The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1910-02-22

Is t. G.. Herman, Leonia, n. j.
1t is not to be wondered that our
forefathers We're afraid of the moths
for their bees. Until the invention
Of the vab frame hive it was
next to impossible to ascertain the
extent OF the danger to the bee in
dustry on the moths account.
The common belief among begin
ners is that an army of wax worms
will attack a colony of bees and kill
them. The truth of the matter is
that the mischief begins with the lit
tie innocent looking moth miller which
filters about among the hives, ana
enters those which are weak in bees,
and there finds lots Of vacant cells
in which to deposit her eggs.
In due time the tiny wax worms
hatch from those eggs and begin to
feed on the comb, at the same time
flliag them full Of webs The trou-
BILE Is more serious in the Southern
States than it is further North.
he remedy for this is to keep al
colonies strong in bees. Do not give
them more combs than they can oc-
cupy.
Ii combs have been out during win
ter SO as to be frozen, they are safe
until the weather becomes warm
. enough for fresh eggs to be laid in
them. A good tight. cool cellar is
about the best place to store them
until sWarn1ing time.
There is too much neglect of this
kind among the aparieS. We do not
sufficiently recollect that the moth be-
~advance
In the spring. combs may be left
for two or three months without pro-
lection and without showing much of
the ravages of the moth, because
they are then very scarce, having
hoo duo i~ 49, >x- ~, 49, -s~
ter; for 1t IS now very certain hat
ordinary winters kill all but those of
the moth which happen to be shelf
cred in colonies of live bees.
The only hives in which they thrive
in any perceptible way are those
whose bees have died at the clco
winter. They have kept a few moths
alive, and when they win away
no living is left in the box but the
struggling and rustic moth-worm.
The few moths that hatch in the
spring make a second breed that ap-
pears in full force about the begin
ming Of August. If these find suit
able lodgings the third breed will be-
come formidable. for the moths are
sufficiently plentiful at that late date
to take by storm any hive that may
prove destitute Of queen or Matching
bees
The eggs laid in the early part Of
September may not all hatch, if the
season is COOL, but il a warm fall
gives them an opportunity they thrive
IN an astonishing manner.
When worms spin their cOcOOnS in
a hive the case is pretty bad. The
first thing, however, that it is i'm
portant to know. is that the worms
are rather a result tina a cause of
the trouble. In a strong colony of
bees, the worms never get much Of a
roothoid. for the bees will keep them
cleaned out without any attention on
your part.
A weak colony of black bees may
allow the worms to get in. but if the
bees are Italian even a weak colony
will keep the worms at bay. You may
give the bees some help by lifting
out the combs and picking out the
worms with a wire nail.
Aside from this about all you nave
TO do is to see that no colony be-
comes queeniess or weak, and to try
to have as much Italian blood in your
bees as possible.
Every year large numbers OF hives
are bereft Of their queens, most of
which are either robbed by other bees
Or sacked by the bee moth or first
robbed and afterward sacked, while
their owner imputes all the mischief
to something else.
After honey has been away from
the bees about ten days, il we inspect
the cappings which are discolored.
and those about any cells Of pollen,
we will detect little places of white
dust resembling flour upon the sur
face of the comb. and usually the
more abundant near the bottom OF
the section.
Now. although this place may not
be larger than the eye OF a needle,
still it tells us for certain that a
tiny worm Of the wax moth is there
and that unless it is destroyed it will
destroy more or less of the comb
which incaSes our honey.
How the eggs from the moth come