BEE-spoke-data/bees-v0 huggingface dataset:
Shade is a very important item with nuclei. This is true in a greater or less degree, depending upon the style of cover in use. We use the deep telescope cover which shades nearly the entire side of the nucleus. In addition, the cover has an inner lining of thin boards with eleats on both sides so that there is a double air space, one above this inner cover and one below. Very little difference is notel in the behavior of the bees in such nuclei whether they are placed in the sunshine or in the shade. On the hottest days, however, the bews cluster out less where in the shade.
In case a single cover is used, shade is a necessity. Years ago when we used the baby nuclei, some were in the sunshine and many cells did not hatch; and when they did, many of the virgins were small, dark and inferior. A groive is the best shade, and if the trees are far apart to admit the sun in spots, it is all the better, for on dark days one can step out into these lighter spots to examine the conibe for gaps, etc. In case the thermometer does not go above ninety degrees, the telescope cover with two dead air spaces gives perfect results.
## V Vrigin or Cell Introduction.
(Chapter XVI.
A number of methods are used to get the virgin queen safely into the nucleus in which she is to lay after mating. One is by allowing the queen in the cell which is kept in a strong colony for incubation to emerge in a nursery cage. I used that method for several years, but have discarded it since I could not get so good, vigorous queens in that manner. I found there are two reasons for this. One is because the bees are unable to cluster closely around the cells in order to keep the temperature right, and the result is faulty incubation of the tender pupa. This defect manifests itself in two ways, by smaller queens and darker queens. If the cells are kept too cold, it makes the queens dark. Sometimes in early spring the cells were a little below the proper temperature, in which case no harmful effect was noted but the queens were darker in color. When they emerged in the nursery cages and the weather was cold they were both dark and small, and a number of the cells did not hatch. Now, in theory, if the cells are placed in an upper story over a strong colony, the temperature will be the same as though no eage is used. But if the bees are ventilating the hive or fanning to evaporate the nectar or syrup, a current of air is blowing through the hive. If the bare cell is in the hive the bees cluster tightly around it, thus protecting it from air currents and keeping it at just the right temperature; but if the cell is in a cage, the bees pay no attention to it whatever, so that the cool current of air blows right through the eage and ehills the cell.
The second reason why too many inferior queens are reared when the nursery cage is used, is because the new virgin does not receive the proper feeding when she first emerges, and this at the time that she most needs abundance of food of the right kind. When she emerges in the eage she has to depend upon the candy that is placed there. Sometimes she eats enough of this to keep her alive, and sometimes she perishes from an enforced hunger strike. Sometimes the bees feed the queens through the wires, and sometimes they do not. I have noticed some peculiar traits of the bees in this connection. They occasionally cluster around one eage and give that virgin all the attention in their power while they are balling another eage, and probably the rest are ignored altogether. I presume they had agreed to accept that one queen as their own and let all the rest go hang.
That the virgin does not receive the proper food and eare while in the nursery eage and that her development is retarded, I have proved many times. As we know, seven to eight days usually pass from the time a virgin emerges from the cell until her mating flight. I noticed in many cases that a longer period elapsed before the virgin mated. Usually, in using the nursery eage, the virgin mated eight days from the time she was relessed from the case, that is, the virgin remained in the case three days; then it was eleven days from the time she emerged from the cell till she mated. The time spent in the nursery eage seems time lost as far as development is concerned. In many cases those queens never turned out to be first-class queens. When they are released from the nursery eage as soon as they emerge, not so much damage is done, but even then they frequently suffer on account of improper incubation at the time that Nature is putting the finishing touch on the pupa. Some had legs that were parallegel or withered and wings underdeveloped.
Moreover, I noticed that the young virgin seemed to like the dried-up royal jelly that remained in the cell from which she emerged. She would eat it all, notwithstanding the fact that she had nice-eandy made out of powdered sugar and honey. Sometimes the queen would know into the bottom of the queen-cell and the there. From these observations I reasoned that the virgin needs royal jelly, and the only satisfactory way for her to get it is to have it felt to her by the nurse hees. I then conducted some experiments along this line. I number of cells were engel, and a number from the same grafting were given direct to nuclei. Those emerging in the nursery eages were introduced to nuclei in the same eage from which they emerged, taking about three days for the introduction. All from the cell-introduced lot with one exception were laying before the first from the eage-introduced lot, I number of experiments of a similar nature were carried on, and all showed conclusively that the queens were injured by remaining in the eages at this time. So we can lay it down as a safe rule that in order to get the hee-t results the virgin must emerge among nurse hees in order that they may give her the proper food and care. In an article in the American Bee Journal, I gave my experience with the nursery eage, and in a footnote Editor C, Dadant stated, "The editor applands with both hands at these conclusions, for he had also tried the queen nursery years ago and did not like it." With the backing of such an acknowledged authority as Mr, Dadant, I feel sure of my ground in this connection.
**The Cell Protector a Hindrance.**
The cell protector was disearuled for the same reason. The hees cannot properly care for the cell when it is in the protector. However, this is not so noticeable as in the euse where the cell is engel; but there is little, if anything, to be gained by using the protector. It is a known fact that hees will accept a cell much more readily than they will accept even a newly emerged virgin. That heing true, if they would not accept an unprotected cell, they would not accept the virgin when she emerged. In fact, from several experiments I am convinced that the cell protector is a hindrance rather than a help. At one time we introduced one hundred have cells and one hundred with protectors. When we came to look for the origins, we found about 30 per cent more in the nuclei where the bare cells had been given. Of course, they did not tear down the protected cells, but they killed the virgins as soon as they emerged.
The manager opens at this age are very tender and should be handled with the greatest care and should not be away from the hees longer
This series of photographs shows the development of the queen from the grafting up to the time when the queen emerges. In Figure 1 you will note that the cells are remodel to suit the bees. Wax was added by the bees, showing they were secreting it pro-fusely. The bottom of each cell is covered with royal jelly. Thus in the twenty-four hours of confinement in the swarm box, the bees gave the larvae the proper send-off. In order to give a better view of the larva one cell was torn open.
Figure 2 pictures the cells one day later, after they had been in the finishing colony for twenty-four hours. The marvelous growth of the larvae in this length of time will be noted; but when we notice how the cells are flooded with royal jelly, the larvae really have no excuse for not growing. Figure 3 was taken just as the bees were capping the queen-cells. The larvae are getting too fat to curl up in them any more, so are beginning to lengthen out a trifle. The two end cells are already capped. Figure 4 shows the larva the day after the cell was capped. The royal jelly is still white and soft and would be in good condition to use in grafting, if thinned slightly with water. In Figure 5 we see the larva changing into a pupa. The royal jelly is drying up and getting darker in color.
The next step in the formation of the queen is shown in Figure 6. The change from the larva into the pupa is so very rapid as to seem marvelous. This takes place in twenty-four hours and in that short time, head, legs and short wings are formed so it appears a fully developed queen with the exception of wings and color. At first this pupa is exceedingly soft. While handling one, I accidentally dropped it on my foot. It splattered out much like a drop of clubbered milk, and no form of the pupa could be found. The pupa remains in this form with very little change, as far as appearances are concerned, for about seven days; but it becomes firmer and harder con it finally during that period. This picture was taken the tenth day after grafting, therefore one can see the condition of the jump at the time the cells are to be handled. The royal jelly is dry and brown as shown in the top of the cell where it dried, leaving a space in the top of the cell. Where it is found necessary to handle the cell containing the tender pupa any time before the tenth day after grafting, great care must be exercised in handling it, as mentioned elsewhere, or crippled quencs will result. *
When the handling of cells before the tenth day after grafting is necessary, they should be placed in holes in a block to keep them right side up. As we handle them only on the tenth day, such care is not necessary. We place a ensibin in the right end of the hive-set, on which the cells are laid. \(\Lambda\) cover is taxeled on in such a way as to keep off the sun's rays and yet be easily raised when getting the cells. Crippled quencs are pmetieally unknown to us since using this method.
Can be easily raised when getting the cells.
## 11. Cell Introduction.
Chapter XVII.
To establish nuclei and introduce cells to them is our next step in queen-rearing. Let us consider the subject a little. Two features in queen-rearing have always been difficult: first, getting the newly grafted cells accepted by the bees; and second, some safe and satisfactory method of installing the queen-cell or virgin in the nucleus.
This first difficulty, the manner of getting cells accepted, has already been described, and by carefully following the directions given one should have no trouble in having excellent cells built in abundance, so that the largest and best only are kept; but when all goes as it should, every cell will be so abundantly supplied with royal jelly that there is little choice. Having mastered this point in queen-rearing, let us now pass to the feature that has in the past been extremely difficult, and at certain times of the year has seemed insurmountable.
However, few things on earth are impossible if we know the underlying principles, find the cause of failure and apply the remedy. In cases of difficulty in any walk of life, even queen-rearing, a splenoid must to adopt is, "There is a way." When things do not go as we would have then, think of this motto, and proceed to find the way. There must surely be a way in this case, I ignored.
In the past we have been led to understand that the reason why bees tear down cells given them is due to the fact that the cells are strangers with an odor different from that of the cells reared in the colony. Recognizing this, the bees proceed to tear them down. Now many things pointed to this belief. For instance when a cell was given to a colony, they would bear it down while at the same time they were building cells of their own; and many times when they had cells of their own, they would have them unharned and immoelutely tear down any strange cell given them. The natural deduction, therefore, was that they destroyed the cell given them because it was not their own. If such were the case, we could expect little relief, and our motto, "There is a way," would not apply.
Every spring when establishing nuclei there was a regular epipeline of tell-destroying. They would tear down cells as fast as given to their until they run into laying workers. If virgins were introduced to then a little better progress was made, where we used our Push-in Cage. However, I was thoroughly convinced if the very best queens were to be correct, the virgin must not only emerge among the bees but these bees must be _various_: to _receive_ that queen in order that they may not injure her, but, on the contrary, receive her gladly with outstretched longues and feed her abundantly that she may develop into a large prolific queen, the kind we all should strive to produce if we are to get big yields of honey.
So the question of how to get the loses to do our will in this respect was a puzzle. It was not practical to introduce the cell in a cage as we would a queen. If what we had been taught was true, that it was because it was a strange cell, there seemed little hope of overcoming this trait of bee nature; and to set about to overcome this rule seemed very difficult since there apparently was nothing to give us a clue. There seemed to be no starting point.
In the spring of 1922, although there was a light stimulative honey flow, the bees were the worst at tearing down cells in all my beekewping experience. I had planned to put out six hundred nuclei in two weeks, forming one hundred and fifty at a time to conform to our program. When the first one hundred and fifty were put out, nearly all the cells given to them at the time of forming the nuclei were destroyed. The second batch of cells suffered a similar fate, and there was no use in forming more nuclei as the first would not accept cells. The mystery as to why they store down the cells was very impressive, to say the least.
I sat down under a tree to see if I could think out "the way." I carefully went over the experiences of the past fifteen years and finally the truth began slowly to unravel before me. I remembered that upon numerous occasions I had taken out cells from one of the finishing colonies, and, having had no immediate use for them, had returned them to another finishing colony, paying no attention about putting them back in the one from which they were taken. I recalled that, during those years, hundreds of hours of cells had been placed back into finishing colonies strange to them, and yet in all that time, to my knowledge, _not one single cell hull ever been destroyed_. Evidently, then, the reason the bees destroyed cells was not because the cells were strange. What, then, _was_ the reason?
What was there about those strong colonies that had a prolific laying queen confined to the lower story that caused them to accept strange cells without question, while the nuclei would tear them down as fast as given them? Why did a strong queenless colony that had been used to finish cells accept a dozen bars of cells and never tear down a single one? Plainly, the fact that it was a strange cell had little or nothing to do with it. _Plainly, it was the condition of the colony._
If this was true, what were those conditions and could they be duplicated in the nuclei? I became quite excited over the proposition. The only difference in the condition of the finishing colony and that of the nuclei was that the colony was being fed liberally while the nuclei were not; for, even when artificial feeding was not resorted to, the strong colony was gathering enough from the fields to bring abundance to the colony, while the nuclei being weaker in field bees, were not setting enough from the fields to supply them and were consequently drawing on the stores present in the combs. Could it be that the secret of successful cell acceptance was merely a matter of feel? I would soon find out.
I went to a number of colonies from which I expected to take broad for forming nuclei and have them ten pounds of thick sugar syrup late in the evening, requesting it the second night, and you can imagine with what emerges I wanted results. I then found nuclei in exactly the same manner as before. Presto! _Irectionally energy cell was accepted!_In my previous attempts at introducing cells to nuclei, out of one hundred, eighty-nine cells were destroyed; while after feeding, only four were destroyed out of one hundred. Yes, "There is a way." To be sure that the conditions as regards the honey flow had not changed, I then formed some nuclei without feeding and some with feeding. The results obtained were in every way similar to those of my first experiment.
My next step was to see if this would be as entirely successful with the established nuclei in getting them to accept cells. To our great delight we found this also worked to perfection. When ready to give a cell, we took a two-guard Mason jar with a perforated lid and shook about half a pint of syrup into the combs. We found there was practically no loss of cells, and that it was not necessary to have any honey in the frames when forming nuclei. We found that another admirable feature resulting from this feeding of the nuclei is that the bees are put in a condition to give the newly emerged virgin the very best of care. As a consequence they feed her as soon as she emerges so that she develops as rapidly as though reared in a populations colony during swarming time. Virgins thus reared mature, mate and thus begin laying one or two days sooner than in nuclei where no feeding is preneted.
This method of feeling to prevent cell-destruction is preneted at any time during the year when trouble is experienced in cell-acceptance. After a nucleus is established and a good honey flow is on, feeling is discontinued. Even during a honey flow, when a nucleus is first established, feeding is necessary. In this case the fielders return to their old home, leaving a lot of emerging brood. The bees left in the nucleus can get no honey from the fields until they are older; therefore the nucleus bees are hungry, and will destroy cells in their desperation. Feeding prevents this. Our nuclei are now equipped with division-board feeders, having a capacity of about one quart. These are filled with syrup the day before giving then the ripe queen-cell. Seldom indeed is a cell torn down.
## Why nuclei near down cells.
('Hapter XVIII.
Now that we have worked out this system whereby the cells are accepted in a satisfactory manner, let us ask the bees some questions to find out why they do things just as they do.
In the first place, when do they have cells in their colonies if left to their own devices? The greatest number of cells is found when the colony is preparing to swarm. And what are the conditions within the hive at this time? While there are a number of conditions that we cannot well duplicate in the nucleus, such as lots of bees and brood in all stages, yet there is one important feature--_plestry of feed_. Some nectar is coming in from the fields, the nurse bees are feeding the larvae, and all bees have an abundance of food. When in this condition they not only build cells of their own but will tolerate other cells if given to them. When preparing to swarm, the bees with ripe cells of their own will never tear down strange cells given them ; but, let a rain come up and the weather turn coil so that no nectar comes in from the field, they begin tearing down cells whether their own or strange ones.
Now notice one point very carefully. They tear down _the more mature cells first_. Their instinct seems to lead them to realize that, if they tear down _all_ cells, they would have to start all over again and build from the bottom up, in case the weather turned warm, and nectar again came in so that they wish to swarm. If only the advanced ones were torn down, they would be retarded merely a few days. This occurs only occasionally during swarming season, but is almost invariably the rule when bees are superseding their queen. I have noticed many times during supersedure that the advanced cells are destroyed while new ones are still being started. The weather or nectar secretion seems to influence them in this respect.
This instinct, therefore, explains why, when we gave cells to the nuclei, they store ours down while at the same time they were building cells. They store ours down because ours were advanced, and not because they were strange cells. If you wait until a nucleus has ripe cells of its own, you can give it a strange ripe cell, and the bees will accept it without question. Many times when conditions are unfavorable, finishing colonies will tear down the cells they themselves have built. A heavy feeding will stop this destruction.
Therefore, we can accept as a rule of the bees that they will not tolerate cells when they are hungry : but, if they are lavishly fed either from a natural honey flow or by receiving sugar syrup, they will tolerate and accept cells. Moreover, there are some less important conditions that render cell acceptance certain. There should be capped brood in the nuclei and, if possible, brood in all stages; but, if these conditions are not present, a heavy feel will offset the lack of the former to a high degree. When there is no broad, cell acceptance is more uncertain.
You ask, "How about laying workers?" Well, we were talking about the laws that govern bees, and those do not apply to laying workers as the laying worker is a Bee Holshevik and knows no law. However, a Holshevik is more suitable on a full stomach; so some laying workers can be made to get into line by feeding, but it is better to give them a frame of emerging brood, after which a hearty feel gets them ready to accept the cell.
If this idea of feeding is applied to the different phases of bekeeping, the same results may be obtained during a dearth of posture as during a honey flow. Many have observed how much more successful queen introduction is during a honey flow than at other times. Since discovering that feeding prevents cell-destruction, I have recombinelele to those having trouble in introducing quens that they feel the colony heavily while the cage is in the live. Several have reported that this gives as good results as they can get during a honey flow.
Some time ago the honey method of queen introduction was advocated. The plan was to damp the queen with honey and run her in. Some reported success; others, failure. Those who poured a pint or more of honey on the bees and queen had better results. Now, it was not the danbing of the queen that helped; it was _the feeding_. In other words, for successful introduction, duplicate a honey flow by honey feeling. The feeling should be done at night to prevent robbing.
In feeding with the division-board feeler it is necessary to keep the nuclei in strong coalition, for robbers are always hanging around ready to bounce upon the nuclei if opportunity offers. By providing ventilation in the bottom of the nucleus hive and contracting the entrance to one hee-space, and keeping it strong in bees, no serious trouble is caused by robbers. Sometimes, when they are exceptionally bad, we close the entrance entirely. In this way all robbers that get on the combs are shut in the nuclei and can not go back home to spread the news that free phunder is to be had. Consequently, other robbers are not sent out to hunt the source of supply and maraling expeditions are restricted. After fifteen or twenty minutes, the entrances are opened, when the robbers that were trapped rush for home. The nuclei are by this time reorganized and able to stand off all ocemores. In feeding either nuclei or cell-building colonies, it is necessary that they have some empty comb in which to deposit the food, for, if all available space is occupied by stores, they will fill up on this and heeuse lazy and are easily robheil out.
Forming nuclei.
Chapter XIX.