Buchanan County bulletin. [volume] (Independence, Iowa) 1869-1891, 1873-10-03
Uniting Swarma Of Bees.

Mr.. Luhmann gives the following
method in the american Bee Jo,U'
nal of uniting swarms of bees.
The bee keeper is often under the
necessity of uniting several swarms
This is the case about swarmlng
time, when he will often be compel.
led to unite two or more swarms.
This happens especially with after
swarms, of which it will often re-
quire several to make good one.
In these and various other cases
must the bee-keeper unite his stocks.
The danger then presents itself to
the bee-keeper that he may lose a
portion, perhaps large portion, of
his united stocks by their fighting
among each other, while by judi
cious management hardly bee will
be injured or killed.
In accomplishing this union there
are two questions Of great mpor-
lance.
LIST. When shall the union take
place.
I'd. How shall it be accomplish
ed?
When the union shall take place,
the bees themselves teach us. Do
two colonies unite? When swarm
ing the bees minglc together with
out anger, no bee through hostility,
injuring another. While the swarm
is settling, the assembling bees APP
pear TO think Of nothing but the act
of swarming, not even guarding the
queen, as the bee-keeper discovers
when a young queen is placed in a
virgin swarm and the old one is kill
ed.
Does the the bee-keepcr desire to
unite his swarms, he should do it on
the same day on which the swarm
makes its appearance, or very soon
thereafter. Has the swarm already
occupied its hive for week, and po-.
sessing brood, the work of uniting
will be more difficult. For perform
ing the operation l would prefer the
night to the day, for then bees are
at rest and all gathered into their
hives; during the day, owing to the
coming and going of the workers,
the strange bees are stung and kill
cd being taken for robbers, and
hence attacked.
The actual uniting l accomplish
in this manner: l destroy the sense
of smell in the bees, so that they
will take strange bees for their COM
rades. Many bce-keepers use only
tobacco smoke, which they blow in
to the hive. Better, in my expert
ence, is sprinkling the bees in the
hive in which the strange bees
are to be placed with thinned hon
ey. Ten the bees to be united are
sprinkled with the same honey I'M
til they are qnite wet and thrown in
to the other hive. Through the jar
occasioned by casting the strangers
into their hive the bees will be so
disturbed, SO terrified, that they
will not think of the arrival of the
strangers. When they undertake
to lick the honey from themselves,
they will become frieds, and through
the honey receive the same scent.
Never, since l adopted this method
have ! had a single bee stung. Ma
ny bee-keepers and l myself, often
make the bees walk through fresh,
dewy grass. The reason why the
bees will allow themselves to min
gle by this method, lies in this, that
the fresh, damp grass removes the
individual scent of the bees. TO
me, however, sprinkling with honey
appears to be the safer method. An
old plan now comes to my mind; in
stead of honey-water, wine be used.
This plan has certainly been proved;
the ground on which it is based is
apparent at once-no! the reader
without doubt knows what want to
say would rather stick to my old
plan,