BEE-spoke-data/bees-v0 huggingface dataset:
In piling the supers a sunny place is preferred, to entice out the bees. A deep bottom-board is put on the ground, a super placed on it, and the entrance closed with wirecloth somewhat as a hive-entrance is closed for haul ing (Fig. 32). Then over the super is thrown what Root's "A B C of Bee Culture" has been pleased to call the Miller tent-escape (Fig. 73). (Later on I'll tell how it's made). When a second super is brought to the pile, the escape is kicked off, the super placed on the pile and the escape thrown over it. When the pile becomes too high to kick off the escape, it is shoved off with the hand, but still allowed to fall to the ground, and afterward picked up.
_Fig. 66.-Colony at left treated for swarming._
The bees can now make their exit through the top of the escape at their leisure, and from time to time those that have gathered on the wirecloth below are allowed to escape. Matters may be hurried up a little by blowing in smoke below. But this is hardly advisable, for the smoke, being more or less confined, is likely to give an unpleasant flavor to the sections. When there is abundance of time for the bees to get out without being hurried, or if the pile is only five or six high, it is better not to have any opening at the bottom of the pile, but to set the first super on a flat surface that admits no light, or right on the grass.
## Reeping tally of sections.
The number of the colony from which each super is taken is marked in pencil on one of the middle sections, perhaps when the super is first taken from the hive, certainly before it is taken from the hive entirely.
A board or a slip of paper is kept where the supers are piled, and as each super is taken to the pile the number of the hive and the number of sections in the super is taken. Occasionally the number of supers in the pile is counted, so as to see whether it tallies with the number taken on the memorandum, for without this there is danger that some super might be forgotten, and the colony not have proper credit. When convenient, possibly while we sit resting a little while after the supers are all piled, possibly not till the next morning, the numbers on the memorandum
Figure 67:Junbo Hive (at right).
are used to give each colony its proper credit in the record-book.
## 5.3.3. Creating colonies.
The credit to each colony is entered _ozer_ the first line that belongs to that colony, so that it may easily be seen at a glance, and so that it may be convenient to have all the credit on one spot. If a super containing 34 sections is taken from a colony, the number 24 is entered over its first line. Then when another 24 sections is taken from that colony, +24 is written after the first 24, and whatever number is taken each time, that number is put down with the plus sign preceding. Sometimes it happens that a super partly filled is taken from one live and put on another. Suppose it is estimated that the super contains the equivalent of 7 sections, and that it is taken from No. 31 and given to No. 45. At No. 21 will be entered +7, and at No. 45 will be entered --7. At the end of the season the whole will be summed up. In an extra good year, an average colony may have some such account as this : 24+18+48--7+24+16=153. But the minus sign very seldom occurs.
## 6.4. Wheling supers in.
At the home apiary, the piles of supers are generally left till nightfall, so the bees will have abundance of time to be fully out. Then they are taken on a wheelbarrow to the honey-room (Fig. 7).
You will notice that the wheelbarrow is innocent of any box or tray. It is a common railroad barrow, with the tray removed. In this shape it is very convenient for wheeling supers or stove-wood, the principal uses to which it is put. When desired the tray can be replaced to be used for other purposes.
At the out-apiaries the supers must be loaded on the wagon, and sometimes at the clois a rather ticklish job. When we go to the apiary in the morning, we drive pretty close to the place where the piles of supers are to be--inuch closer than it will be safe to take the horses at the close of the day's work
_Fig. 68.--Pile of Stories._
when the bees are thoroughly stirred up--and after the horses are unhitched the wagon is taken by hand to the most convenient spot for loading on the supers.
Unfortunately, although the wagon was built especially for the purpose, some irons prevent a perfectly
is an addition built onto my dwelling-house. It is 20x15 feet, and the floor-timbers are blocked up with stones so that it will sustain a great weight without breaking.
When the supers of sections are taken in, they are piled up near the center of the room with no very great precision, usually being piled crosswise, that is, each super placed across the one under it, for the double purpose of ventilation and to make it easier to lift the supers off the pile than they would be if piled straight and stuck together with bee-glue.
Push-board.
Perhaps the sections will be taken out of the supers the next day, possibly not for a week or more. A push-board (Fig. 16) is used to push the sections out of the super. This is made as follows:
Take a board 165% inches long and 11 inches wide. Take boards 13 inches long and 11 inch thick and nail them across the first board so as to just cover its length, and project 112 inch at each side. This makes a surface 165%x12 inches. If this board be now put inside an empty T-super, and the T-super raised, it will be seen that the board will easily drop through the super, except where it is upheld by the three T-tin supports on each side. Places must be cut out of the board so that the supports will present no hindrance. In order to make these places abundantly large, I cut them 112x12 inch. When cut out, the measure will be, from the corner of the board to the first place or hole, 312 inches, then 112 inches for the hole, then 9 13-16 inches to the next hole. Measure the same way from each of the other three corners, and you will have on each side three holes that will allow the supports of the T-tins to pass through without obstruction.
Occasionally, after pushing sections out with the push-board, I found at the lower part of some of the central sections some of the cells looking watery, showing that the push-board had crowded down a little too hard at the central part. To obviate that I put a little cleat about \(
ot\!\!V_{4}\) inch wide and \(
ot\!\!V_{8}\) thick at the outer edge of the board on all sides, giving the pressure right where it is needed. If the outer part of the sections comes out, there is no danger that the rest of the sections will not keep company. Unfortunately, the picture does not contain the little cleats.
_Fig. 69: Swarm dumped before No. 32._
Taking sections out of super.
Being now ready to take out the unfinished sections, the first thing is to see whether there are any to take out. If a careful inspection shows that all sections in a super are sealed down to the bottom, it goes directly to the pile of finished sections. If any sections are seen that are not finished, the super is placed on the table, and the little sticks removed that were crowded between the ends of the sections on top. A flat hive-cover, or a board a little larger than the super, is placed upon it. Then super and board are both turned upside down, the board being firmly held on the super by one hand while reversing. If the super should be reversed without this board being held on it, there might be a possibility of sections tumbling out and breaking. (The board is needed under the reversed super in any case). The super is now lying upside down on the board, the board even with the edge of the table. The side of the super having the follower is nearest, and I slide the super toward me enough so that I can push the follower down and let it drop out. I then push the super back on the board and lay the push-board on the bottoms of the sections. Before putting the push-board on the sections, however. I remove any bits of wax that may be on the bottoms of the sections, otherwise the push-board coming down hard upon then will crush the comb enough to make the sealing on the lower part of the sections look watery, if it does no greater damage.
As the super now lies, the sections are not resting on the board beneath, there being I'd inch space there. I push the push-board down till the sections rest on the board below.
The sections may fall that quarter of an inch with their own weight, and they may not go down at all without urgent coaxing. If the honey was stored with a rush in the early part of the season, there will be very little gluing, and the sections will come out easily. The later in the season, and the slower the storing, the more gluing, and the more trouble. If there is a lot of glue, and if it is warm, stringy and sticky, it must be humored a little. It can hardly be jerked loose suddenly any more than if it was nailed; but if it is allowed time enough the weight of the sections may be enough to bring them down. Of course a little insistence will hasten matters to some extent, but it seems to be a matter
of bees too lazy to fight away the wax-moths may have much to do with it.
"go-backs."
The unfinished sections that were taken out are to be disposed of. They are filled into supers and returned to the bees to be finished up, and these supers of sections that are to _go back_ to the bees for finishing are called "go-backs," for short. In filling up these supers of "go-backs," no very great care is taken as to assorting them, although it is desirable so far as convenient to have all in the same super at nearly the same stage toward completion.
## arrangement of sections in "go-backs."
All _except_ the two outside rows. In these two rows are put the sections that are the least advanced, the four corner sections often containing only foundation.
There are two objects in having these outside rows different from the others. The bees will not make as rapid work finishing them as the others, and if all were alike the super would have to be left on too long before all would be finished. So there is no expectation of their being finished, and it is not worth while to put in the outside row any that are near completion. There is another reason. Toward the close of the season, especially, there will be no other supers on a hive that has "go-backs," and these outside rows are needed to give them a chance to do some storing while finishing up the sealing of sections that allow little or no room for storing:
## colonies for "go-back" work.
Being more convenient, the "go-backs" are all given to colonies in the home apiary. When the first are given, the honey harvest is usually still in full blast, and a good many colonies in the apiary will have "go-backs," each colony having only one, that being placed on top of its other supers. We keep watch to see which colonies make the best work on "go-backs." Some seal faster than others, some seal sections with extra whiteness. In order to help keep track of the rate of progress, each "go-back," at the time it is put on, has marked on one of the middle sections the word "go-back" and the date. If the super were not thus marked, the colony would get more credit than it deserved when the super was removed.
A little later in the season the number of colonies chosen for this work is limited, only those which do the best being continued at it, and these are not allowed to have any other supers. Generally two supers at a time will be enough for a colony to have ; but sometimes three will be given. As fast as one super is ready to come off another takes it place.
Before fulfilling my promise to describe the tent-escape, I must describe a robber-cloth (Fig. 75), which forms an essential part of the tent-escape. I take a piece of stout cotton cloth (sheeting) or burlap large enough to cover a hive and hang down four inches or more at both sides and at each end. This must be weighted down at the side with lath, and for this purpose I take four pieces of lath about as long as the hive. I lay down one piece of lath with another piece on it, and one edge of the cloth between the two pieces of lath. I then nail the two together and clinch the nails. I use the other two pieces of lath for the opposite edge of the cloth. This makes a good robber-cloth just as it is, but it is better to have the ends also weighted down, especially on a windy day. For this purpose I make a hem in each end, and put in it shot, nails, pebbles, or something of the kind, stitching across the hem here and there so the weighting material will not all run together at one side or the other.
In any case where one wants to cover up a five quickly against robbers, as when opening and closing the same live frequently for the sake of putting in or taking out combs, this robber-cloth will be found a great convenience. No careful adjustment is needed, as in
putting on a regular hive-cover, but one can take hold of the lath with one hand, and with a single throw the hive is covered securely, with no killing of bees if any should happen to be in the way.
Having made the robber-cloth, an escape, not in the shape of a cone, but in the shape of a pyramid, is fastened centrally upon it (Fig. 73). Take three triangular pieces of wire-cloth, each of the three sides measuring alike. Put them together in the form of a tent,
Figure 71: Shop (looking South).
sewing the edges together at the three sides by weaving fine wire through. At the top, however, let each of the pieces be folded out, so that a hole large enough to push your finger in will be left. Lay the tent centrally on the robber-cloth, and mark where the three corners of the tent come. Now starting at each of these points, cut the cloth to the center. Cut away the three flaps of cloth all but about 1/4 inches, and turn this 1/4-inch margin up on the outside of the tent and sew there with heavy thread.
Another way is a little easier to do, and it is a little better, although a little harder to describe. Take a piece of wire-cloth 3 1-3 times as long as it is wide. Mark a point at the middle of one of the longer sides, and on the other side mark a point half way from each end to the middle, as shown in the figure. Make a fold at each of the dotted lines. The wire-cloth may be cut away at the two outside dotted lines, or, what is better, the end pieces may be folded over and sewed down. Now bring the two parts of the upper margin together and sew with wire, and then proceed to fasten the tent in place as before. In this latter case, of course, a hole must be cut at the top of the tent. Before the tent is sewed together, cut a slit about an inch deep in the two dotted lines at the top, and then fold out the three points.
When one of these tent-escapes is placed on a pile of supers, or on a hive containing bees, the bees will pass out freely at the top, but the bees that try to get in attempt to make the entrance farther down. Once in a great while there will gather a bunch of the outgoing bees at the top so as to clog the exit, and then the robbers will settle on this bunch of bees and work their way in, but a little smoke will scatter the bunch of bees.
But bees are persevering creatures, and are not likely to stay scattered. In that case it is a good thing to put two escapes over the pile, a larger one over a smaller one. The piece of wire cloth used in making some of mine is \(32 imes 9 imes 2\) inches, and in others it is \(14 imes 6\). The smaller ones seem to work just as well as the larger, and it is a convenience to have the two sizes when a case such as I have mentioned occurs. But it does not often occur.
"once a thief" not "always a thief."
For many years I believed what perhaps is generally believed, that the saying. "Once a thief, always a thief," was true of any bee ever guilty of robbing. There is, no doubt, some ground for such belief, for a bee that has spent to-day robbing from a certain hive will very likely start in on the same business to-morrow, if any more plunder is to be had in the same place; but it is not true that a bee that has been engaged in one robbing scrape will never after return to honest labor.
Indeed, so far as the bee is concerned, getting honey out of another hive probably seems just as. honest work as to gather nectar from the flowers. And the more active a bee is when engaged in the field, the more active might we expect to find it in trying to rob when there is nothing more to be had in the field.
Many a hive is robbed out in spring, and many a bee is engaged in the robbing; yet the first day in which an abundance of stores can be had in the field, every bee of sufficient age gleefully joins in the quest abroad, and the fact that honey may be exposed with little danger shows that the bees that were formerly so intent upon robbing are now afield with the others.
a practice that is just as far from right as the theory about which we have been talking is the practice of taking away whatever the robbers are working upon, without leaving anything in its place. If by carelessness I have left a section of honey on a hive, and find the robbers at work upon it, I can hardly do a worse thing than to take it away.
If I leave it, the bees will stick to it, and clean it out, and for some time a number of robbers will stick to it
after the honey is all gone, but they stick to that one spot, and if the empty comb is left there, they keep hunting it all over and over, and by and by conclude the honey is all used out of it and go about their business. If the section is taken away and nothing left in its place, they seem to think they have made a mistake as to the place and hunt all around for the missing section, until they force their way into the nearest comparable colony;
Figure 7: No. 13 Closed for Hailing.
If a weak colony is attacked, I may sometimes take it away, but if I do, I immediately put in its place an empty hive in which I put some scraps of comb containing a little honey. They will rob this out and that will be the end of it. It is possible that dry comb without any honey might answer.
robbing, fault of bee-keeper.
Except in case of queenless colonies, I am somewhat of the opinion that most cases of robbing have been through my own carelessness. When there is nothing to do in the fields, the bees may be seen busily trying to enter cracks about hives so small that there is no possibility of their entering, and they are sharp to observe any change. If, at such times, a fresh opening be left anywhere about a hive, it is sure to be discovered. An entrance at the top of brood-chamber, at the back end, may be left open all the season without being disturbed by robbers. But if it has been kept closed until a time when robbers are troublesome, and then opened, whether it be that the robbers are stirred up by seeing the change, or whether the bees of the colony are not in the habit of protecting themselves in that quarter, the robbers are pretty sure to give the new entrance especial attention; and if the colony be not very strong there may be serious trouble.
starting robbing by feeding.
As feeding is done only in a time of scarcity, it is one of the most common causes of robbing among careless bee-keepers. When general feeding is done with Miller feeders, there is little danger, no matter what time of day the work is done; but if some weak colony is short of stores, I try to be somewhat careful to do nothing to attract especial attention to it. I have sometimes fed at night, and so far as convenient prefer to feed late in the day, but convenience does not always allow it.
Not only did I put hay at the entrance, but piled it up all around to the top of the hive. For some time I kept everything very wet all around the hive by pouring on pails of water, and then left them till next day.
No other hives were attacked. I somewhat expected to find the queen killed, but she was all right next day, and no further trouble occurred, as the colony was a strong one, and when in its right mind, capable of taking care of itself.
## do robbed-bees join the robbers?
One of the venerable traditions that is perhaps generally accepted without question is that when a colony is being robbed it is a quite common thing for the bees that are robbed to join the robbers and help carry off the stores. I am very skeptical as to there being any truth in the tradition. I do not say such a thing never happened, but I never saw such a case, and I have seen from first to last quite a number of cases of robbing. I have known a number of cases in which all the stores were emptied out of the combs by robbers, and the bees of the colony seemed to be all left, and generally by taking the right kind of pains I have succeeded in re-establishing such a colony. In such cases there was certainly no joining the robbers.
I have found other cases in which the bees were entirely gone, and I could only guess what had become of them. My guess was that after being robbed of all their stores, and having used up all the honey in their honeys. perhaps some time after the robbers had ceased to pay any attention to them, they had swarmed out as any hunger-swarm will do, and had united, or tried to unite, with some other colony. Would they not be likely to join some colony other than the one that had treated them so unkindly?
## piles sometimes a target for robbers.
Piles of four or five stories with abundant ventilation at each story are in no danger from robbers under ordinary circumstances ; but if you ever have such piles, and are so unfortunate as to get the robbers once started at them, you "better watch out." Even if there should be a dearth for some time, robbers are not likely to attack a pile ; for they have probably got into the habit of thinking that such a pile is not to be meddled with, but just you do something to call particular attention to the pile,
such as letting a comb of honey stand by it exposed, and there are so many exposed places to defend that the robbers are likely to have things their own way.
\(\lambda\) bad case of robbing.
One time George W. York was here when bees were not busily at work in the fields, and I opened up a pile of four stories, for what purpose I do not now remember ; very likely I was trying to show off in some way. At any rate I showed him a fine case of robbing, for the robbers pounced down upon every exposed point, and before I had noticed what was going on they were having a gay
Figure 7: I'Wheeling Load of Supers.
time. Of course I couldn't build a haystack about the four stories, but I had to do something, for although the colony was a powerful one it was utterly inadequate to the protection of four exposed stories, and without any interference on my part its doom was sealed. I closed all entrances except the lower one, and then applied the hay and water to the lower story successfully.
## piles in late summer.
During the usual working season there is need of some foolishness on the part of the bee-keeper to start robbing at a pile having a strong colony, but after the weather becomes quite cool toward fall, the case is different. Of course, all but the lower entrance should be closed before cold nights come, but sometimes there is a case of neglect. In a cold night the colony shrinks down into the lower or the lower two stories--all the more because there is a current of air right through the hive --and the two or three upper stories are left without any bees.
In the following morning they do not go up again into the upper stories till some time after the day has warmed up. The robbers, however, do not wait so long, but finding an upper entrance unprotected go to work in lively style.