BEE-spoke-data/bees-v0 huggingface dataset:
First of all, let the beginner take in hand his bee-smoker and see that it is lighted so that it will stay lighted. Do this by first placing in the bottom of the fire-chamber some easily ignitible material; apply a match to this and then pack in above the flame a material which will make plenty of smoke and burn slowly, such as rags, greasy waste, or well-dried rotten wood; next give several puffs with the bellows to be sure that the fire is started, but do not use the bellows so much that a blaze is started in the smudge material. It is the smoke, not the flame, that is wanted. It is necessary to make very sure that there is enough smouldering fire in the smoke fuel so that it will not go out while handling the bees.
Next, protect the hands and wrists with a pair of bee-gloves, and the face with a bee-veil. Let the beginner wear loose, light-colored clothing, avoiding black or fuzzy material of any kind, if possible, with the sleeves made tight at the wrists, and the bottom of his trousers tacked in his seeks or tied about his ankles. Women may well wear overalls or bloomers when working with bees. A full but short apron may be worn over the overalls and a short skirt over the bloomers. High shoes and leggings also add to a woman's protection against stings.
The veil should be so adjusted that no bee can gain entrance. See the illustration on the next page of a bee-keeper with his bee-veil, bee-gloves, etc., properly fastened and adjusted.
Along with the smoker, have in hand a good hive-tool; or, lacking a hive-tool, take a screwdriver or heavy poeketknife, and approach the hive from the rear or side. Never stand in front of the entrance nor get in the line of flight of the bees if it can possibly be avoided.
It is taken for granted that the beginner has selected a warm day for his bee operations, and some time between the hours of ten and three o'clock. Let him be sure never to attempt to open a hive on a cool or chilly morning or late in the afternoon, never after a chilly rain, and not directly after a honey flow has been suddenly interrupted. At such times bees will sting
if they can find anybody or anything to punish.
Now, with the smoker well lighted, blow three or four puffs of smoke into the entrance of the hive to subdue the guards, but be careful not to blow in too much smoke. (Smoking at the entrance is not necessary during a good honey flow.) If the smoking is overdone, the bees in the hive will be stamped, especially if they are black bees or hybrids, rendering subsequent handling of them exceedingly difficult.
Now, take off the outer cover. Do this as gently as possible, for the less the bees are jarred or aroused in any way the better for their tempers.
Next, take the hive-tool and gently try the inner cover of the hive up an eighth of an inch--not wider. It may be necessary to try from more than one corner in order that the cover may not come up with a jar. Through the gap so made between the inner cover and hive blow in a couple of puffs of smoke. Put the inner cover down for a moment. Next, gently lift up the cover again, following the movement with perhaps two or three more light puffs of smoke. There should be just enough smoke used to drive the bees that are on top of the frames down between the frames; and later in the operation, whenever many of the bees' heads are seen sticking up between the frames, ready to take wing, a little more smoke will be needed.
The beginner may next proceed to lift out frames singly. If they are stuck together with propolis, a little smoke may be required to follow each operation in separating the frames with a hive-tool, as a sudden jar may anger the bees; but usually the smoker can be set down alongside the hive, and frame after frame be lifted out without receiving a single sting. The first frame or two removed from the hive may be set down on the ground and leaned against the hive while the other frames are examined.
Espeacial care should be taken, not, to pinch any bees nor kill any. Take good care to place the fingers only where there are no bees; and, if bees are very numerous, simply push them over to one side by pushing the gloved fingers down among them, being careful not to pinch them in doing so. To pinch any of the bees or to kill any of them may, result in engaging the whole colony. Always remember to make no quick movements. Be deliberate and cool in the manipulation of bees always. Nervousness or any quick movement on the part of the operator seems to anger the bees.
After the beginner has opened the hives a few times he will be able to discard the gloves, and later he can dispense with the veil at-times (notwhen the bees are cross or cold or suddenly deprived of nectar in the fields), because he will find that an intelligent use of the smoker will do more to eliminate stings than any other one thing. Remember, too, it is sympathy with the bees as well as expertness in handling them that finally results in handling them without harm to the operator.
If a sting he received the stinger, which will be found sticking in the flesh, should be immediately brushed or seraped"off. This is because the sting has a poison sac at its base from which poison is pumped into the wound, even after the stinger is detached from the bee. The sting is also barhed and continues to work farther into the flesh as long as left in the wound. By swiftly brushing or scraping off the sting (rather than picking it off) no pressure is put on the poison sac and thus no poison is forced into the wound. There is no known eurefor strings. To rub or touch the wound only seems to increase the swelling. Medicinal applications are useless because the puncture is too small to admit medicine, at least in any effective amount. In cases of severe stinging, hot cloths may be effectively applied to relieve the pain.
How to Handle Frames.
Hardly less important than knowing how to handle the bees without inviting stings, is a knowledge of how to handle the frame properly.
After removing the inner cover, if the frames are self-spacing, insert the hive-tool between the side of the hive and the end-bar of the first frame. Crowd the set of frames tightly together against the far side of the hive, repeating this operation for the other end of the frames. Now pry the first frame back toward the side of the hive when it is ready to lift out. If, on account of attachments of comb to the side of the hive or bulged combs, the first frame can not be readily removed, the second or even the third frame may be taken out first.
For first inspection it is better to take the first or the second frame, as the queen is less likely to be found there at the side of the hive. If she should be on the first frame removed, she might be injured by being rubbed or crushed when the first frame is drawn from between closely adjacent combs.
Lift the frame by taking hold of both ends of the top-bar, keeping it in a horizontal position while examining the side turned toward the beekeeper. To examine the opposite side, no frame should be turned directly over with the bottom-bar remaining horizontal, for if the comb is heavy with honey it may break from the frame, and if the queen should ehance to be on the comb being examined she is quite likely to fall to the ground and be injured, since it is difficult for a laying queen to keep her footing on a comb so turned.
Note the accompanying illustrations for exact directions for handling frames.
The frame is held by the ends of the top-bar horizontally in front of one while examining the first side of comb. (See position 1.) To turn the other side into view, begin by raising the right end above the left, to bring the top-bar into a perpendicular position (see position 2); next revolve the frame, now perpendicular, with the top-bar as an axis, until the opposite side of the comb is turned toward the beginner (see position 3); now the right hand may be lowered to a position level with the left hand, thus leaving the frame still in a vertical position, and still held by the ends of the top-bar, but with the bottom-bar now at the top (see position 4) instead of at the bottom, as in the original position, so that the beekeeper er can exaunine the other side of the conib.
In order to get the frame in the right position for returning to the hive this operation should be just reversed. The start in reversing is shown in position 5.
This manner of handling may sound rather involved and quite unneecessary; but in reality it is very simple, and may save the beginner a broken conib or the loss of a queen. Practice it with an empty frame. Very soon the beginner will reverse the combs correctly and almost instintively.
To make room to work place the first comb removed to one side in a box. The other combs can then be removed one after another as desired, putting them back into the hive after examination but toward the near side of the hive, thus always leaving room for taking out the next comb.
When ready to close the hive the frames should again be crowded against the far side of the hive before the last comb is put in. After all the frames are in place, crowd them together tightly against one side of the hive, then move them back slightly so that the end-bars of the outside frames are about one-fourth inch from the side of the hive. This allows a clustering space for the bees between the outside combs and the side walls of the hive. Furthermore, the queen can occupy the cells of the combs adjacent to the side walls of the hive when proper space is given, and thus more cells are available for brood-rearing.
It will thus be seen that in the examining and handling of bees there is a correct method of manipulating hives, which, if followed, will mean satisfaction and pleasure instead of drudgery and stings. The beginner who is afraid of being stung- and afraid of doing the wrong thing at the wrong time can very soon become proficient in handling and examining bees, if attention is given to the details we have endeavored to set forth in this chapter.
**WORK WITH THE QUEEN.**
CHAPTER X.
Having secured his bees and equipment, and having learned something of the individuals in the hive and its contents, as well as how to avoid being stung, and how to handle the frames, the beginner is ready for actual work with the bees. Naturally he asks himself how often and for what purpose are the hive and the bees to be examined.
Most beginners overdo the first work. Pulling the hives all to pieces and redistributing the combs promiscuously is an expensive kind of pleasure, but there are several real necessities for opening the hives. Among these are: To learn that the queen and conditions of brood-rearing are all right; to make sure that the bees have sufficient food in store; to learn if the colony as a whole is healthy and normal; occasionally to determine special exigencies arising in the hive; after the honey flow, to take off supers filled with honey; and to prepare the colony for winter. But the condition of the queen and resulting conditions in the hive may demand an examination of the colony at the very beginning of the beginner's experience with bees.
The beekeeper should know that a queen is present in the hive and conditions normal, if he is to expect success. So he should examine the hive whenever he has reason to suspect that anything may have gone wrong with the queen.
**How to Find the Queen.**
If the beekeeper needs to find the queen for any good reason, let him first take out one or two of the outside combs from the side of the hive next to the operator. If the queen is not on these' combs, set them aside in order that the remaining combs may be more readily examined. If robbers are troublesome these combs must be put into an "empty hive or a light box that will hold two or three frames, and kept covered while they are out of the hive. As each of the remaining combs is removed from the hive, glance quickly over the exposed side of the next comb in the hive to see if the queen is there. If she is not there, turn the comb just removed to examine the other side and proceed in this way until the queen is found. As the combs are examined they are placed back into the hive on the side nearest the operator in order to maintain an open space between the combs already examined and those yet to be examined. This work should be done rapidly and no more smoke should be used than is necessary for rapid work. If the bees are inclined to be nervous and run on the combs it is necessary to watch for the queen in the spaces between the lower edge of the comb and the bottom-bar of the frames, and also on the bottom and sides of the hive, for if the queen becomes frightened she may run off of the combs into these spaces. (For directions for clipping the queen, see page 114.)
**If the Queen Be Lost.**
If by any accident the queen should be lost, the bees soon detect her absenee and at first set up a peculiar cry and buzzing of distress as they rush wildly about all over the outside of the hive and out into the grass in their effort to find her. If she is not found they immediately start queen-cells about some of the youngest larvae present, and thus begin rearing them a new queen. In such cases, the queen-cells are liable to be unusually numerous and built anywhere on the comb. If the strain is undesirable, this would be a good time to improve the stock by giving them a ripe queen-cell from a good stock in a spiral wire cell-protector or by introducing a laying queen. (See "How to Introduce," page 60.)
We have previously stated that it requires 15 or 16 days to rear a queen; but when bees start to rear a queen beginning with larvae it is evident that a queen may emerge in ll or even 9 days after the bees determine to rear one, although nine days is quite unusual, since the bees normally choose quite young larvae from which to rear the queens.
It often happens that colonies become queenless without the owner's knowledge; and, unless he ehanees to notice them at the time of the loss, their behavior would hardly be striking enough to attract his attention. Still, should he happen to see bees standing idly about the entrance, and none of them industriously bringing in pollen when the bees from the other colonies are doing so, he would have cause to suspect that all was not right with the queen. If this condition is observed it is well to open the hive and look for eggs and larvae. If plenty of eggs and worker brood are found, one may be quite sure the queen is present, and it is not necessary to look for her. If queen-cells and plenty of good worker brood are found they are preparing to swarm. If a few queen-cells and a little scattering worker and drone brood are found, the bees are probably trying to supersede or replace a queen they consider defective. If only drone brood is present, the colony has either a drone-layer (see page 58) or laying worker (see page 58), which should be disposed of immediately. In such cases the drone brood will be found in worker-cells; but it can be detected by the elongated cells and more convexappings as well as the irregularity of the sealed brood, it being somewhat scattered. If no worker brood is found, and the bees commence an unusual buzzing when the hive is opened, the colony is, without doubt, queenless. This faet can be definitely determined by introducing a comb containing eggs and young larvae, when, if queenless, queen-cells will at once be started. Of course, colonies that are without food will cease rearing brood, no matter how profile the queen may be, and, as previously mentioned, brood-rearing is normally suspended from October to February or March, except in the extreme South.
**Supersedure.**
When a queen is old or otherwise defective the bees usually raise another to take her place, and do it while she is still alive. In faet, the youngqueen may sometimes emerge, become fertilized, and peaceably share the duties of egg-laying with her mother until the latter dies. If a colony found raising supersedure queen-cells is of good stoek, it is often advisable to let matters take their own course; for the queens thus raised are usually of superior quality. But if the stoek is not desirable, the queen-cells should be removed and a queen-cell in a cell-prolector, introduced. When supersedure queen-cells are built during the swarming season the colony may swarm, even if not strong, the colony apparently being induced to swarm by the presence of queen-cells. Usually fewer queen-cells are built for supersedure than for swarming. Sometimes only one or two queen-cells are built for supersedure, and often one of these is started several days or even a week in advance of the other.
### Laying Workers.
Ordinarily worker bees are females imperfectly developed as to sex. Under certain circumstances their special organs become developed to such an extent that they are able to lay eggs, in which case they become laying workers (sometimes called "fertile workers"). Such eggs, however, always develop drones, since fertilization of workers is impossible, and only fertilized eggs can produce females. If a virgin queen becomes lost in mating, a colony is without a laying queen for so long a time that there are no young larvae left, and therefore no chance to raise another queen; the colony after two or three weeks may become infested with these laying workers. To get rid of them, rather strenuous measures must be adopted, since it is very difficult to distinguish them from ordinary workers, and there may be a great number of them present in the same hive.
For the beginner having only a few colonies, let him exchange (but not before nor during the main honey flow) the location of the hive having the laying workers with that of a strong colony, at the same time introducing a queen by the eage method into the laying-worker colony.
### Drone-Layers.
Finding a colony with mostly drone brood, and with eggs plaed irregularly, does not necessarily prove the presence of laying workers, for the brood of drone-laying queens has much the same appearance, although there are usually fewer eggs, and they are placed deeper in the cells.
A drone-layer may be a queen that has failed to mate during the first two or three weeks after emergence, or she may be a queen that is failing on aecount of old age. She should be found and killed, and the colony put into a normal condition by giving it brood in different stages of development and introducing a good queen.
A Colony Hopelessly Queensland.
When a colony suddenly loses a queen, it has eggs and young larvae from which they begin at once to rear a new queen. But sometimes such a queenless colony fails to raise a new queen, or perhaps she is lost in mating, and the situation arises that there are no eggs nor young larvae present, and the bees are then unable to raise another queen. Such a colony will very soon become worthless, unless immediate steps are taken to put it in a more nearly normal condition. It should at once be given a comb containing eggs, young larvae and emerging brood to render the colony normal, and then a few days later a good laying queen should be introduced, first tearing down any queen-cells that may have been started. If a laying queen cannot be obtained and introduced, the bees may be allowed to raise one in the natural way from a queen-cell, if the colony has enough bees to warrant it; but, if this condition arises only five or six weeks before the honey flow, the colony would not thus build up in time for the honey flow, because they could not have a laying queen for 20 or 25 days. In this case, or if at any other time the queenless colony be very weak, the bees in it should be united with some other colony. (See the subject of "Uniting," page 113.)
Balling the Queen.
When a strange queen is placed in a colony of bees they usually resent her presence, seeming to consider her an intruder. No doubt this is caused partly by her individual odor or by her unusual actions due to her fear. Sometimes before she has been in the hive more than a few seconds the bees form an angry mass, elinging closely to her body, thus either smothering or stinging her to death.
If the bees attempt to ball a queen in this way she should be quickly reseued by puffing a little smoke, or, better, by dropping the hall of bees into lukewarm water, after which she may be introduced by the eage method. (See page 60.)
When to Introduce.
Since colonies that have been more than two days queenless are apt to ball the queen, no matter what method of introduction is used, queens should be introduced soon after the colony becomes queenless, within the first two days if possible; and in case one wishes to replace an old or defective queen (one that continues to lay but few eggs and places them irregularly), this queen should not be removed until the new one arrives, because of the possible delay in the arrival of the new queen. And in case the beekeeper considers the poor queen better than no queen at all, he may, before killing the old one, wait until certain the new queen has been accepted. Then the dequeening and requeening may be accomplished at the same operation. The old queen may be kept temporarily in a cage without attendant bees, the cage being inserted between combs of brood in any strong colony. If the new queen is not accepted, the old one may then be reinstated by introducing in the regular way. Extra queens may often be kept in this way for weeks.
How to Introduce.
There are a number of good plans of introduction, among which we recommend introducing by means of the mailing eage (the same in principle as the Miller eage). Preparatory to introducing by the eage method, remove all the queen-cells that may be found present. See that the cardboard mail wrapping of the mailing cage is removed, but take care not to remove the pasteboard over the hole at the end. Place the cage, wire side down, above the opening between two frames so that the bees can easily get to it. In case the inside cover of the hive has no rim and so cannot be inverted to provide space for laying the queen eage on top of the frames, then the queen eage should be inserted between the tops of two frames. To do this, remove one frame containing no brood from the hive in order to give sufficient room to leave the wired side of the eage exposed so that the bees can visit it. In about 24 hours the bees have gnawed away the pasteboard nailed over the end; then they eat out the candy in the eage, and thus release the queen, which, by this time, has acquired the sent of the hive and will, therefore, be quite likely to be accepted. Examination of the hive should be made 24 hours after putting in the queen eage, and if the bees have not gnawed a way the pasteboard over the end hole, it should be removed. The colony should be left undisturbed for at least five days after the queen has been accepted, for opening the hive soon after introducing may result in the loss of the queen by balling.
CHAPTER XI.
It will not be long after the beginner has received his bees in the late spring till he must expect to have to meet the swarming problem and to deal with swarms. The first time he has to do this the task will likely seem both hazardous and difficult to him, and he will have to guard himself against "getting rattled." But swarming for the beginner, in its simplest treatment, need not be difficult. If he has only a few colonies, and wishes to increase the number, he will welcome a first swarm from each of his hives and handle it to his profit. Increase of colonies by natural swarming is the safest and easiest method by which the beginner can increase the size of his apiary.