The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1900-12-16
HUNTING WILD HONEY BEES
ssTH0Ds rCRsrsb nv rwO ESpSRrs
~ MtssiCHrsgTrS
The delicate work ~ tocsuns the Homes
~ the Hone, Makers setting the matt

lf' Ili'lVfa y 'l' ~ INV must ft'fl nTf
interesting ~ sports II ls u pastimo ~
which ino4t people arc ]crtitc'v ignorant. aud
III venture TO any that hUi f.w people. asido
from those ~ho Nv no tie country. over
heard ~ II Vet tee hunting IL carried on
fisht hero In Ncw Bedford. pid the irw bco
hunters hcrcnbuutl find .u,I a., much on
ioyment In tho Tl~timc n, some men do In
fishing and cunning
10 be n .Icces.ful bee hunter requires n
great deal At patience. endurance ard a
KNOWLEDGE not only 81 tho lRltts Of tho hce
but Of wooIcraft Patience IL one ~ tho
most essential qualifications. for oftent.ncs II IL
many hours befor" a line Of bees Is located
Then. too. there IL al element Of danger
In the sport. for tie bee, when its home IL
attacked. will fight desperately, and on such
occasions the hunter must exercise calmness,
otherwise the thousands Of these busy workers
when disturbed might make life anything
but pleasant for the hunter.
Hunters Of the bee differ somewhat in the
method OF locating n hive Some start right In
by battling" while others begin operations by
catching n few bees while in the act Of gather
ing nectar from n blossom ard then by sending
them out to lend on their fellows to the place
where the bait has been placed. As l had
the pleasure Of enjoying a day last week with
Charles Braley and Alden y. Lucas. two OF
tho crack bee hunters In this section. ! will
attempt TO describe the methods which they
employ. for both gentlemen have tho repu-
tation Of being very successful In this par
ticulnr line Of sport
was met one forenoon at Braley's Station.
where they live. and taken by Mr. Bradley TO
his home. when the party, four In number.
started out We took several small tin boxes
with us. a smoker fitted with bellows. and a
small stake fitted with a tripod end In each
one of the no q Mr. Braley explained, was
nice sweet houeycQmb' ioT, rs be- Haid. Honey
which ia fresh makes. the best bait" As We
passed along the small tin boxes were used by
both gentlemen in, Swapping bees of from tho
blossoms After half q dozen had thus been
eau CHIT We set MP the stake and when the con-
fnei bees commenced humming, which II an
ind.ca,i1n that It's ,o1f ims sack e Is riiT q. fhn HIy
the bec bent on its return home makes sew,
eral circles in the air jus, above the box .nd
After each rec had been liberated in the
WAS Wss placed IN the stake and his box servedas
the bait for others which returned with their
fellows who had made a tenjstrlEr IN ga'nep-
piled with honeyc9mb. and in a very short
time tho ex posed honey was, covered with
nectar or pollen, In, food fofr The Young. 50
Mas Va t RIait tho /, bee fiS wiil R fSf IRE + Rssnd Hsa se ssssi
While thus engaged and they paid no more
attention TO methani III wasa par, Of the stake
tbsir homes that they Show fght." casually
remarked Mr. Braley; and took mighty, good
. H Mhils 1h Of ,ssss lad Somehow mea v%' i%Sun a ,,E"esllfs
way to the bait ping I'M az ever the es swoe "tae com M
tained in the. box. Then was shown how II
e determined that The the SANE Gon bees nv rn mu1 TO
frst marked bee left the bait and returned
for more within Ave minutes. and then we
followed M the course which the line had
taken, when we found, as MessrS. Braley and
b bSSas cpo TsaiSsdfo we're Ieaf from me Mr. ri BraSiey's own
hive, which was all ~ 800 feet from the spot
whore the bait stake had w been snr set ,fbpo;,,ond.
anxious to gather their share. The saeecity
displayed by the bee In thus returning 70 the
spot where product for honey has been found
Is surprising, and when hunting away from
difficult 70 determine q location. the BAY is
repeatedly moved, up the ~" untll the tune
far from the hive, when the line is followed
up as ! have described. oftentines II takes
hours to loco," a hive; and not in,FTe Ire bsi
what he, terms cross lining" them by set;
in which il is thought the hive ia located, II
they hy back, then the, hunter does not hest
fai when thus bothered by two swarms at
The location having been found then begin.
what most of VS. would saw Is anything but
fun-the removal OF the honey. for IL should
be kept in mind that Mcssrs Braiey & Lucas
n good swarm Of honey bees Is found hived
on the branch, of a tree they are, occasionally
tho purpose Of furnishing additional product.
when a line is located, and appearances
warrant the he honey Is saf ne, IN IN a ,S Ssy or
or ioca'ion Is, Gmnrked'B ~, and, later on
taxes place the INVASION which is the most
fight begins II is on such occasions as this
that the smoker comes in PLAY. for when a
fnsht like mad The smoke from the blower,
filled with rotten wood, causes them TO fill
their honey sacks at once, and once filled, as
lose their fight But many, fail 20 IN up
as Mr Braley terms i, and dive at the invad-
Messrs Braley 4 Lucas have had an ex-
perie1ce in his sort Of sRor1a which cover. a
longest in the business They, have, found
bees in tho trunks Of trees, on the limbs of a
evervwhere that the queen hee of a swarm
has seen IT 90 alight, for she is the one which
a book on bees, and vh9t, he knows concern;
ing them has been gained by his own personal
observation The bees which Arc hunted
and the domestic bee. which has swarmcd
from the farm of some heckeeper MIR
Bralev is such an expert al the business that
he j. frequently employed to capture "a swarm
which has LEFT is homo on, a farm. and when
Interested in bees. had numerous swarms. he
was frequently seen assisting the doctor at
swarming tines
There IRE some facts concerning the honey
bee In this section which are worth men
tioning here. MIR. l.ralcy says in this vicinity
we have but two species of the honey makers
tho Italian and the black bee. the last named
n native and by far the best producer. These
two sometimes cross. when Il produced n
hybrid. hut the two distinct classes are the
Italian and the black. the first named being
marked by thrc" clear yellow bands, Mr. !
Bral"y and his partner. who, by the way, do
not engage in the sport for gain. begin their
fun early in spring aud Keep w until Ia"
In the fall, The most prolific months. Mr.. /
Braley says. are June. August and S"pt"m-
bcr. In june the bees gather their product !
principally from honcysuckles or white clover.
In July from high laurel and white alder. ]
in August from IA" sweet pepper bush, which
grows Wild and Is very %iraGraHt. and in sep
TENDER from the golden rod aud frost flow
er,. The last blossom from which they
gather nectar IL III" blue swamp nowtr, which
l. in blossom as late ~ October.
Sometimes, in the season, Nj. lirglcv says. !
tn" bee l. more vicious than NJ other times,
Tn" hoe Is Ga" most irlsCihic whom There Is n
scarcity Of product. but when Sweets arc
plentiful and the insects are Kept busy they
pay but little attention to outsiders, except /
when their homes ar" invaded. Mr.. hraley
has raised queen bees. The average hi" ~
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