BEE-spoke-data/bees-v0 huggingface dataset:
If one has difficulty in making his cells, one at a time or collectively, he can use to advantage the ready-made pressed cells sold by all dealers. Where only a small number are required the beginner will probably do better to buy what few he uses. The making of dipped cells is a nice art, and, unless they are made just right, the bees will reject them.
or if you do not have a wife, you can go to the drug store and find just the size and style that suit you. The slope looks as though it might be of use if you put it into the grease cups of your livever, but I do not want to suggest too many dangerous experiments for you to try all at once. For a jelly spoon, I prefer to make one out of the bone handle of a toothbrush, which also may be found in the unnieuving outfit. Break off the brush and whittle down the small end until it fits nicely into a worker-cell. This jelly spoon and the jelly jar are to be carried in the pocket of your trousers or dress, whielever you wear. While working with your bees during the season, you will be running across colonies that have royal jelly to spare. Whenever a swarm issues, just take out the jar and spoon and get the royal jelly. I have found that I come across enough in my regular work so that I never have to make any special hunt for jelly. It is well to have two of these jars; keep one in your pocket and the other in the grafting room.
.and get the royal jelly.
**THE SWARM BOX.**
CIAPTER VII.
There are several methods used for getting cells reported and started by the bees; but when all things are considered, I believe the swarm box has more desirable features than any other. For best results the swarm box must be kept in even temperature. It gives perfect results during each weather, for, by placing it in the cell, enve or basement, the outside temperature does not affect the bees. During hot weather it gives equally good results for the same reason. By using the swarm box it is not necessary to have any colony queenless at any time.
The box is made eight inches wide, inside measurement, and should be the right length and depth to take the sized brood-frame to be used, allowing about an inch space below the frames. The bottom is covered with wire-screen cloth. Four legs one inch long are fastened to the bottom in order to provide plenty of ventilation. \(\Lambda\)t each end of the box two strips of wool are nailed inside to support the cell bars. These should be placed so that the cell bars will be a little lower than the top of the brood-frames. A cover is made with elets running entirely around, forming a telescope cover one inch deep. In the center of this cover is made an oblique opening large enough so that three cell bars may be passed through it with case. The object of this cover, which is little more than a vin around the edges is to prevent the bees from boiling out over the sides when the bars are being put into the swarm box. \(\Lambda\)seond cover slides on top of the telescope cover, thus closing the opening in it. The end-elents on the telescope cover extend a little above, and thus keep the upper cover in place. Twoheavy wire bundles swing up over the ends so that, when the swarm box is being carried, these covers cannot fall off, \(\Lambda\) round opening is made in the top of the upper cover by the use of an expansive bit just the size to take the cap of a Mason jar. When feeding the bees, a Mason jar with a perforated cap is used in this opening, which is also utilized for putting the bees into the swarm box by inserting a tin funnel and shaking the bees from the combs into the box. The box is given two coats of paint to prevent its warping so it will thus remain beed tight. When made in such a way as to have the cell bars inside, the bees may cluster all around them and thus keep the temperature uniform, which gives much better results than the old style where the bars were placed in slots in the cover.
The old-style swarm box is somewhat easier to make and for experimental purposes might be preferred by some. It is similar to the one just described except the cover, which is merely a thin board with an opening cut in the top large enough to hold the three cell bars. In using this it is well to place a cushion over the bars to keep out light and retain the heat. In this style it is necessary to make the filling hole at the end of the cover to avoid the opening nude for the bars.
## Getting the Bees in condition for cell-building.
Ciaporter VIII.
Let us remember that for the best results in cell-building we must have plenty of young bees which are being lavishly fed either from a honey flow or from receiving sugar syrup. This condition is necessary where even a few cells are being built by the colony. Now, as we wish them to build a large number of cells, the colony must be _exceedingly strong_. As we are starting early in the spring while only a little nectar is coming in, it will be necessary to feed sugar syrup in order to get the best results.
The method of feeding that I have found very satisfactory is to take a two-quart Mason jar and punch in the cap eight nail-holes 1-16 inch. Fill it with syrup, equal parts of granulated sugar and water. Many recommend a weaker syrup, but with me the heavier syrup gives best results. There is no loss as the bees store in the combs all that they do not need. A bee-esenpe board is used for a live cover, and the Mason jar is inverted over this hole. An empty hive body is set on, and a regular hive cover is placed on top of all. By this method of feeding there is no robbing, and the bees take the syrup night and day even if the weather is quite cold, which they will not do when this style of feeder is used at the entrance. However, our regular bottom-board feeder, as described later, has so many advantages over any other that I am now using it for all purposes.
As the swarm-box colonies as well as the finishing colonies are very strong, it is an advantage to slide the hive forward on the bottom-board, thereby affording better ventilation. This also provides an opening intowhich the syrup is poured. Many advocate giving them a very little thin syrup from an entrance feeeler, using about a point a day. This will answer very well if some nectar is coming in; but, when this is not the case, better results can be obtained by giving syrup in abundance. Two quarts of syrup, equal parts sugar and water, per day will give excellent results. Enough must be given to cause the bees to build white south, and this enables them to draw out the cells to perfection as well as to secrete an abundance of royal jelly. As experience has been that the ions do every bit as well when the feel is given then all at once every night as they do when they take it through three or four holes from the Mason pier. 11 must be borne in mind that there is no waste in giving them more than they use at the time, for all surplus is stored in the combs. The colony that is to furnish bees for the swarm box must be very strong in bees. 11 it is not in this condition, it must be built up by giving it frames of emerging brood from other colonies. If a hive smaller than the ten-frame Jumho is used it should have a double brood-chamber, and both stories should be full of bees and brood. The hive should contain ten or twelve pounds of bees. Rearing good, vigorous queens without strong colonies and plenty of feed is an impossibility. The colony that is to furnish bees for the swarm box must be fed at least three days before the swarm box is filled. It will do little good to feed them just before they go into the box. 1 do not know why this is true, but it seems to take a few days for the bees to assimilate the pool and make it over into royal jelly. So I use the term, "fat hees." You must falten the bees before they can do good work at feeling larvae. Poor, hungry bees will not accept cells. If there is a pretty good honey flow on, no feeling will be required.
frames of brood, it is best to give it the nine frames of brood with adhering bees. There is some danger of these strange bees killing the queen below, and, in order to prevent this, place a newspaper between the two bodies on top of the queen-exeluder and let them unite the same as when two colonies are united. In this case you have the advantage of both brood and bees. In two weeks most of the brood will have emerged, and the combs will be filled with sugar syrup or honey. Remove these and put in some more brood. Do not wait until you notice that the cells are not being finished as they should be, for, if you do, a lot of inferior queens will result.
These combs of honey with a little capped brood are excellent for giving to colonies that are short of stores, or they can be given to nuclei. Always keep unsealed brood on each side of the frame containing cells, in order to draw the nurse bees to them. No matter how strong the finishing colony may be, it will do poor work at cell-finishing unless there is unsealed brood in the upper story.
We must bear in mind that, when feeding is necessary, it must be done several days before the bees are to build cells--two days at the shortest and three days are better, the same as with the colony that is to furnish bees for the swarm box. If fed three days before going into the swarm box, they will be in splendid condition to feed the larvae and to draw out the cells in the proper shape.
The very best of cells may be built any time of the year after brood-rearing is well under way in the spring until it stops in the fall. In order to have good cells built out of season, it is necessary to put the colony that is to supply bees for the swarm box and the finishing colony in the proper condition. We should remember it is the _condition_ of these colonies that brings results, and not the time of year, the honey flow or swarming fever. Therefore, if we build up the colonies with brood taken from other colonies and feed these built-up colonies, we have as good conditions for cell-building as we have with a strong colony during a honey flow. It is evident that to build up colonies to cell-building condition in early spring or late fall is expensive, as it will rob a number of colonies of their brood; but, if queens are needed at such times, it can be done with profit. The illustration shows some bars of cells built in late September after the flowers have all gone. But few of the virgins that emerged from these cells ever became laying queens, for the weather turned cold and they could not venture out on their honeycomb.
One should bear in mind that it is the _best_ queens that make the records at honey getting, so it pays big dividends to be extravagant with brood and feed. If all cells have dried-down royal jelly in them after the queen emerges, you have done all that can be done in the way of providing bees and feed to the cell-building colony. If some cells have no jelly in them, you are not rearing the best of queens. True, some may be first class for they may have had enough after consuming it all, but there are sure to be some that do not have enough and dwarf queens will result.
How many cells can a colony finish? During the summer of 1920 some experiments were made at our yard to determine the number of cells a colony should finish. In stating the number in this book, we wish to stand on firm ground and not advocate anything that might bring poor results to the beginner. If our experiments prove conclusive, we shall give them to the public later; but at this writing I believe that, when the colony that is to start or finish the cells is in perfect condition, it will build a large number of cells, and when not in good condition, it will not do good work on one cell. This is somewhat similar to the perplexing problem of "over-stocking." When the honey plants are in good condition, overstocking is almost impossible; but, when the plants are not in proper condition, a single colony can not make a surplus.
Filling the Swarm Box.
CIAPTER N.
Two combs containing some honey and pollen are placed in the swarm loss. These should be old counts and not too heavy, for, in the handling they are to receive, they will be liable to break down if new or if they contain much honey. These combs are placed one at each side of the box and are held in position by the two blocks that are to support the cell bars. If one has never used a swarm box, it is well to place it on scales for a few times until able to judge accurately the weight of the bees the box contains. A funnel, such as is employed in filling bound packages, is used for putting the bees into the box.
While good results can be had with no pollen in the swarm box, better results are obtained by having plenty of it in the two combs that are used. It is surprising to note the amount that the bees will consume while confined in the swarm box. If the two combs have an abundance, it will usually be eaten after the combs have been used three times. Before filling the box with bees examine the combs, and, if they do not contain sufficient pollen, they should be removed and other frames containing plenty put in their place.
Set the swarm box in front of the colony from which the bees are to be taken, put the funnel into the hole and all is ready for the bees. It is quite desirable, upon all occasions when removing frames from the hive, to see that they are put hack in the same position as found. If not, queen-cells are apt to be started, and, when the virgin emerges, she will kill the laying queen. This subject will be discussed more fully under "Introducing queen." A good method is to take out the frame nearest you and set it several feet away from the entrance. Then examine the next frame to find the queen. If she is not on that frame, set it back, lift out the next and then the next until the queen is found. Piek her up by the wings and put her on the frame that you first took out. Set all frames back in their regular place except the one that has the queen.
The reason we set the first frame with the queen some distance away is to prevent the bees and queen from crawling back into the live, thus getting the queen into the swarm box.
Nothing that I can call to mini creates such a strong desire to kick one's self as to get the queen into the swarm box. I know from experience. While you are working with the bees, they begin to fan and the first thing you know all the bees, including the queen, begin a grand mareh for the entrance or go over the top and into the hive. You do not know that the queen is there, and your grafting comes to naught. Instead of neepepted cells you find them mostly torn out by the roots and made over into some fine worker comb containing eggs. In order to avoid this, set the frame with the queen so far away that the bees will not heed the call of their companions.
We are now ready to put in the bees. Take out the first frame covered with bees, put one end of it down into the funnel, take hold of the other and with both hands give it a quick shake downward, then upward. Two little shakes, in which the comb is not moved more than two or three inches, will dislodge all of the bees except those that have their heads down in the cells. Set this frame back into the hire and do the same with the others until the desired number of bees are in the box. From five to seven ponds is the right amount. Try to get six pounds as nearly as possible. With a little practice you will not vary more than a bound either way. There should still remain in the hive a sufficient number of bees to care for the broad. When the box has the required amount of bees in it, remove the funnel, place the cup of a Mason jar in the hole, replace the comb containing the queen, close the hive, and carry the hive to the basement.
CitationWhen a heavy honey flow is on, take care that the bees are not daulsed with honey when they are shaken into the swarm box, for if they are they will suffocate and both bees and cells will be lost. True, if a little honey is smeared?m then it does no harm; but too much is disustrons. When a heavy honey flow is on, shake the comb lightly so no nectar is displaced, and, if sufficient hees are not obtained in this manner, the bees not shaken off may be brushed off with a bee-brush. When more than five pounds of bees are put in the swarm box, it is advisable to set the box on two by four seantlines to afford more abundant ventilation.
**The Dungeon.**
In one corner of the basement I have what I call the "bee dungeon." This is a room made by stacking up extracting supers and hive bodies to the ceiling to make it dark. The opening hint serves as a door is made in break-joint style so that no light can get in. It is wide enough so that a person can walk in carrying a swarm box in each hand, which is another advantage over a swinging door for plenty of fresh air can enter. Baek in the dungeon the bees remain quiet as though it were night, away from noise, light and strong air currents, and are as contented and satisfied as though they were in their own hive. If no basement is available, any room in the honey-house where it is not too hot or cold will do; but it will pay to make a basement. It is the ideal place. I usually fill the box at one o'clock in the afternoon and leave the bees confined there in the basement until three o'clock. I find that two hours of confinement is all that is necessary, for, as the bees are queenless, broodless and on strange combs, they realize their queenlessness to the fullest extent in that length of time.
**Why the Bees Accept the Cells.**
Now, while the bees are contentedly clustering to the lid of the swarm box, leking the honey off any huckless individual that was danbed up when they were shaken from the combs, let us consider the condition brought about with the bees that causes them to do good work at cell-accepting. For some days previous, the young nurse bees have been feeling great hoards of larval food, which is the same as the food we call royal jelly. We have suddenly taken them away from these larvae, so they continue to secrete the royal jelly but have no larvae to feel. They also realize their queenlessness. They are errying for a queen; they have the food with which to raise many queens, but they have no larvae with which to do it. It is our privilege to accommodate them in this respect, so now we will proceed.
Root's graperine spray.
Grafting the cell cups.
"ILMPTEN N1.
The best place to do the grafting is in the honey-house or the room of a dwelling where there is plenty of light coming through a south window. A room is better than out of doors for several reasons. It is cool, and the larvae may be kept away from strong light, beat and drying winds. It is more comfortable for the operator, and he is away from rubber bees. The grafting outfit is quite simple--a grafting needle that can be bought from dealers in hee supplies, a jelly spoon made out of a toothbrush handle a little jar of royal jelly and a small individual salt disk in which to mix the jelly. With the jelly spoon, place some of the royal jelly in the salt dish and dilute it with pure water. It should be as nearly as possible like the thin larval food seen in the bottom of the worker-cell soon after the egg has hatched. When this is done, go to the hive containing your best hovering queen and take out a frame with as many young larvae of proper age as possible.
When no nectar is coming in, this colony should have been fed the same as the cell-finishing colonies already described; but, if even a very little nectar is coming in, no feeling will be necessary. The best results cannot be obtained by grafting lumpy larvae. If they lie in the bottom of the worker-cells, dry with no larval food around them, they are not fit to be used for grafting. They will not be accepted by the bees so readily nor can so good, staying queues be reared. Stunting the larva at the beginning of its development can not be overcome at a later period, no matter how ideal the conditions may be. If the larvae are floating in royal jelly, they are in perfect condition for grafting. If they are not, it indicatesthat the colony needs feeding. Should the colony not have a sufficient number of larvae of the right size, it is a good practice to insert occasionally an empty comb in the center of the brood-nest in which the queen may lay. If possible a black comb should be selected since the larva can be seen much better than in a new white one. Use a brush to remove the bees from the comb for, if the comb is shaken, the nectar will be scattered over the larvae, in which ease they are not necepted so readily.
Curry the comb into the grafting room. Now take three bars of cells that were dipped during the winter. Be sure that the cells are perfectly clean. If they contain any dust or dirt they must be thoroughly washed and dried before being used, as the bees will not necept dirty or dusty cells. With the large end of the grafting needle place a little diluted royal jelly into each of the sixty cells. \(\Lambda\) drop about twice the size of a pin-head is sufficient. Endeavor to get this in a neat round hall right in the bottom of the queen-cell, for the bees accept them much better when it is placed in this manner. Keep the cells and the comb out of the bright sunlight as much as possible. When the weather was hot and dry, I formerly sprinkled water on the floor to keep the air moist that the jelly and larvae might not dry out and die. One day as I was doing this the Office Force was looking on in that impulsive manner common to the gentler sex, and she said, "What is the use of dampening up the whole room when you merely want to keep those cells moist? Why don't you dip a bath towed into some water, wring it out and spread it over the cells? "Yes, why didn't I? For the very good reason that I never thought of it. Thanks for the bright idea." I tried it. It works to perfection, so I have used it ever since. \(\Lambda\) moistened towed keeps the cells from drying out and protects the larvae from light and dust.
Now sit down in a chair with your back to the window so that the light will come over the right shoulder. Place one of the cell haus on the side of the top-bar of the broad-frame and parallel with it, holding it there with the thumb of the left hand. With the grafting needle in the right hand carefully slide the point under the larva, choosing one t h h t is about twelve hours old. Likewise that are twelve hours old are extremely small, and, unless the one doing the grrafting has very good eyes, he will be unable to see them clearly enough to do satisfactory work. A fine rule is to use larvae as small as can be seen; but, if the operator has exceptionally good vision, there is danger of getting them too small, for larvae less than twelve hours old are not accepted so readily as those older. I never have been able to determine whether it is due to the fact that these small larvae can not stand the handling or whether for some reason the bees do not like them so well. On the other hand, larvae much more than twelve hours old should not be used, for, while they will be accepted, they often do not make such good queens as the younger ones. True, they have not yet received any food except royal jelly; but, from experiments I have made, I am sure that the best of queens can not generally be produced if older larvae are used. I believe it is due to the fact that, as the larva is grafted at an advanced age, the nurse bees do not have the same length of time to store royal jelly in the queen-cell as in the ease of younger larvae, therefore the larva does not have sufficient food for its fullest development.