Knoxville journal. [volume] (Knoxville, Iowa) 1874-1986, 1876-05-04
Handling Honey Bees Without Get.
ting Stung.

Honey bees when nlled with liquid
sweets never volunteer an attack. How
can bees be made to fill themselves with
liquid sweet. In many ways. When.
ever bees in hive are frightened they
at once fill themselves with honey to pre-
pare for any emergency that may arise.
Bees I'LL themselves with honey before
leaving the hive in natural swarming.
| This is the secret of the ready handling
of a swarm. They lave prepared them
| selves in this case. Sometimes a few I'M
filled bees join swarm and are trouble
some, but generally the whole body of a
swarm are well filled and peaceable, so
that they can be handled without danger
| When the manipulation wishes to make
bees fill themselves with honey the sim
| plest way is 10 make rolls OF dry cotton
cloth, five or six inches long, to slip I'M
der the entrance of the hive. Light il
with a match, place it on piece of tin to
prevent charring the stand, and shove 1t
under the entrance of the hive. In few
moments the bees Will have filled them
selves with honey. The hive can then be
opened and the bees handled with impu-
nifty
Every bee-keeper should have these
rolls always ready. In the midst of a
honey harvest hives may be opened with
out danger, butwhen little or no honey
is gathered the bees are much more cross,
and need to be subdued before attempting
to handle the combs. Bees are always
handled more easily in the middle Of the
day. Then many Of the bees are abroad,
and the honey board or quilt and frames
are loosened without jarring the combs.
The propolis with which they are glued
is soft after the hive gets warm. In the
morning and evening IT is brittle. There
is a popular, but most erroneous, idea
that bees may be best managed atsnight.
Never open your bees at night, for they
are more cross than in the middle of the
day They are necessarily more Jared in
loosening the frames and more easily ex-
cited. When they fly out many will not
return to the hive. They will remain on
you, crawl up your sleeves or under your
clothes, and are much more difficult TO
get rid Of. In the day they fly and rejoin
the swarm. The most expert apiarian is
almost sure. of being stung if he opens his
bees at night. Bees are quickly subdued
by sprinkling them with sweetenedi water
or syrup. They greedily devour it and
become peaceable. This method is not
generally to be recommended, because if
other bees are near they are apt TO be at
tracted by it, and robbing is induced,
especially if they are gathering but little
honey. sa
Golden rule about stings; Move gently,
never dodge or strike at a bee. If you are
stung never finch, and remove the sting
with knife blade or thumb nail pressed
firmly against the flesh, dragging or rub
bing il outward from the flesh. Do not
become excited or blow your breath upon
them. In ordinary management one who
does not finch even when stung
will not be poisoned half so severe
ly as one who, dnes. The finch OF the
manipulator is evidence TO the bee that
the sting is effective; but ii he does not
finch, the bee, unless greatly excited,
seems to conclude that 1t Is ineffective,
AMI immediately attempts, by working
around and around, to eXtricate itself
without losing its singer, which Is car
tain death Often has the writer tempted
bees to sting him and watch their efforts
at extrication when convinced that they
were mistaken because the sting caused
no movement A sudden effort 10 dislodge
bee will almost surely caiIse q severe
sting. Do not catch the bee and attempt
to jerk it from tie flesh, tor in most in
stances time is givenlto make the wound
far severer than at first intended. Never
sieze the singer between the thumb and
finger to extract it. This mode of ex-
tracing VIII squeeze all the poison from
the poison bag into the wound. The
poison runs slowly through the point Of
the singer into the wound, and If quickly
pressed sor rubbed outward from the
flesh as described, but little poison will
be received. Pinch the wound or press it
with hollow key so as to force ont as
much oft poison as possible. Apply
some kind OF an alkali to counteract the
poison, such as soda, 4iartshorn OF. ammo.
MIA. One who attends TO the foregoing
will soon learn to care very little for
stings.- Rer. y. y w. hhearer, IN ". n
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