BEE-spoke-data/bees-v0 huggingface dataset:
Into a dish of hot water on a stove put one-third of a teasponful of tartarie acid for every 2% pounds of water and then into the mixture slowly pour granulated sugar to the amount of four times the weight of the water, stirring constantly. Make sure that the sugar is all dissolved before boiling commences. If this precaution is not observed, some of the undissolved sugar is likely to burn, injuring the flavor of the candy and almost surely causing trouble with the bees later. If one has a candy thermometer, he should watch the temperature and not let it go above 275 to 280 degrees. Test frequently by dropping a very little of the syrup into cold water (about 50 to 55 degrees F.). The drop of candy when taken out of the water should he hard and brittle,but when placed in the mouth should soften slightly so that it is tough. Then the syrup should be poured into paper pie-plates, or upon paraffined or wax paper on a perfectly level table. In the latter ease, around the outside of the paper should be placed wooden sticks 1% inch high to prevent the syrup from running off. The color of the candy when cold should be about that of light basswood honey. If it is darkened very much, it is seorehed and unfit for the bees. To prevent the seorehing, reduce the fire toward the last so that the syrup will boil slowly.
This hard candy (in paper pie-plates) should be placed over the cluster of bees, with a few small sticks between it and the tops of the frames to give bee-space. If the colony is small the brood-chamber should first be contracted, by the use of a division-board, to as few frames as the bees will cover at one side of the hive. In doing this the contraction is accomplished by removing frames that have no brood and little or no honey. Place the candy above the cluster--the pie-plates upside down. In case the beginner has wintered in a double-walled hive with a mat just above the frames, as we recommended, he may feed the candy immediately under the mat; but if he has wintered in some other way and has no room for the candy between the tops of the frames and the cover, it will be necessary to put on a two-inch rim or an empty shallow super (or a full-depth super if he hasn't a rim or shallow super) to provide room for the candy on top of the frames. If it is a time when cool weather may yet occur (any time before the main honey flow in the northern regions of the United States), cover the candy and fill the space of the added rim or super with mats, cloths or other packing, to conserve the warmth of the hive. When in exceptional cases it is necessary to feed candy after the supers are on, just preceding the honey flow, the feed may be placed on the floor at the back of the hive. To do this, raise the front of the hive and shove the candy to the back of the floor beneath the frames.
The one only best way of feeding, however, is to provide sufficient stores in the fall, thus making early spring feeding at least unnecessary.
In some locations where there is no early pollen available, as in some parts of the arid region, beekeepers purchase or save combs of pollen for use the following spring. The use of pollen substitutes is of questionable value.
**Need of Water.**
Whenever brood is being reared it is necessary for the bees to have water. This they can sometimes secure from thin nectar that is being gathered at the time. But lacking a natural water source, it should be supplied at some warm, sheltered spot in or close to the apiary. In providing such water supply care must be taken that the bees do not drown in getting the water. Any open dish or pall may be used to hold the water, provided that plenty of floating material, such as bits of board or sticks or straw on which the bees may slight, be placed on the surface.
**Uniting.**
The putting together of two or three colonies or nuclei of bees to make a single colony is called "uniting." The beginner must understand that, except during a good honey flow in spring, sum mer or fall, if two colonies, each having its own queen, are united without any measures taken to make the uniting gradual and peaceable, the bees of the two colonies are likely to fight each other desperately.
**The Newspaper Uniting Plan.**
It may be that a colony is found in the spring without a queen, when no new queen can be secured to introduce to it. In such a case, the newspaper uniting plan (as first praeticed by that famous bee master, Dr. C. C. Miller) is to be strongly recommended. It is very simple and certain. Place over the top-bars of a hive that has a queen a single sheet of ordinary newspaper, and the queenless hive is then placed on top. The floor will be under the lower hive, and the only cover will be placed over the upper hive. No sort of entrance nor opening is left in the upper hive, so that the only way the bees can get out of it is to gnaw a hole through the newspaper. Within a day or two this will be done. The hole at first will be big enough for only a single bee to pass through, and the intermingling of the bees of the two colonies will be so gradual and quiet that there will be no fighting. Eventually the whole paper will be gnawed away and the two colonies become one, and in a few days or a week all the frames of brood with all the bees can be confined to one hive.
If both of the colonies to be united have queens, it is better for the poorer queen to be put out of the way by the beekeeper before the work of uniting by the newspaper plan is begun; but, if one of the queens is not destroyed by the beekeeper in advance, the bees themselves will do the job. The uniting is likely to be more peaceful if one of the colonies has been made queenless two or three days before beginning to unite. The lower hive, standing on its original location, should be left as the permanent home of the united colonies.
**Clipping of the Queen.**
Unless the laying queens have already been clipped, the clipping should be done during fruit bloom, while the weather is warm and some honey is coming in. At this time the bees will be good-natured and not inclined to rob. Also, during the middle hours of the day many bees will be out gathering nectar; so the hives will not be crowded with the bees, and the queen _SPRING MANAGEMENT.--Chapter XIX._
will be more easily found. (As to finding the queen see page 56.) She should be carefully picked up by the shoulders, and both her wings on one side cut off nearly % of their length.
**Enlarging the Brood-Chamber.**
Those brood-nests that were contracted the previous fall should be expanded as soon as the colonies become strong enough to cover more frames. When expanding, it will be necessary to remove the side packing which fills the space made by removal of the combs the previous fall when contracting the double-walled hive. As the combs are added to fill up this space they should be placed at the sides, in order not to divide the brood-nest. It does not pay to be in too big a hurry about removing the top packing. (See page 108.)
**Cutting Out Drone Comb.**
During the fruit bloom, after the bees are in the best possible condition, queens clipped, colonies strong, plenty of stores and brood-chamber expanded, there is still a very profitable piece of work that one can hardly afford to omit, provided be has an excessive amount of drone comb in his hives, because rearing a large number of drones not only necessitates the consumption of a large amount of honey but also tends toward swarming. In the lower corners of the brood-frames, along the bottom-bar and at various parts of the combs, may be found patches of this drone comb. An excess of drones should on no account be tolerated, and in the warm spring days of fruit bloom is the ideal time for cutting drone comb out and replacing it with worker comb.
_SPRING MANAGEMENT.--Chapter XIX._
After cutting out the undesirable comb, that from which portions have been cut should be used as a pattern and placed over the worker comb which is to be used for patches. With a knife, the shape of the holes may be marked on the worker comb. Then removing the upper pattern the pieees may be cut out of the worker comb, after which they are inserted in the comb to be patched. If they are small and fit in tightly, it may not be necessary to fasten them. Otherwise, they can be held securely by means of wires wrapped around the frames; or, if honey is coming in, the patches may be tied in with strings, which will be removed by the bees as soon as they have attached the patches to the rest of the comb.
**Giving Room Below and Above.**
To move brood from the hive-body proper to a super above too early in the season would be attended with danger of chilling the brood, since so much of the heat of the lower story would rise to the upper one. But, as stated under the subhead, "Preceding the Honey Flow," page 71, two or three weeks before the opening of the main honey flow, if the strongest colonies become crowded with brood and bees, a super should be given immediately above the lower story; and, if the crowded condition seems to warrant it, it may be advisable to place one or two frames of brood in the upper story, replacing these in the brood-chamber with frames of foundation or, preferably, combs, at the sides of the lower story. When some brood is thus kept in the second story, the bees become so accustomed to occupying the second story that, when the honey flow comes, they start to work in the super with energy.
**Increase--Prevented or Made.**
By tearing down queen-cells as fast as they appear, placing a few frames of brood, or all but one, above, and filling the remainder of the lower brood-chamber with drawn combs, it will doubtless be possible to prevent all increase during the early summer period. Or, if increase is desired, the above plan may be used, only inserting a queen-exluder between the two stories and tearing down all capped cells. About eight days later the upper story may be moved to a new location and its entrance contracted, to prevent the brood from chilling. (See Chapter XV on "Increase.")
**When Spring Management Might Not be Necessary.**
As a final word about spring management, let it be said that there are high bekeeping authorities who say that there should be no necessity for any spring management; that if the colony goes into winter quarters strong, with many young bees, has good stores and plenty of protection, such a colony needs no attention in the spring. But this is an ideal condition--not the ordinary situation.
**A Final Word.**
The beginner, who has read this little book from cover to cover, has now completed the cycle of the bekkeeping year, and has been told briefly of its work and problems, what to do, how and when to do it. The purpose of the book has been to give one tried and proven way of performing every important operation connected with the right keeping of bees. There are different ways of performing many of these operations, as the beginner will shortly learn--and there are many ardent advocates of each different way. It has been the author's very great and conscientious care to try to give only the simplest and surest way. So it is that some things that might have been said have been left unsaid, because of fear of confusing the beginner with too much detail or theory in his first steps. So we leave him to begin another year's eyele, to repeat the work done in the first year, in the same way--except that experience will have taught him lessons in bekeeping that no book can teach him.
There only remains to add an appendix, devoted mainly to the explicit explanation of some of the unexpected or even unpleasant problems that may possibly present themselves to the beginner in his early experiences, and which must be met promptly and effectively when they do occur.
## Appendix Diseases of Bees.
NOSEMA APIs.--This is a disease of adult bees, and is not considered a very serious one; for, although slightly infectious and although many colonies die from this cause, the percentage is small. Usually the colony is but slightly affected and recovers of its own accord. An apparently normal colony that is weak, especially in the spring, and yet had had good packing, plenty of stores and a good queen, is quite likely to be affected with the nosema disease. An examination of the stomach of a field worker, however, gives still more reliable evidence. If affected, the stomach will appear swollen and lighter in color than a healthy one, or in more advanced cases it will be chalk-white and easily torn. In badly infected bees the stomach when crushed is milky in appearance.
BEE PARALYSIS.--Paralysis is a disease common in the warm South where it appears to be contagious and sometimes affects whole apiaries. Now and then the trouble appears in most apiaries even in the North, but seldom spreads or makes much trouble.
The first symptom the bekeeper is likely to note is healthy bees tngging at the affected ones, pulling them from the entrance. The bees often show a trembling motion and sometimes seratch at their bodies with their legs as if there were violent itching. In some cases, some of the bees have swollen abdomens and a black, greasy appearance. Some of the sick bees are very ative, running this way and that, attempting to crawl up spears of grass only to fall back unable to fly; others appear listless and cluster in bunehes around the entrance of the hive.
Many different treatments have been advocated, but none are universally successful. One treatment is simply to interchange the places of a diseased colony and a strong healthy one. Another method calls for nuclei and, as soon as they have laying queens, the giving to each nucleus two frames of the oldest capped brood from the paralytic colony. After the brood is disposed of in this way the bees and queen of the affected colony are destroyed with sulphur fumes.
DYSENTERY.--Poor stores, such as honeydew or unripened honey, confinement and insufficient protection often cause what is known as dysentery. If the hive is too cold, in order to keep up the temperature the bees are compelled to eat large quantities of honey. The poorer the honey, the more fecal matter accumulates in the intestines of the bees. This waste matter is normally voided only in flight; therefore, if cold weather prevents flight, the long-retained fecal matter causes purging or dysentery.
An amount of yellow or brownish disagreeable excrement all about the entrance of a hive indicates dysentery. If warm weather permits flight and the brood-nest is contracted to only as many combs as the bees canoccupy, the colony will soon recover; but, if no flight is possible, the combs and inside of the hive will become foul with excrement and the colony perish outright.
Colonies cannot contract dysentery from the stained combs. Therefore sueh combs may be saved until summer and then given to strong colonies to be cleaned, no more than two or three such combs being given a colony at a time. Too many such combs would be a discouragement to any colony and might cause them to abscond.
## 113 Diseases of Brood.
AMERICAN FOUL BROOD and European foul brood are two entirely different diseases, requiring quite different treatments. American foul brood attacks sealed brood mostly. The cappings are discolored and sunken in appearance and often have irregular perforations. The diseased larvae are yellowish brown to blackish brown, and, as they decay, have a very offensive odor, become ropy or stringy, and may be stretched out several inches in a delicate thread. The dead larvae are almost always found lying on the lower cell walls. In the last stage the larvae become dried into hard scales which adhere tightly to the cells.
A common treatment for American foul brood is to shake the bees of the diseased colony in front of a clean hive, placed on the old stand and filled with frames of foundation. The bees will soon run into the hive. Any diseased honey they may have in their sacs will be used in combbuilding. If no honey is coming in at the time, it will be necessary to feed them. The old hive should be scoreched out before using again and the combs rendered into wax. This method is quite satisfactory, if, during the treatment, care is taken that no diseased honey is left exposed on the ground or clothing where robber bees may find it, and if no bees with diseased honey become confused and enter healthy colonies at the time of shaking. The old combs should be destroyed or melted up as soon as taken from the hives.
EUROPEAN FOUL BROOD attacks unsealed brood mostly. The diseased larvae are usually a light yellow. This decayed matter may also have an unpleasant odor but not usually so offensive as in the case of American foul brood. The diseased larvae reach a ropy stage, but instead of roping as a fine thread stretch out as a coarse granular thread. The dead larvae may be found in almost any position on the base or any of the walls of the cells. When scales are formed they do not adhere tightly to the cells as in the case of American foul brood, but may be removed.
A good treatment for European foul brood is to dequeen for a period of from 10 to 20 days, and then to introduce a queen of a vigorous strain of Italians. Or, if the colony affected is Italian, a queen-cell from a good Italian colony can be given immediately after dequeening, as it will be about 10 days before the queen will begin to lay. Before dequeening it is very important to make the colonies strong by uniting or giving emerging brood. Except in extreme cases, it is not necessary to melt up the combsor disinfect the hives, as in the case of Ameriean foul brood.
European foul brood can be prevented to a great extent by keeping only a good strain of Italian bees and keeping the colonies always strong.
A good discussion of the distinguishing characteristics and best methods of treatment of the two diseases is given in the A. B C and X. Y Z of Bee Culture. If one has trouble in determining with which disease his colonies are affected, he should send a sample of the comb for diagnosis to the Bureau of Entomology, Washington, D. C. For this purpose a piece of comb about five inches square and containing a number of dead or discolored larvae should be sent in a wooden box.
SACBROOD.Although saebrod is mildly infectious it is not a very serious disease, and does not require treatment. In fact, it usually comes and goes of its own accord without the beekeeper's even suspecting its presence. The dead larvae or pupae vary in color from yellow, gray and light brown to a dark brown resembling foul brood. However, they are never ropy like foul brood, nor have they any odor. They are generally in capped cells, the diseased cells being irregularly interspersed among the healthy ones. When scales are present, they are quite black and roughened and easily separated from the cell wall.
The consistency of the affected larvae assists one in distinguishing saebrod from foul brood. An affected larva has the appearance of a small closed sac with watery contents. This larva can often be removed from the cell intact.
Starved or neglected brood or dead brood from laying workers or drone layers is sometimes confused with saebrod because of its unpleasant odor and dark color. If starved or neglected the trouble will disappear as soon as the bees are able to gather pollen; if the brood is from laying workers or drone layers, only drone brood will be affected.
## 111 Enemies of Bees.
ANTS.--Ants seldom trouble good colonies of bees in the North, but in the South radical measures must, sometimes be taken.
In order to get rid of them, they should be cleaned out of the hives and the hives placed on stands or benebes, the legs of which rest in eans filled with some liquid, such as coal tar or crude petroleum, that will prevent the ants from crawling up into the hives.
All ant hills or nests in the apiary should also be destroyed. To do this make several holes, an inch or so in diameter, about a foot deep through the nest. Then pour a tablespoonful of carbon bisulphide in each hole, and stop up the holes with earth so that the fumes may permeate every part of the nests. Great care should be taken since the carbon bisulphide is very explosive when mixed with air. If the nests are not large, kerosene may be used instead of carbon bisulphide, about three times as much of the kerosene being required.
_APPENDIX._
MICE.--All honey-houses should be made mouse-proof, and, whenever surplus combs are stored away, care should be taken to exclude mice, for the combs will be completely ruined if mice gain entrance.
When bees are wintered in the cellar, the entrance of the hive should be covered with a strip of coarse-mesh cloth, just coarse enough to let bees through and yet exclude mice; or else the entrance should be contracted to a %-inch slot through which the mice cannot enter.
SKUNKS.--Skunks are a great nuisance to the bekeeper, since they eat so many bees as to weaken the colonies seriously. At night the skunks scratch in front of the hives and disturb the bees so that they rush out of the hive to repel the invader. They are then rapidly eaten by the skunks who particularly relish them.
Skunks may be poisoned by putting stryehnine inside of small chunks of beef and leaving the beef at the entrance of the hive where the skunks have been working. Because of the danger of poisoning the neighbors' eats and dogs, however, we do not advise relying on poison. It is safer to protect the colonies by fencing them in with four-foot poultry netting, one foot of which is folded at right angles so as to be flat on the ground on the outside of the fence, the outer edge being staked down to the ground. The skunks do not understand how to get under the foot of netting lying on the ground.
WAX MOTHS.--Wax moths do not trouble strong colonies of Italians, but in the South where black bees are kept in box hives they are very destructive. There are two species of wax moths--the larger and the lesser. The larger is more common and more destructive than the lesser. The work of the two moths is similar except that the webs of the smaller one are finer and nearer the surface of the comb.
The larger adult moth is % of an inch in length, with a wing expanse of 11% inches. It is ashy gray in appearance with the back third of each front wing bronze in color.
Weak colonies of bees do not defend themselves so well as strong ones, and therefore moths readily enter and deposit their eggs on the combs. When the eggs hatch the larvae gradually eat their way through the midrib of the comb, leaving the comb all undermined with passageways of web work spotted with careeta. In a short time such combs will be completely ruined. By keeping strong, healthy colonies of Italians, such trouble may be avoided.
When storing away surplus combs, however, it should be remembered that moths, if permitted, will destroy them even more readily than the combs in the hives of bees, for in the case of stored combs there are no bees to repel the moths. For this reason all supers of combs stored in the honey-house should be carefully piled and covered so that no moth may enter. If, however, the combs contain eggs from the wax moth when taken from the hive, the wax worms will develop later on. If moths should appear in stored material, and yet the combs are not badly affected, they may be given to strong Italian colonies to clean up. If the condition is more serious, the combs will need to be fumigated. In this case scrape all propo-lis from the top and bottom edges of the supers so the bodies will fit tight and retain the gas. On top of each set of combs, place a cloth about ten inches square (doubled), and pour a tablespoonful of carbon bisulphide on the cloth and cover with two thicknesses of newspaper to insure a tight joint. Then place another body on top and treat the same way, and continue as high as you wish to go.
OTHER ENEMIES.-Inseectivorous birds, such as kingbirds, bee marti tins and a few others sometimes prey on bees. They do no great damage when they capture workers; but when they capture queens in queen-rearing yards the ease is more serious, and the owner would probably be justified in waging war on such birds.