BEE-spoke-data/bees-v0 huggingface dataset:
Horneta's, honey-bees their friends, #57;
Hosses, ventilation of, neglected, pl.
Huber, Francis, tribute to, #31-864; dis
### Index
Bigns of swarming, Ill1; of questions colonies, 219, 224 ; of presence of moths in hive, 251; hive, 200; diseased been included in a 310; risk of not increased by knocking of hive, 255-358.
Bnell, of hive, In gatherings season, 177 (note); airway been discontinued by, 290; the cause, to be given in outline colonies, 205; some of its bees, acute, 313; of their own poisones irritate been, 314.
Smoke, Importance of theubbing bees, 71, 134; has in forced swarming, 166, 168, 169; its use of, very ancient, 170; drives clustered bees inside of live, 851; useful in removing surplus honey, 280.
Smoking bees, emotions for preventing, 295; health, sometimes covered by bees with peropolis, 78.
Show, bees parish on, when carrying out their dead, 95; sometimes fatal to bees, 118 (note 1); often harmless to bees, 851 (note 1).
Rollapars, 290; she visited, the bees should be Routag, 78, on meal as a substitute for pollet, 84.
Brier honey, see Honey, surplus.
Everanthes, of the queen-be, wool-cut and description of, 85; PI, XVIII1, 372; 55; dissection of, 34, 190 (note), 213 (note).
Spermutations, found in sprentheses of queen-be, 34, 116 (note),
Splink Atropos, see Motth, Death-head,
Splink, described the Italian bee, 318 (note).
Spring, importantes of sun-heat, in, to hive, 101; feeble stocks, in, unprofitable, 171; examination of bees, (in, important, 291; coincides should be fed, 91; Franklin, a good kind of, 91; excess, 179; seals their robbing freeway, 265.
Bisturing of bosa, often happens when thore is honey in the hive, 880, 342.
Sting, Herman's description of, 64; PI, 540, 571, 1571, Fig. 58; microscopic apparent and of, 57; house of, 64; fused to bees, 57; lots of, in stinging, a benefit to man, 58; of queen, 65; wood-cut of quocons, 65; wood-cut of quocons, 67; XVIII1, 67; XVIII1, 67; fusion-point of, dangerous to some, 618; remolting, 884-817; small of poloid of, irritating to bosa, 814; instead extraction of, important, 314; rebbing the wound made by, should be avoid-,
Still; Mr. Wagner's remedy for, 813; different remedies answer for different persons, 315; human system may be (named to, 316(note); amonia-, 167; rong comedy for, 816 (note); amonia-, 168; rong comedy for, 816, 169; lites of, unless 169, 838; little risk of, unless 169, 838; lites of, diminished by use of mov, comb
hlve, 200; diseased bees included in a 310; risk of not increased by knocking to the hive, 811 (note 1); not to be fasted from a hoc way from its hive, 813; effect of, sometimes danger-, 813; Italian bee less inclined-46, than common bee, 813; 838.
Stocks, of bees, (see also Colantes of bees, 71, 134; lites of, 169, 171; rong comedy for, 816, 172; rong comedy for, 816 (note).
Spring, bees when escaped, distilled to, 85; other reasons to swarm, 189, 143; lites, 147; new, work better than old, 133; lites of, 189 Spring, usually unprofitable, and sometimes require to be fed, 171; the less disturbed, the better for surplus honey, 180; best mode for rapid increase of, 184; doubling, teching, teching, teching, teching, teching, teching, teching, teching, teching, teching, teching, teching, teching, teching, teching, teching, teching, teching, teching, teching, teching, teching, teching, teching, teching, teching, teching, teching, teching, teching, teching, teching, teching, teching, teching, teching, teching, teching, teching, teching, teching, teching, teching, teching, teching, teching, teching, teching, teching, teching, teching, teching, teching, teching, teching, teching, teching, teching, teching, techinging, teching, teching, techinging, teching, tech
A D VERTISEMENT.
As individual or farm right, to make and use the Movable-Comb-II live, will be sold for five dollars.* Such a right entitled the owner, in the territory where it is purchased, to make for his own use, and not otherwise, any number of lives.
Ministers of the Goepel, of all denominations, are entitled to an individual right for their own use, without any charge.
The Inventor has secured, to all purchasers of individual rights, the privilege of using, without any further charge, any improvements which he may hereafter patent. For the information of the Public (see note on page 61), the following extract is given from the Patent Office Report of 1852-8:
* "Patent \(N_{0},8900\)--Improvement in _Dec-IIRecon_.
* "What I claim as my prevention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is--
* "First.--The use of a shallow chamber, substantially as described, in combination with a perforated oven, for enlarging or diminishing at will the size and number of the spare honey receptacles.
* "Second.--The use of the movable frames, \(A,A,\) Fig. 4, or their equivalents, substantially as described; also, their use in combination with the shallow chamber, with or without my arrangement for spare honey receptacles.
* "Third.--A divider, substantially as described, in combination with a movable cover, allowing the divider to be inserted from above, between the ranges of comb.
* "Four.--The use of the double glass idea in a single frame, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.
* "Four.--The construction of the trap for excluding moths and outabling worms, so arranged as to increase or diminish at will the size of the entrance for bees, substantially in the manner, and for the purposes set forth.
Appendix L Fayette, Franklin, Gallia, Greene, Guernsey, Hamilton, Hancock, Hardin, Harrison, Highland, Hocking, Holmes, Jackson, Jefferson, Knox, Lawrence, Licking, Logan, Madison, Marion, Medina, Meigs, Montgomery, Monroe, Maskingum, Perry, Pickaway, Flike, Preble, Richland, Ross, Scioto, Shelby, Union, Vinton, Warren, Washington, and Wyandott, address Richard Colvin, Delaware, Ohio.
For individual and territorial rights in the State of Kentucky, and the Counties of Ashtabula, Cayahoga, Geauga, Lake, Mahoqing, Portage, Summit, and Trumbull, in Ohio, addrees E. T. Sturterant & Co., Cleveland, Ohio.
For individual and territorial rights in the States of Maine, Vermont, Connecticut, and the Counties of Grafton, Carroll, and Coos, in New Hampshire-also, for rights In Connecticut, New York, and the Western States and Territories, address R. C. Otia, Kenosha, Wisconsin.
N. B.--Owners of territorial rights, who may wish to have their names inserted in this advertisement, can ascertain terms by addressing A. O. Moore & Co., 140 Fulton Street, New York.
# A thousand answers to beekeeping questions
## Appendix P R E F A C E
N 1895 there was begun, in the American Bee Journal, a department of "Questions and Answers," with Doctor C. C. Miller in.charge, the object being to give information to readers on special subjects, perplexing to the bekeeper, and not specifically covered by the different bee literature.
In the twenty-two years that Doctor Miller has answered these queries of subscribers (he is still conducting this department) almost every subject in bekeeping has been touched. His wide experience, this imititable style, and the clearness with which he writes have made these answers invaluable.
The present volume is a compilation of a thousand questions, culled out of many thousands and arranged in alphabetical order for convenience. Its object is not to supplement existing text-books on beekeeping, but rather to supplement them.
DR. MILLER's THOUSAND ANSWERS
**Abscending (See also Desertion, Swarms Leaving.)--Q**. I hived a swarm, and the next day it said off to parts unknown. What shall I do to prevent such a thing in the future?
**A.** The most frequent cause of such desertion is heat. A hive unshaded standing out in the boiling sun with a very small entrance and all the rest closed up tight, is a pretty warm place to set up housekeeping, and one can hardly blame the newly settled family for moving out.
The remedy is not difficult to imagine. If possible, let the hive he in a cool, shady place. A temporary shade, and sprinkling with water will serve a good turn. Give plenty of chance for air. Some practice leaving the covers of the hives raised an inch or so for two or three days. Some give two stories to the swarm, taking away the lower story after two or three days. Either of these plans provides to some extent against an overheated dwelling. Some practice giving a frame of brood to the swarm, with the idea that the bees will feel that they cannot afford to abandon so valuable a piece of property.
In any case, if all laying queens are clipped no prime swarm can abscond unless it joins, or is joined, by some other swarm having a queen with whole wings. The queen with clipped wing may be lost, but it is better to lose the queen alone than to lose both queen and swarm.
Swarms may abscond, also, if they are secondary or after-swarms and the queen has not mated. When she goes out for her wedding flight, the swarm may follow her.
**Absorbents.--Q**. Which is the better way to fix bees for wintering out-of-doors, with a tight-fitting cover on the hive, or with chaff cushions, or some other porous absorbent material?
Is there any way to keep the moisture from the bees, and from condensing in the hives? If so, how?
A. If a plain board cover be directly over the bees the moisture will condense on it and fall on the cluster; but the moisture will not condense so readily on wool, chaff or something of that kind; so that it is preferable to the close-fitting board cover.
**Adel Bees.--Q**. Is the Adel bee a sort of Carniolan bee, and can it be kept in an 8-frame hive? What kind of a cross would it be?
A. There is no such race as Adels. The word "Adel" is a German word which Germans spell "Edel," and the word means noble or excellent. So anyone may call his hee Adels, whether they are black or yellow; only, of course, it will be a misnomer if applied to poor bees. If I understand it correctly, Adels were a strain of Italians first, so named by Henry Alley.
**Afterswarms.--Q.** My bees swarmed May 31. I put on a super that noon, and eleven days later they put off another swarm. What was the matter with them? They have not started to build in the super yet, and the new bees are still bringing in honey in the bottom. What is the reason?
A. It is the usual thing for bees to send out the second swarm about eight days after the prime swarm, and it may be as much as sixteen days later. They may also send out a third, fourth swarm, or more, and even if they send out only one swarm they are not likely soon to do anything in the super, if at all.
Q. Last spring I thought three colonies of bees from one of the neighbors and they all have crooked combs in the brod-chamber. He did not use starters, and they are so crooked that I cannot take them out of the frames. These same colonies have each swarmed three times. The first swarms were large. I lived them in new 10-frame hives. The next three swarms were smaller. I also lived them in 10-frame hives, and the last three were small. As I did not want any more bees, I killed the queens in the last three swarms and put them back in the parent hives. They did not swarm any more. As I don't want any more swarms, how can I prevent them from swarming?
A. One way of preventing too much increase is to do as you did in one case, that is to return the swarm as often as one issues. But that may be more trouble than you like. Here's an easy way to prevent afterswarming: When the primes swarm is hived, set it on the stand of the old colony, setting the old hive close beside it, facing the same way. A week later move the old hive to a new stand 10 feet or more away. That's all; the bees will do the rest. For when the hive is moved to a new stand the bees will go to the fields just the same as if they had not been moved, but when they return, instead of going to their own hive they will return to the old stand and join the swarm. That will so weaken the mother colony that all thoughts of swarming will be given up, especially as no honey will be brought in for a day or two after the change of place. If you want to prevent all swarming that's a more difficult matter. Inform yourself thoroughly by means of such a book as Dadant's Langstroth, and you will be in a better position to know what plan is best for you.
My book, "Fifty Years Among the Bees," is especially full as to
Figure 1: Afterswarms many times are accompanied by several queens and cluster as above.
the matter of hindering swarming. But I must confess that I have not been able to prevent all swarming to my entire satisfaction. It may be some help to say that if you succeed in getting a young queen reared in a colony and get her to laying, that colony is practically certain not to swarm the same season.
Q. In preventing afterswarms, by placing the young swarm on the old stand and taking the old colony to a new place, should all the queen-cells except the ripest one.be cut out at once?
A. That's one way. There's a better way. Set the swarm on the old stand, the old hive close beside it, without cutting out any queen-cells, and let stand for a week. Then move the old hive to a new stand, and the bees will do the rest. You see, when the old hive is moved at that time all the field-bees will leave it and join the swarm. That will weaken the old colony, and added to that is the fact that no honey will be coming in, so the bees will conclude they cannot afford to swarm, and all the extra queen-cells will be killed without your opening the hive.
Q. Can an afterswarm be returned to the parent hive? If so, how shall I proceed?
A. The easiest thing in the world. Just dump the swarm down in front of the hive and let them run in. It was the old-fashioned way of treating afterswarms, and there's no better way, if you don't mind the trouble. Just return the bees every time they swarm out, and when all the queens have emerged there will be only one left, and there will be no more swarming. Indeed, you may carry the plan still farther, returning the prime swarm and all the afterswarms. That will give you no increase, but the largest yield of honey, especially if your harvest is early.
Hiving the swarm in an empty box and returning it to the parent colony the next day is still better, as the swarming excitement is over.
Q. Do afterswarms come out only when the old hive remains on the old stand?
Do they always fail to come out when the old hive is put in a new location?
A. Aiterswarms are likely to issue if the old hive is left on the old stand, and are less likely to if the old hive at the time of swarming is removed to a new place; but may issue then. If the swarm is put on the old stand, the old hive close beside it, and then a week later the old hive removed to a new place, you may count quite safely on no afterswarms.
**Age of Bees.--Q**. What is the average life of a queen, drone, and worker bee?
A. A queen, perhaps 2 years; a worker, 6 weeks in the working season; a drone, until the workers drive it out.
Q. I have heard a great many say, bees live only 30 days. What do you think about it?
A. Worker-bees live several months if born late in the season; for they live over winter and until new ones are ready to take their place in the spring. Those that are born after the busy season begins in the summer, live 5 or 6 weeks.
**Albinos.--Q**. In my bee-book I did not find anything stating the difference between an albino and another race of bees. Is there anything peculiar about albinos?
A. Albinos among bees are somewhat like albinos of the human race or other animals; there is a deficiency of coloring pigment. This is accompanied by weakness in other respects; although some have reported albino bees that were good. I have seen nothing about albinos for several years, and don't know where you could find them.
**Alfalfa.--Q**. Does alfalfa yield honey in the east? I have seen it stated several times in prominent farm journals that alfalfa gives no nectar in the east.
A. I think the rule is that east of the Mississippi River alfalfa never yields any nectar to speak of. Alfalfa grows finely on my place, and occasionally I have seen a few bees on the blossoms, but never to amount to anything, and I think this is generally so east of the Mississippi. Seems to me, however, that a more favorable report has been made by some one in Wisconsin or New York.
Q. What is the flavor of alfalfa honey?
A. Alfalfa honey is of very mild flavor, milder than clover.
**Alley Method.--Q**. Where could I get Alley's book on queen-rearing?
A. It is out of print, but you will find the Alley queen-rearing method in "The Hive and Honey Bee," latest edition.
**Ants.--Q**. I have six colonies of bees. The smaller ones are bothered with large, black ants. Is there any way of stopping them?
A. Ants annoy the bee-keeper rather than the bees. It is decidedly annoying to have them crawling over the hands andbiting. Yet it may be well to add that there are ants and ants. Go far enough South and you may find ants that will destroy a colony sometimes in short order. Even in the North there is a kind to be dreaded. You say yours are "large black ants." Most likely that means ants that are a quarter of an inch or so in length, which are large in comparison with little red ants. But if you have the big wood ants that are three-quarters of an inch long, then that's another story. I've had no little trouble with them and they are hard to combat. They get between the bottom-board and board on which it rests, and honey-comb the bottom-board. Sometimes there will be merely a shell left, so that you will hardly notice anything wrong, yet a little touch when hauling bees might break through a hole to let the bees out. Carbolic acid may do something toward driving them away. You may also poison them. Take two pieces of section, or, perhaps, better still, two thin boards 4 inches square, or larger, fasten upon each end of one of them a cleat one-cighth inch thick, and lay or fasten the other on it, thus leaving a space of one-cighth inch between the two boards. Mix arsenic in honey and put between the boards. The bees cannot get into so small a space, but the ants can. Or, put poison in a box covered with wire-cloth that will let the ants in but keep the bees out.
Q How can I rid my apiary of red ants? They build their hills near and sometimes directly under the hives and crawl into the hives and kill the bees.
A. Have four feet to the hive, each foot standing in a vessel of oil or water. Find the nest of the ants, with crowbar make a hole in the nest and pour in carbon disulfide. Have no fire near, as the disulfide is explosive. Gasoline will also answer pretty well.
**Apiary--Q**. How many colonies of bees can be kept in one apiary?
A. That depends upon the pasturage within a mile or two. In most places not more than 75 or 100.
Q. My bees have at least 300 acres of clover and alfalfa within two miles. How many colonies can I pasture to be safe?
A. That's one of the very hard things to say. You don't say whether red or white clover. If you mean red, it probably doesn't count for much, while white clover counts heavily in good years, although some years it blooms a plenty and yet yieldsno nectar. If you had said 300 acres of white clover, meaning 300 acres solidly occupied with white clover, I should guess 200 colonies might get good picking. Alfafia varies more. If it is all used for raising seed, then it probably counts as much as white clover. If used for hay, it counts for less, and may count for nothing, depending upon the times when the hay is cut. If always cut just before it blooms, then it counts for nothing; if cut when
in full bloom, it may count perhaps on being enough for 100 colonies. You will easily see that, as you state it, the whole thing is a varying problem. It may be mostly white clover, or it may be mostly alfalfa, and the alfalfa may be treated so differently as to make a big difference in the amount of nectar got from it.
Q. Is a lawn sloping to the north a good location for bees? The entrances to face the north, and no shade?
A. You will probably find that it will not make very much difference whether the slope and the aspect are toward the north or south during most of the year. Sometimes your north slope
Figure 2: A good location, a south-east slope with windbreak of natural shrubbery.
will be the better one, and sometimes the south. In cool days the southern exposure will generally be better, and in the hottest days the northern. In winter there will be days when soft snow is on the ground and the sun shining brightly to entice the bees out to a chilly tomb, and on such days the northern aspect will be better. There will be other days in winter when the weather and all conditions are favorable for a cleansing flight, and then the southern slope will be better. That cleansing flight is a matter of such importance that on the whole it is better to have the southern slope for wintering. This refers, of course, to locations far enough north to make a winter flight an infrequent occurrence. If your bees are wintered in the cellar, it will probably be a tos up which way is better.
**Apifuge.--Q.** I read in my bee-book about apifuge. What is it? Will it really keep bees from stinging?
A. Apifuge is the name of some combination of drugs, which combination is not made public, and is made, advertised and sold in England. I don't remember its being advertised or used on this side. It probably helps to prevent stings. I have seen it claimed that oil of wintergreen rubbed on the hands would prevent stinging.
**Associations, Bee.--Q.** Where is my nearest bee-association, and what are the annual dues?
A. The secretaries of associations change nearly every year. Write the publishers of your bee journal for information.
**Baits.--Q.** What do you mean by baiting to get the bees to work? Do you put in sections partly filled with honey?
A. Sections that are only partly filled are emptied of their honey by the bees in the fall, and the next year one or more of these are put into the first super to start the bees. Such sections are called bait-sections, or baits.
Q. In putting bait-sections, or sections partly filled with comb, into supers when you put them on at the beginning of the season, wouldn't the super be filled better, that is, wouldn't all of the sections be more likely to be completed at the same time, if the bait-sections were put at the outside of the super? Wouldn't it be just as effective in getting the bees to go up and begin storing honey in the super? Or, one might have one bait-section in the middle and the rest on the outside.
A. Your views are all right. Bees will start soonest on a central bait; but if more than one in a super, put them in the corners, or at least outside.
**Bairs for Swarms.-Q.** A neighbor places common boxes up in trees and catches stray swarms. Is there anything a person can put in a hive that will bait a swarm to the box placed in a tree?
A. Yes, you can put brood-combs in it. If the combs have been used but are still sweet and clean the bees will like them better than any empty hive.
**Banats.-Q.** Is the Banat bee a new race of bees brought from some other country, or is it just a cross with some of our native bees? Would they be hardy enough for Minnesota?
A. It is counted a separate race. I know very little about them, but I suppose they are equally as hardy as Italians, and perhaps as good workers.
**Barrels.-Q.** Where can I obtain barrels for extracted honey?
A. Second-hand alcohol or syrup barrels are best and could probably be obtained from drug stores, groceries and wholesale medicine firms.
**Basswood.-Q.** (a) I have just ordered some basswood trees. How close can I plant them together?
(b) Will they grow well in this climate; that is, hot and dry in the summer-time, subject to strong winds in winter, no snow, and temperature never falling very low?
(c) How long will it be before they yield nectar to amount to anything?
(d) How much water do they need when growing? (California.)