(8\) inch, reduced to \(8\) inch at the projecting ends ; side bars \(38\) to \(7\)-\(16\) inch ; bottom bar \(14\) to \(8\) inch. In the Hoffmann frame the thickness and width of the top bar varies with different manufacturers, American frames having a top bar \(1\) inch wide and \(\xi\) inch thick, while some frames of local make have a top bar \(7\) inch wide, and \(2\) inch or \(8\) inch thick. The bottom bar is \(4\) inch x \(4\) inch in all the different makes. Whatever the thickness of the bars the outside measurement of the frame is always the same.
The Simplicity frame is the cheapest and easiest to uncap for the ex traction of honey, but, being a loose hanging frame, it has some serious disadvantages. Each frame has to be spaced separately every time bees are handled, and as there is a \(12\)-inch space between the framesFigure 5: Eight-frame Langstroth Hive, Two Storey.
Figure 6: End and General View of Simplicity Frame.
Figure 7: End and General View of Hoffmann Frame.
when correctly spaced the bees will often build comb into these spaces and on to the end wall of the hive. Further, every time a hive is moved the frames have to be secured in some way to prevent them knocking against one another and crushing bees, and for these reasons self-spacing frames are more advantageous. The difference in the first cost between Simplicity and self-spacing frames is only \(s\)s, to \(s\)s, 6d, per hundred frames. Wide top bar Hoffmann frames as used in America are somewhat difficult to uncap when extracting ; as the comb of honey when sealed does not project beyond the wide top bar, it cannot be used as a guide for the uncapping knife, as can be done with the Simplicity or the Hoffmann, with a \(\frac{1}{8}\) inch \(x\)\(\frac{5}{8}\) inch top bar as shown in Figure 7.
One drawback of Hoffmann frames is that the bees often fasten the side bars of the frames together with wax or propolisis. The latter is a substance gathered by the bees for the purpose of filling up any interstices or crevices in the hive. It consists of resin, wattle-gum, tar, paint, cart-grease, and similar substances. In some districts, propolisis is a great nuisance to the beekeeper. Some strains of bees will daub it everywhere inside the hive. To overcome this difficulty, and also that of uncapping Hoffmann wide top bar frames, and yet have a self-spacing frame, a number of apiarists, including the writer, has adopted the frame shown in Figure 8. It has a top bar \(\frac{7}{8}\) inch wide, \(\frac{1}{2}\) inch thick, bottom bar \(\frac{2}{8}\) inch \(x\)\(\frac{3}{8}\) inch, and side bars \(1\frac{1}{8}\) in, \(x\)\(\frac{1}{2}\) in. The top and bottom bars are nailed on so that the side bar projects on the reverse side at the opposite end. The spacing is obtained by four stout flat-headed nails driven into the side bars and projecting \(\frac{1}{4}\) inch, as shown in the illustration (Fig. 8). These frames are not stocked by manufacturers, but will be made to order if ordered in sufficient quantities. They can however easily be made by any one at all handy with tools, the only difference between them and the Simplicity frames being that the side bars are \(1^{1}_{N}\) inch instead cf \(\frac{2}{8}\) inch, and that the frames are nail spaced instead of loose hanging.
The Heddon hanging frame hive, also known as the Bolton hive, is what is called a sectional hive. The hive consists of shallow bodies \(5^{8}_{4}\) inches deep, with self-spacing frames \(5^{8}_{8}\) inches deep. The advantages claimed for it are that it can be readily expanded or reduced in size ac coding to conditions and season by adding or removing stories ; that swarming can be prevented or controlled by means of inverting the sets of frames at intervals, thus causing the destruction of queen cells, and that shallow supers are easier to lift and handle when full of honey, and the shallow combs easier to uncap than deep ones.
As an offset against these advantages, it must be mentioned that the Heddon hive costs more, that double the number of combs have to be handled when extracting, and that the splitting up of the hive into so many sets of frames by the intervening bee spaces has a tendency to retard breeding up in spring.
In connexion with this, I should like to say that the correct bee space between set of frames in the stories of a hive is \(\frac{1}{4}\) inch. In the hives purchased from manufacturers too much allowance is made (generally) for shrinkage of timber, leaving up to \(\frac{1}{8}\) inch between the stories. This excessive space first acts as a great check on the bees entering the super in spring, while later on it is filled with comb and honey, and is a hindrance and nuisance every time a hive is opened, also causing the death of many bees when frames are replaced in supers without first removing the pieces of comb which connected the upper and lower frames. With a 1 inch bee space between the stories there will be little or no bur comb.
## Floors.
The hive stand generally sold by manufacturers and dealers consists of a single board 22 inches long, 138 inches wide, and $-inch thick, nailed on to a piece of pin x zin. at each end, as shown in Fig. 5. On the top of this board, along two sides are nailed strips of wood 19 inches long, $-inch wide, and $-inch in thickness, A piece of like dimensions, but only 138 inches long, is nailed across one end. These three cleats raise the hive body 5-16-inch, and form a bee-space between the bottom bars of the frames and the hive-stand, and, at the same time, constitute the entrance to the hive. This entrance is 12 in. x 5-16-in., and may be contracted in winter by blocking it for one-half or two-thirds with pieces of $-inch. x 5-16 in. wood. It is not advisable to have entrances larger than 5-16-inch., as mice may enter and destroy any combs not occupied by bees. This hive stand is fairly satisfactory, but rather expensive. The projection, which serves as an alighting board at the entrance, is also a somewhat objectionable feature, as it prevents close packing of hives in shifting colonies by road or rail.
A hive stand can be made of half the weight, and at only two-thirds the cost, by substituting 1-in. x 6-in. white Baltic lining boards for the $-in, shelving, and a frame of $-in. x 6-in. white Baltic flooring for the pieces of $-inch. x 2 in. This frame should be made the length and width of the hive, and 2 inches high, the lining boards being nailed on top, and the three cleats on top again. A detachable alighting board, sloping down to the level of the ground, takes the place of the projection. This stand rests on the ground all round, and the exclusion of drapught underneath compensates for less thickness of the floor. If pressed down tight on to levelled ground, it affords no harbor for spiders and other vermin, nor a hiding place for queens (where queens are clipped) at swarming time.
In some districts, particularly in forest country, trouble occurs with 1.ve stands, and even hives, through white ants entering the wood of the stand where it touches the ground, and destroying it, and unless checked, eventually the hive. At a trifling expense in the first instance, this risk may be entirely avoided, by saturating those pieces of the stands which come into contact with the ground with a solution of sulphate of copper, generally known as Bluestone. In a box 12-inch longer, inside, than the longest pieces to be treated, and made water-tight by running boiling wax over all the joints, dissolve sufficient Bluestone in water to make a saturated solution, so that in about a day, with occasional stirring, some of the crystals remain undissolved. The wood to be saturated should be thoroughly dry, and be packed into the box of solution, with bits of stick between the pieces to keep them apart, and a weight on the top to keep them under. Immersion for 24 hours will be sufficient, when the wood may be exposed to air and sun to dry. After the stands are made up the pieces impregnated should be painted or tarred to prevent the bluestone being soaked out by rain water.
## Covers.
In the matter of hive covers there is perhaps more neglect on the part of beekeepers than in anything else; and yet upon the cover depends in a great measure, not only the prosperity and health of the colony, but the durability of the hive itself. When hives, however well made, are covered with bags, palings, bark, or pieces of tin and iron, which materials either absorb the rain or conduct it into the hive by soakage around the edges, one need not wonder to find hives gaping open at the joints with boards warped or cracked, and mouldy combs inside. A hive cover should be watertight above all things, but it should also be constructed so that it will throw the water clear of the hive walls, and prevent the fierce heat of summer and the frost of the winter penetrating from the top. A flat, single board cover cannot fulfil these requirements. Even when kept well painted on the outside and strongly cleared at the ends it will warp, twist, or crack in the heat of summer, and will then not fit down close on to the hive all round. This will give rain water entrance to the interior of the hive and robber bees an opening to hover round during a dearth of nectar.
A gable cover with base board resting flat on the hive surmounted by a pitched roof with eaves projecting down a little below the top of the hive, is most effective, and keeps the hive dry and cool in summer, and warm in winter. This cover, is however, somewhat troublesome to construct, and not suitable for migratory beekeeping, being bulky and of an awkward shape for transporting. After using extensively for a number of years about six different patterns of hive covers, I find that a flat one covered with plain galvanized iron is the best all round. This is made of two layers of boards such as may be got from kerosene and jam cases. The boards of one layer run crosswise to the other, and are nailed together to form an oblong of 20\({}^{\frac{1}{2}}\)in. x 4\({}^{\frac{1}{2}}\)in., that is \(\frac{1}{2}\) inch longer and wider than the hive. Strips of board wide enough to project \(\frac{1}{2}\) inch all round on the lower side of the cover are nailed to the edge of it. The whole is then covered with a piece of galvanized (plain) iron, No. 26 gauge, measuring 28in. x 18in., and cut in at the corners to allow of it being turned down at right angles and secured at the eaves. A sheet of 26-gauge plain galvanized iron 72in. x 36in., which is a trade size, will thus cover six hive roofs. A hive cover of this description will outlast any other kind.
* It requires no paint, as the wood is not exposed. There is no warping, as one layer of boards checks the other ; it is water and fire-proof ; and if layers of non-conducting material, such as paper, are inserted between iron and wood, it is also heat and frost-proof.
## 5 How to Make a Start
How to make a start in bee-keeping will depend upon whether the beginner is taking up bee-culture as a business, or as a side issue of some other occupation. If it is intended to adopt it as the only calling, then the best way is to go as a working pupil with an up-to-date apiarist for a season or two. Even if a premium has to be paid for the first year, it will be less costly than the experience gained by failure. After the first season, a pupil will have learned enough to entitle him to some pay for the second year, or he may be competent enough to run a small apiary on shares with the owner. By the end of the second year, sufficient confidence and experience will have been acquired to make an independent start.
When means or circumstances do not permit of taking a position as pupil in an established apiary, or when bee-keeping is to be only a side issue, then it is best to start in quite a small way. Begin with two or three hives, and as experience is gained by practice, and knowledge by reading, gradually increase the number of colonies. A book of reference, such as A. I. Root's _A. B. C. of Bee-culture_, will greatly assist in mastering the principles of bee-keeping, and will supply solutions to nearly all the problems which usually present themselves to the novice. Any opportunity to visit an apiary, or to personally consult an apiarist of some standing, should be made good use of whenever it occurs.
Everybody handling bees requires two things to start with, namely, a bee-veil, and a smoker. A veil will cost about 1s. 6d., a smoker 4s. to 7s., according to size, and whether tin or brass. There are 1wo kinds--one straight, the other with a bent nozzle. I strongly recommend the latter (Fig. r), because any kind of fuel may be used in it without risk of glowing embers dropping from it when directing smoke downwards. Dry decayed wood or bark is better smoker fuel than bagging, rags, or fresh wood, the former giving a cooler smoke and less tar in the smoker.
There are several ways of making a start in a small way :--(r) Full colonies; (r) Swarms; (r) Box-hives; (r) Nuclei. With which of these to start will depend upon the amount of money it is proposed to expend at once, and whether bees are obtainable in one form or another.
### Full Colonies of Bees
Hives with finished combs and brood, and sufficient bees to cover all the combs, may be obtained from supply dealers advertising in the Melbourne weekly papers, at prices ranging from 3os. per stock for Black or **H**ybrid bees, to 45s. for Italians, with tested queen. Bees in frame-hives can often be purchased direct from owners; but for a beginner this involves some risk of getting disease or hives with poor combs to start with. It is usually the neglected hives which are for sale.
### Swarms
Where starting with natural swarms, and new hives, all danger of introducing disease is avoided. Swarms are obtainable from the end of September to the end of December, at ros. to 1gs. each, according to weight, 2s. 6d. per lb. being the price usually charged by dealers, or they may be advertised for and bought direct from bee-keepers having a surplus. With swarms there is little danger of disease being conveyed, even though the bees come from a diseased hive. When obtained from a distance the boxes in which they are sent should be about the size of a kerosene case, with wire screen covering an opening of one-third of the surface on two opposite sides. The hives and frames should be bought beforehand, and be ready. When the swarms arrive they should be placed in a cool and well-aired spot till towards evening, when a cloth or bag is spread out in front of the hive entrance upon which the swarm is dumped out of the transit box. As a rule the bees will quickly run into the hive ; if they
cluster outside without entering some should be brushed off with a large feather, and a little smoke used on all of them to start them running in.
If swarms are emptied out of transit boxes during the warm hours of the day or left hanging outside the hive overnight they will sometimes rise and cluster in some inconvenient place, or may even abscond. If several days of inclement weather follow the living of the swarms, the bees should be feed with sugar syrup made by dissolving sugar in an equal weight of boiling water. This is given inside the hive in a wooden feeder supplied by dealers.
Single story hives, made up and painted, containing eight wired frames supplied with strips of comb foundation cost los. each, or if bought in the flat and nailed together and painted at home 8s. each. The hives when placed in position ready to receive the bees should stand perfectly level crossways to the frames, otherwise the combs may have the wires on the outside instead of in the centre, because comb is always built perfectly perpendicular by the bees. The hives should, if possible, be sheltered from the south, with entrances facing east, north, or west. When the combs are nearly down to the bottom bars of the frames (Fig. 2) a super or upper story must be put on. It may be of the same size as the lower one or of half depth with shallow frames. Unless full sheets of foundation are used instead of starters in the frames of an upper story a queen-excluding honey board (Fig. 3) should be inserted between the two boxes to prevent the queen depositing eggs in drone comb usually built from starters in the super. To start the bees building comb above, it will be necessary to hang a comb or two from the lower into the upper story taking care to leave the queen below and to fill the space below with a frame or two from above.
## 3 Box-hives