BEE-spoke-data/bees-v0 huggingface dataset:
**Increase**. Under head of Nicleus, several methods of forming nuclei are explained, but under this head we shall deal with the subject more from the standpoint of the honey-producer who actually desires increase and at the same time produce a crop of honey. One can divide up it strong colony into three or four nuclei; but in doing so the would "probably destroy all his chances of securing a crop of honey, and might possibly cause some brood to die. It should always be borne in mind that the field bees will go back to the old stand. The nucleus left will necessarily receive more than its proper proportion of bees, while those moved to the other locations may or may not (depending upon circumstances) have too few bees to take care of young brood. The loss of brood may be minimized somewhat by putting most of the sealed bood.on other stands and a large part of the unsealed at the old stand; but if the division be made during cold weather even the sealed brood may die from chilling.
The plan that we are about to describe avoids all this loss of brood, and at the same time enables one to make a moderate increase as well as secure a honey crop. It was practiced and recommended by one of the most extensive bee-keepers in the United States, Mr. E. W. Alexander, who has been recognized as an authority on general practical apiculture, for indeed his crops of honey have gone up into the carloads. Ile first made the plan public in 1965, after having tested it many years. So many favorable comments were received of bee-keepers who had tried it and found it to be a success that we republished it with some slight modifications in 1966. We here present the plans as it was given in _Gleinnings_, page 423, 1960 :
When your colonies are nearly full enough to swarm naturally, and you wish to divide them so as to make two from one, go to the colony you wish to divide; lift it from its stand and put in its place a hive containing frames of comb or foundation, the same as you would put the swarm in providing it had just swarmed. Now remove the center comb from this empty hive, and put in its place a frame of brood, either from the live you wish to divide or some other colony that can spare one, and be sure to find the queen and put her on this frame of brood in the new hive also look it over very carefully to see that it contains no eggs or larvae in any queen-celling. If it does, destroy them Now put a queen-excluding honey-bound on top of this new hive that contains the queen and frame of brood with their empty combs, then set your full queenless colony over the excluder; next put in the empty comb or frame of foundation, wherever you got your frame of brood, and close the upper hive except the entrance by heave through the excluder into the live below. Now leave them in this way about five days, then look over the combs carefully, and destroy any larvae you may find in the queen-cells unless they are of a good strain of bees that you enter to breed from, for they frequently start the rearing of queen as they check below the excluder. If so, you had better separate them at once; but if they have not started any queen-cells above, then leave them together ten or eleven days, during which time the queen will get a fine lot of brood started in the lower hive, and every egg and particle of larva that was in the old hive on top will have matured, so it will be capped over and _saced_; then separate them, putting the old hive on a new stand. It will then be full of young bees mostly, and capped brood, and in about twenty-four hours they will accept a ripe cell, a virgin, or laying queen, as they will then realize that they are hopelessly queenless. I would advise you to give them a laying queen, as I never like to keep my full colonies for even a day longer without a laying queen than I can help. In this way you have two strong colonies from one, as you have not lost a particle of brood nor checked the laying of your queen; and with me it almost wholly prevents swarming. This is the way we have made our increase for several years, and we like it much better than any other method we ever tried. In doing so you keep all your colonies strong during the whole summer, and it is the strongcolonies that count in giving us our surplus.
The mere fact of having a large number of colonies does not amount to much unlessthey are strong in bees and are _well_ cared for at all times. This is in fact that many have sadly overlooked; and when the season comes to close, giving them a small surplus, they feel disappointed and lay the fault on many things that have had but little to do with their failure.
In making your increase in the above way your new swarm on the old stand is in fine shape for a eamp of sections, as it has a large working force backed up by having its hive nearly full of brood, and but little honey, as the bees have been in the habit of storing their honey in the old hive that was on top, so th-y will soon go to work in the sections and have no notion of swarming. Then the old hive that has been set away can usually spare 15 or 20 hs. of honey, which can be taken with the extractor, giving its new queen plenty of room to lay, and in a short time will be one of your best colonies, and also have no desire to swaru.
Now, if you have done your duty by your bees since taking them from their winter quarters, as I have recommended in the above, keeping them snug
Hence we naturally conclude that, by the sense of smell, bees recognize their own mother from a new or strange one.
Again, we learn that, if two queens have exactly the same colony odor after being caged for two or three days in a queenless hive, either one may be liberated and the bees will accept one just as readily as the other. If both be liberated at the same time, one in one corner of the hive and the other in the opposite corner, both will be tolerated by the bees; but once the queens come together themselves there is danger of a royal battle* resulting in the death of one. From this fact we infer that the bees, providing a queen or queens have the requisite colony odor, will accept at any time one or more such queens under many conditions; that, further, when two queens have the same colony odor, if they can be kept apart by means of perforated zinc both will continue to lay eggs in the same hive without let or hindrance. This condition will be allowed so long as the colony prospers, until a dearth of honey comes; then the bees show a disposition to rob, and they may destroy one of the queens.
Footnote *: We say "danger" of a battle Queens will not always fight when so put together.
Bees that have been thrown into a box or pan, and then shaken or bumped again and again until they are denormalized or frightened, are much more tractable than those not so disturbed. Such bees if made queenless just prior to the shaking, and confined without combs or brood in a cool place for a few hours, will usually accept a queen at once. The factor of colony odor then apparently does not operate, for the bees are put out of their normal condition.
Young bees just hatched will at any time accept any queen. Therefore, it comes about that, when one desires to introduce a valuable breeder on which he desires to take no chances whatsoever, he causes her to be released on a frame of very young or hatching bees; but consideration will be given to this later.
Virgin questions, if just hatched, will usually be accepted by a colony, if not too long queenless, without the process of introduction or even of caging; but when one of these queens comes to be four or five days old she is very much more difficult to introduce than a normal laying queen. Why this should be so, we do not know.
When but little honey is coming in, it is much easier to introduce and unite bees than during a dearth.
A queen in the height of her egg-laying will be accepted far more readily than one that has been deprived of egg-laying, as in the case of one that has been four or five days in the mails.
Some colonies are more nervous than others. To open a hive of such on an unfavorable day might arouse the inmates to a stinging fury. Indeed, such colonies will often ball and sting their own queen when the hive is opened if the day is unfavorable.
It is easier to introduce toward night, or after dark, than during the day. The reason of this is that after dark the excitement of the day has subsided. There is no chance for robbing and no reason for vigil. In short, bees are not _expecting_ trouble and are not inclined to make any.
A fasting queen, or, rather, a queen that is hungry, will usually ask for food, and hence will generally be treated more considerably than one that shows fear or fight.
Having stated, therefore, the basic principles governing the relation of the queen to the bees we can now move intelligently proceed to the methods of introduction, most of which are based on the theory that the queen to be introduced must first have acquired the colony odor of her new subjects.
The cages are supplied with bee candy (see CANDY), so that, in case the bees do not feed the queen, she will not sture. In some cases the bees release the queen by eating away the candy and letting her out. In other cases the aplarist himself liberates her after she has been confined the requisite length of time, or until such time as she has acquired the colony odor.
Most of the cages are sent out by queen-bereders with directions how to perform this operation; and it is usually safer for the beginner to follow these directions implicitly.
The mailing and introducing cage that is ordinarily used over the country is called the Benton, and is shown in the accompanying illustration. This consists of an oblong block of wood with three holes bored nearly through, one of the end holes being filled with Good candy (see CANDY), and the other two are left for occupancy by the bees and queen. On the back of the cover are printed full directions for introducing, and at each end of the cage is a small hole bored through lengthwise the grain of the wood. One hole (next to the bees) is covered with a piece of perforated metal, secured in place with two small wire nails driven through the per
must be to them a very great disturbance in having their home torn to pieces.
There are several sizes of these benton cages--the larger ones being used for longer distances. The one shown at top of page 287 is good for 1000 miles through the mails, although very often used for twice that distance. This may be called a combination mailing and introducing cage. Ordinarily, if we have much introducing to do we prefer something especially adapted to the latter purpose alone; we have, therefore, used with a great deal of satisfaction the Miller introducing-cage.
As many of the readers of this work may possibly do something at mailing quencis, it might be well to add a word about making
The number of filling a cage for mailing is to pick it up with the left hand in such a way that the thumb covers the hole over which the perforated metal has been nailed, but which, before the time of filling, should be revolved around on one side or taken off entirely. The queen is first to be picked up by the wings, her head pushed into the hole as far as possible. After she runs in, place the thumb over the hole. Worker-bees are next picked up in a similar manner, and poked in, selecting those that are filling with honey from open cells until there are a dozen bees. If the cage is larger, two dozen may be used ; and if it is extra large, four or five dozen. When cages are mailed during cold weather there should be more bees put in, to help keep up the animal heat. During hot weather a dozen bees are quite sufficient in the smallest Benton cage, which is ordinarily mailed for a ceut.
miller's introducing-cage.
It is very convenient to have in the apinry small special cages for introducing and holding quencis that come out with swarms until they can be introduced or disposed of. The one below illustrated is the best of any. It is especially handy for introducing young virgins. The cage is so flat it can slide in at the entrance without even removing the cover of the hive, and the bees will release the queen by the candy method. Yet for introducing fertile or valuable quencis we recommend inserting it between two combs and drawing them together until they hold the cage. The queen thus acquires the scent of the combs, brood, and the cluster, and hence when released will be more likely to be accepted.
This cage, like the Benton, will give very much better results if a piece of pasteboard is nailed over the end. This the bees will
graw away, gauung access to the candy, which they eat out. Since we discovered the value of the pasteboard used in the manner stated, with either the Benton or the Miller cage we are able to introduce 99 per cent of all quencis, providing, of course, the colony has not been queeneless more than four or five days. One that has been without a mother longer may get to depending on cells ; and when the work has so far progressed they are liable to destroy the introduced queen and wait the batching of one of the virgins.
We copy its manner of construction from Dr. Miller's own words:
Take a block 3 inches long, 11\({}_{6}\) wide, and 2\({}_{6}\) thick; two blocks I inch by \(
icefrac{{1}}{{4}}
icefrac{{3}}{{4}}
icefrac{{3}}{{4}}
icefrac{{3}}{{4}}\); two pieces of tin about an inch square; a piece of wire cloth 4\(
icefrac{{5}}{{3}}
icefrac{{3}}{{4}}\); two pieces of fine wire about 9 inches long, and four small wire nails 8 or 5\(
icefrac{{5}}{{4}}\) long. That's the bill of material. Lay down the two small blocks parallel, 3\({}_{6}\) of an inch apart, one piece of tin under, and one over them. Nail together and clinch. These two blocks, being 3 inch apart, make the hole to fill with Good candy, through which the queen is liberated.
Another feature of this eage, of great importance to beginners, is as a queen-eateher. It can be put down over the queen after the wooden slide is removed, and when she crawls upward the plug is replaced.
M'intyre's cage.
Another excellent introducing - cage is the one devised by J. F. McIntyre. How it is managed, we copy from Mr. McIntyre's article in _Gleanings in Bee Culture_, page S80, 1890 :
I take a piece of wire cloth 5\(
icefrac{{5}}{{4}}\) inches square, cut little pieces 4\(
icefrac{{5}}{{4}}\) of an inch square out of each corner, and bend the four sides at right angles, making a box 4 inches square and 3\({}_{6}\) inch deep. In one corner
I fasteh a tube of wood or tin \(
icefrac{{5}}{{4}}\) inch in diameter, and two inches long, which is filled with Good candy, for the bees to eat out and liberate the queen.
I use this cage altogether in my apiary, for changing laying queens from one hive to another. I kill my old queens when they are two years old, and introduce young laying queens in their places. My practice is to go to the nucleus having the young laying queen; lift out the comb with the queen on, and press one of these engs into the comb over the queen, and what bees may be around her. Carry this comb to the hive which held the old queen. After finding and killing her place the comb with the young queen caged on it in the center of the hive, taking one comb from the hive back to the nucleus. In a week I go and take the car out and find the young queen laying. When I receive a valuable queen from a distance I liberate her at once on a comb of batching brood, with some young bees; and when she commences to lay I introduce her as above.
Pillmore, Cal., Oct. 21. J. F. McIntyre.
A cage that is very popular with many bee-keepers, and somewhat similar to the foregoing, is shown in the two illustrations next following.
For a piece of wire cloth perhaps 6 inches square a piece 1\(
icefrac{{2}}{{4}}\) inches is cut out of each corner, as shown in Fig. 2.
Several strands of wire are then raveled out, and it is then folded as shown in Fig. 3.
To introduce, the queen is placed on a patch of batching brood with a few cells of honey. When she is at the right point the cage is clapped over her, and the strands are forced clear up to the cross-wires. The young bees, as they hatch, will treat her kindly, and in the mean time she will begin laying in the cells vacated by the bees. If the outside bees seem to be favorably disposed, in two days the cage may be pulled off; and if the bees still treat her kindly, the comb can be put back into the live, which is then closed up. If the bees show any disposition to ball her, she should be caged again as before, but this time all combs with unsealed larvae should be removed, and care must be taken that there be no queen-cells of any kind. In from three to five days more she may be released again. By this time the bees will be almost sure to accept her.
The difference between this and the McIntyre cage is that the apiarist has to release the queen himself, whereas by the McIntyre plan the bees eat out the candy and liberate her automatically. The latter plan is to be preferred, because sometimes opening the hive will so disturb the bees as to cause them to attack the queen.
\(
icefrac{{\Lambda}}{{4}}\) sure way of introducing.
There is one perfectly sure way of introducing a very valuable queen, such as an imported one, if we only observe the conditions carefully. Remove frames of batching brood from several hives, shaking off every bee and put them into an empty hiveclosed down to a small space ; and unless the weather is very warm, place the whole in a warm room. Let the queen and herattendants loose in this hive, and the young bees, as they hatch out, will soon make a swarm. As several who have tried this plan have been so careless as to leave the entrance open and let the queen get out, we would warn you especially to have your hive so close that no bee can by any possibility get out.* If the frames you have selected contain no unsealed brood, you will have very little loss ; but otherwise the larvae, having no bees to feed them, will mostly starve. As soon as a few hundred bees are hatched, the queen will be found with them, and they will soon make a cluster. When the combs have been taken from strong colonies, where the queen is laying hundreds of eggs in a day, in a week or two the swarm will become strong. Three frames will do very well at first, and one or two more may be added in the course of a week or two. Remember, _no lice bec_ is to be given to the queen. A queen is seldom lost, even by the first plan given, if you are careful, and watch them until they are safely received.
Footnote *: They can be set out and allowed to fly in two or three days.
There is another way that has a little the preference. In order to describe it we can do no better than to make an extract from an editorial in _Gleanings in Rice Culture_, page 539, Vol. XXI :
We have just received a consignment of 30 imported Italian quencs, direct from Italy, by express. Every queen came through alive and in good order, and they are now introduced into the ajay without the loss of one. Our method of introducing with this lot was something we had not tried before on so large number of quencs. We took four or five strong colonies, and divided them up into 30 one-frame nuclei. This was done in the forenoon. In the afternoon we transferred the imported quencs, without any attendants, to Miller introducing-cages, placing one in every nucleus above mentioned. Most of the quencs were out at the expiration of two days, in good order, and they are now all out.
You see, the point is here! These newly divided nuclei will have old and young bees, and more or less hatching brood. Before the imported queen is released, the old bees will have returned to the old stand, and it is these old fellows that always make trouble in introducing. By the time the queen is released, there are none but young bees, including those that were brought to the nucleusstand and those that are hatched out in the Interpin. These, of course, all being young, will accept their new mother, without any trouble. The plan has proved to be so satisfactory that we shall employ it hereafter for all valuable quencs.
INTRODING.
DIRECT METHOD OF INTRODUCTION.
Where it is desired to introduce a queen from a nucleus to a queenless colony, both in the same yard, the operation can usually be performed with safety and with very little labor, as follows : The colony to receive the queen should be made broodless a few hours in advance. Go to the nucleus and lift out two frames, bees and all, with the queen in between. Put these down in the center of the queenless colony; close up the hive and don't go near it for several days. The bees that have been queenless and broodless are crying for a mother. When she is given them with a large force of her own subjects, she seems to be protected, even if she does not have the odor of the new colony which, by the way, has been modified by the bees and brood given them from the other hive.
This is a modification of the Stimulus direct method of introducing. It could not be used in the case of a queen sent through the mails.
THE SIMINS fasting method.
While this has been discussed to a greater or less extent in the bee-journals, the plan, while very simple, is not one that we would recommend in the case of a valuable queen, or in any event to a beginner. It is as follows : The queen to be introduced should be put in a cage at night without attendants and without food. She should thus be confined for thirty minutes when she must be released by lamplight over the frames of the queenless colony, and the hive closed up for 48 hours. This will work safely in many cases, but we are sure there are some conditions where it does not.
dual plan of introducing.
Another plan is to introduce two virgins or lying queens at one operation to save the necessary time it takes for the bees to get acquainted with the queen. This is described in detail under the head of Queen', rearing, to which the reader is directed.
how soon will an introduced queen begin to lay?
As a general thing, we may expect her to begin laying the next day ; but sometimes, especially if the queen has been a long time prevented from laying, as in the case of an imported queen, she may not lay for three or four days, or even a week. If introduced in the fall of the year, she may not commence laying at all until spring, unless the colony is fed regularly every day for a week or more. This will always start a queen that is good for any thing.
How to tell whether a colony is quenceless or not.
Having discussed mailing and introducing cages, it may be pertinent at this point to give one of the prime essentials in successful introducing. The very first thing to be determined before you attempt to introduce at all, is that your colony is _certainly_ queenless. The fact that there may be no eggs nor larvae in the hive, and that you can not find the queen, is not sufficient evidence that she is absent, although this state of affairs points that way. But during the earlier part of the summer there should be either brood or eggs of some kind if a queen is present. Yes, there should be eggs or brood clear up until the latter part of summer. In the early fall, queens generally stop laying, and shrivel up in size so that a beginner might conclude that the colony is queenless, and therefore he must buy a queen. In attempting to introduce the new queen, of course he meets with failure, as she is stung to death, in all,probability, and carried out at the hive-entrance. If you can not find eggs or larvae at any season of the year when _other_ stocks are breeding, and the supposedly queenless colony builds cells on a frame of unsealed larvae that you give them, you may decide that your colony is surely queenless, and it will be safe to introduce a new queen. But when you find eggs, larvae, and sealed _worker_ brood, the presence of queen-cells simply indicates that the bees are either preparing to supersede their queen or making ready to swarm. See Swarming.
how long shall a colony be quenceless before attempting to introduce?