BEE-spoke-data/bees-v0 huggingface dataset:
Beekeeping today is gradually becoming more and more restricted to expert or commercial apiarists than to the farmer. The time when nearly every farmer in the state had a few stands of bees on his farm seems to have disappeared. The present condition may probably be due to neglect or possibly a lack of knowledge on general bekeeping. Many times other duties peculiar to the season may have demanded the farmers attention when the bees required some care, and they were left to shift for themselves. Perhaps the present tendency towards specialization has largely been one of the chief factors in neglecting the bee. Many farmers owing to their location have given up general farming and are utilizing their efforts along one special phase of Agriculture. In some localities production of fruit has taken the place of grain farming and production of live stock. Their pastures, meadows and lands that have been under cultivation have been set out in fruit trees. The value of the bee has been overlooked, not only the products of its labors, but its supreme importance as an agent in pollination of the fruit bloom. It is no longer a supposition, but an established fact thru long years of experimentation and observation that bees are an absolute necessity in fertilizing the bloom of fruit. No commercial orchardist can afford to depend upon other agencies for the pollination of the fruit bloom. Many commercial orchardists in the surrounding states have realized that a great percentage of their failure were due to lack of fertilization, not frosts. In order to safeguard themselves in the future, they either have started an apiary in their orchards, or hire some apiarist to move his bees to their orchards during the period of bloom.
In the past bees were housed under conditions adverse to the production of honey; even at the present time, in some localities, bees are kept in hollow logs, barrels and home made boxes of every dimention. To rob them in the fall of the year, only to get a mixture of honey and dead bees, is neither a pleasant or a profitable business. Bees kept under such conditions become weakened either through the loss of the queen, lack of stores, or disease, and many other factors influencing the normal strength of the colony, because of the impossibility of examination. The ever watchful "'weevil" or bee moth makes its appearance and soon is the master of the colony. It is a sure indication that beekeopers troubled with beemoth are not familiar with the fundamentals of beekeeping, for the beemoth cannot overcome a colony that is strong and healthy. The resulting trouble from beemoth is really secondary and is a strong indication that another factor contrary to the welfare of the bee is present, causing the colony to dwindle and weaken. That the prospective beekeeper may not be misled by the glowing magazine articles and flowery statements, (to the inexperienced a "get rich quick scheme"); that beekeeping may be built up and commercial apiaries profitably conducted in West Virginia is the purpose of this bulletin.
It is a well established fact that beekeeping in West Virginia can be profitably conducted when managed carefully by putting into practice what has been brought to light by experts in the management and use of modern appliances. No greater opportunities are offered in the Eastern Central States than in West Virginia. Nature has blessed West Virginia with a flora consisting of a great variety of nectar-producing plants offering nearly a perpetual honey flow from the first spring flowers till frost. Having such a favorable combination of conditions, beekeeping is encouraged in this state, and it may well form the vocation for the young as well as for the old, for those living in the city as well as those living in the country, for the hale and the hearty as well as those suffering from impaired health.
**SKETCH OF THE EARLY HISTORY OF BEKEEPING.**
The keeping of bees dates back in history as one of the first occupations of man. Rude carvings of the bee upon the tombs of the ancient Egyptians; the presence of honey among the trinkets of the mummied inhabitants as well as honey being mentioned in the Bihle as a sustainer of life, indicates that the honey bee was held in high esteem by the people of that time. Honey was regarded a necessity as a food requirement for many centuries and remained as such within two or three generations of the present time. Bees were included among other live stock introduced in New England in 1638 during the colonization period of that section of America. During the Pioneer period of this state beekeeping was an important factor in every settlement. Honey and m&ple sugar in limited quantities were the only sources of sweets, depending largely upon the abundance of maple trees in the section settled. With the removal of the forest for agricultural purposes, maple trees were not spared so in some sections it became necessary to depend entirely upon the bees to supply the required sugar which is a necessity in all food requirements of the human body. Owing to the crude conditions under which hees were kept, swarming was intense and many swarms escaped to the forest. As years passed the wild colonies multiplied and with the addition of more swarms every year from the colonists apiaries the bees penetrated further and further in the new pastures. The movement of bees into new territory was at a greater rate than that of man which is clearly pointed out by the pioneers of this state finding bees present in the forests. Early beekeeping was very simple, new swarms issuing during the swarming season were placed in hollow logs and were forgotten until fall when the bees in those "gums" having the greatest amount of honey were killed. The returns were of rather poor quality, usually being more or less of a mixture of honey, pollen or "bee-bread", dead bees, and brood. Nevertheless it was relished by all, for sugar which is now common, was unknown.
## The value of bees.
The supreme value of the bee had never been recognized until the disappearance of the farm apiaries during the past ten or fifteen years. Failure, resulting from fruit not setting and decrease in crop yields, is largely due to the absence of bees during the blooming periods of the plants. The annual loss to West Virginia reaches millions of dollars not only losses in fruit and curtailed crop production, but in the production of honey, because of the absence of bees. Nectar, secreted by the nectaries of the flowers is the foundation for honey and every pound of honey produced is added wealth which can only be obtained through the agency of the honey bee. Every flower casting its nectar back to the soil, from which it came, does not materially increase the soil productivity. From the great kingdom of insects, the honey bee is the one of most value to mankind. Its ruling passion is INDUSTRY and its instinct at times even surpasses human knowledge, which all in all places it in the front rank of insects. It might be stated that if the bee did no more in its brief life than furnish its example of industry, social instincts, and economy, a few colonies would be well worth a place on every farm. Every farmer cannot afford to be without five or more colonies of Italian bees. Considering the value of the bee with reference to fructification in connection with the amount of honey produced, there is no other livestock kept on the farm from which a greater percentage of profit can be secured on the amount of labor expended and capital invested.
## Natural history of the bee.
Even if bees have been kept by man from an early stage in human civilization, they do not possess any outstanding characteristics of domestication, which is clearly shown by their activities in the wild state differing in no respect from those kept in an apiary. Bees are insects induced by man to live in their immediate vicinity by suitable environment to their needs. Their instincts as shown by their activities do not indicate any change whatsoever in their tastes and dislikes. The colony in a modern hive will attack any intruder with the same amount of fereness as the one having its abode in a hollow tree. Man has learned through experience that bees can be handled with the proper use of smoke. The bounds of instinct are not over-stepped, but their immediate activities are diverted along other lines.
The structure and instincts of the bees compel them to live a colonial life. Each colony is a kingdom in itself where each and every individual works for the interest of the community. The collection of individuals varies according to the season; the largest number are usually found at the height of the season in the summer while the smallest number is at the close of the winter.
The normal colony at the season of greatest activity is composed of three kinds of individuals, the Queen (under normal conditions only one), thousands of workers, and many drones. In addition to the adults there are all stages of developing bees.
**Queen, Drone and Worker.**
**QUEN.**
It has been known for ages that there was an individual in the colony larger than the other, which was supposed to be the "King" or ruler. When it became known that this individual laid eggs the name was changed to Queen. Under normal conditions there is only one queen. She is the only perfect female and is the mother of the entire colony. Besides being larger than the other bees, she is somewhat different in shape, her body is longer, wings are shorter, and her abdomen is longer in proportion to that of the worker. She is armed with a curved sting which is used only in destroying other queens. Her sole duty is laying eggs which are deposited at the base of the cells of combs in that portion of the hives used for rearing brood. The number of eggs per day varies according to the season which governs the activities of the colony. During the winter months egg laying is reduced to a minimum. During season of production the queen reaches her maximum and is capable of depositing from 1000 to 5000 eggs per day,depending upon the activities of the workers and conditions produced by the beekeeper. The queen only leaves the hive when accompanied by a swarm, and from five to fifteen days after emerging from the cell as an adult, depending upon the race and condition of the weather. This flight is known among beekeepers as her wedding flight, for at this time she comes in contact with a drone and is fertilized. Mating never occurs in the hive but always on the wing and always before egg laying and never afterward. In mating the queen receives a supply of spermatozoa (male germ cells) which are stored in her spermatheca the first three weeks of her life, the desire of mating is lost and she will lay eggs which produce drones. A drone laying queen can be determined by the irregular deposition of eggs and several present in each cell. A mated queen deposits her eggs regularly in a concentric arrangement. Eggs present in the super is a sign of limited space for breeding purposes. When a queen becomes barren, shows decrease in fertility, lost, injured through accident, or dies from old age, preparations are immediately made by the workers to rear another. The only other condition under which this activity takes place in the colony is in preparation for swarming.
## Development of the Queen.
The egg from which a queen develops is no different from those which produce workers. The physical change that takes place is entirely due to change of enviroment during development. A fertile egg, or ordinary worker larva under three days old, is placed in a specially constructed cell resembling the cup of an acorn in shape, supplied with a profusion of milky food called by most authors "royal jelly." In reality, royal jelly is a concentrated, predigested food, rich in proteids, produced from a mixture of pollen and honey. At the end of six days the larva has completed its growth. During this time the cell increases in size accordingly. The cell is now nearly completed and is sealed. After which the bees put on a great excess of wax in drawing it to a long tapering point and the sides take on a corrugated appearance resembling an imperfect representation of honeycomb on a very small scale. Within the next seven days the larva passes through a complete transformation and becomes a fully developed insect. The condition of the temperature may slightly influence this development, so that it may be a day or two, or a few days longer before the queen emerges from her cell.
## Workers.
The workers making up the mass of the hive are females whose sexual organs are undeveloped. The physical work of the hive is done by the workers. A lifetime of toil is their normal allotment. Gathering water, nectar and pollen to furnish food for the colony, secreting wax, building combs, feeding the growing larva, cleaning, guarding, ventilating the hive; in fact, doing all the work of the hive, except normally laying eggs, are the prescribed duties the workers are required to perform. Structurally the workers are fitted for their required duties; the eyes are well developed, the tongue is long in order to reach the nectar secretions, the legs are variously modified, the third pair so constructed as to facilitate the carrying of pollen. The plates on the underside of the last four visible segments of the abdomen are modified on the edge pointing toward the head to form wax glands from which the wax used in comb building is secreted. The sting is straight and barbed, used only in self defense and protection of the colony. The length of the life of a worker bee is not measured in days and weeks, but by the amount of work they do. During the honey flow, they naturally work themselves to death and the population of the colony would decrease rapidly unless brood was being reared heavily. During such a period the average life of the bee is from three to six weeks, while in periods of less work the life is lengthened. Bees emerging during early autumn live over winter and begin activities the next spring. Bees dying during the active season die in the field, falling to return with the last load.
## Development of the Worker.
The queen deposits an egg in the ordinary cell in which honey is stored; in three days it hatches into a very small pearly white larva grub. During the first day or two it is fed in limited quantities a milk white food exactly like that fed to the queen. The remaining four or five days of growth the food is of a coarser nature. Six days are spent in larval or growing period, and twelve days are required in the quiecent period during which it changes from a larva to a mature bee. Twenty-one days is the usual period of development from the time the egg is laid until the mature bee emerges from the cell. The newly emerged worker can be easily recognized by its small size and downy appearance.
## Division of Workers.
The labor of the colony is divided between two classes of bees; young bees who perform the inside work of the hive, part of which is taking care of the developing brood, building comb and protecting the entrance against robbers; the old, or field bees, who are the foragers or gatherers whose duties are to gather nectar, pollen, and proplis or "bee glue." If there are few or no young bees, the older bees assume their duties.
## Drones.
Late in April or early in May when brood rearing is active, large, thick, clumsy individuals make their appearance and continue to increase in numbers during the productive season. These are the drones, and are non-producers, but living on the toll of the others. They are the males and their only function is that of mating with a virgin queen, the act of which is fatal to the drone. It is estimated that not more than one in a thousand ever perform that duty. Nature considers the queen's life extremely valuable, and in order to insure fertilization without undue exposures to hazards surrounding her flight, hundreds and even thousands are reared in each colony in neglected apiaries during the breeding and swarming season. It is believed by many beekeepers that drones keep the brood warm in addition to their use as males. As a matter of fact, they keep themselves upon the brood to enjoy the natural warmth of the developing bees. But during a drop in temperature the workers driving the drones from the hive clearly demonstrates that they are useless in performing this supposed duty. They consume large quantities of stores, not only (By Dadant) Figure 5.
Drone and Worker-brood Sealed.
in the development stages, but as adults as well. Drones have no sting, but fly with a large buzz, which often frightens the amateur who does not recognize their true character.
The life of the drone is uncertain, depending upon a great number of external factors. The honey flow coming to a sudden close they are driven from the colony. Likewise, a reverse in temperature means death to the drones. If a colony should become queenless, the drones are treated with more reverence. Possibly it is forseen by the bees, that, the virgin queen, without drones, would not be fertilized and the colony would perish. Unlike workers they are allowed to enter any colony without being challenged until the time of slaughter.
Drone traps have been placed upon the market to enable the beekeeper to destroy or reduce the number of boarders among his colonies. However, the use of drone traps is much similar to locking the granary after the wheat has been stolen, because a great quantity of food is required during the developing period that is consumed by drones, be sides the loss of labor from the nurse bees which could be utilized in rearing of worker brood. It is much better to prevent them in the first place, by the use of full sheets of foundation, which will be discussed later.
## Development of the Drone.
The drones are reared in cells of the same shape as workers, but somewhat larger in size. The drone cells are about a quarter of an inch and the worker cells are about a fifth of an inch in diameter. It requires the same number of days for the hatching of the egg after laying, as in the worker or queen, while that of the larval and transformation period is much longer. Seven days are spent in the larval and fourteen days lapse until the mature drone emerges from its cradle. Capped drone brood is easily recognized by the dome-shaped cappings appearing like bullets while worker brood is comparatively flat.
## Races of Bees.
The honey bee (Apis mellifera) is probably the widest known insect in the world. It is considered as representing the height of evolution among insects, in that the social organization is the most perfect of aII insects living in communities. It is not a native of America, but was introduced by the early colonists. There are a number of distinct races, varying in size, color and disposition, depending largely upon their point of origin in the different parts of the old world.
Many varieties or races have been introduced into America and submitted to many tests in order to ascertain their merits. Roughly the races have been divided into three groups (1) Eastern (2) European and African races. Of the different races the hybrid bee, which is not a true race but a cross between the black bee and Italian, is the most numerous in West Virginia. Among the true races, Blacks are first in number with Italians second. There are few Caucasians, and in one instance Banats reported.
## Best Bees for West Virginia.
To obtain the best results in honey production the beekeeper must possess the highest grade of bees obtainable. Among the different races there are large numbers of distinguishing peculiarities to be considered. Some races possess certain features that are desirable and likewise features that are entirely adverse to manipulation, such as, cross disposition, excessive swarming, excessive propolizers, and re-istance to disease.
Italians are recommended above all other races, and in such case where the beekeeper has blacks or crosses, it is well to Italianize. (DIs-cussed in later paragraph.) There are a number of reasons for keeping Italians, among those which possibly is the highest factor in bringing the Italian to its present place among beekeepers, is its resistance to European foul brood. It may be well to mention a few more characteristics in demonstrating their superiority in comparison to the black bee. Italians are more prolific in the spring, easier to manipulate, guard their hives to better advantage against beemoth and robhers, work earlier and later in the day, as well as in the season, are more industrious and preserving, and have longer tongues and gather nectar from flowers where blacks are unable to reach the nectaries.
## 6 Wax and Its Production.
Wax, the material used in combin building, is a secretion produced in pocket-like organs or wax plates situated on the ventral or under side of the last four visible segments of the abdomen of the worker bee. Each segment bears two of the wax plates, making eight in all. Two conditions are necessary to produce this phenomena; hees seeking new quarters in swarming, and additional storage room during honey harvest. In order to produce wax the hees gorge themselves with honey and suspend themselves in festoons, hanging from the top of the hive or frame. After hanging motionless for about 24 hours, the honey has been digested and is secreted into a fatty secretion which in coming in contact with air hardens and forms scales of wax. The wax scales are removed from the pockets by the little spines on the pollen comb and passed to the front air of legs. It is then passed to the front pair of legs. It is then passed to the mandibles or jaws and masticated after which it is worked into comb.
## 7 Comb and Its Construction.
The comb is composed of a series of horizontal or six-sided cells, built on both sides of a mid-rib or hase, whose adjustment is such that the base of each cell composes three lozenges, each being one-third of the base of three opposite cells. It has been stated that comb is built with such accuracy that the maximum capacity and strength are obtained with the minimum expenditure of wax. The cells are not all the same size. Those in which worker bees are reared measure about five to the inch, or approximately 27 to the square inch and the ones in which drones are reared measure about four to the inch or nearly eighteen to the square inch. The total for both sides is double that number. Where worker and drone cells join, the hees overcome the lack of conformity by constructing cells of irregular shape known as intermediate or transition cells.
Besides the horizontal hexagonal cells already enumerated, there are found on the combs at certain times cells of a different type. They are circular rather than hexagonal, hang vertically, are larger than any of the other cells, and the outer surface is rough or corrugated, resembling a peanut to a large extent. These are called queen cells which are only used for rearing queens.
The worker and drone cells are not only used for brood rearing, but for storing honey and pollen.
## 8 Honey.