Ashland weekly tidings. [volume] (Ashland, Or.) 1919-1924, 1921-03-09

bees that the work of starting brood
rearing the next Spring will devOlve,
but there will also start the Winter
q great many bees hatched during
the latter part of the season which
will die of old age during the season
when the bees are confined closely
to the hive.
These old bees will crawl from the
or drop on the bottom Of
the hive, and on the first warm day
the vigorous workers of the colony
will set to work to "clean house"
with all the vim and hustle of the
human housewife. While they are
unable TO take broom and mop to
remove the accumulated debris, their
methods are fully as effective. Each
worker will seize one of her dead
sisters by wing or leg, drag the bur-
den out through the entrance and, II
possible, fly several rods away from
the hive before dropping her load.
Others seem content to push the dead
bees. through the entrance and let
them drop to the ground where they
sometimes accumulate in such num-
bers as to lead the inexperienced
bee man to believe he is losing his
colonies.
The bee keeper who has carried
his colonies through a number OF
winters notes with good deal OF
satisfaction the brisk activity OF the
bees in getting rid of the useless lit
ter, but any hive which. after spell
of warm weather, does not show in
dlcations of house cleaning, is at once
an object of suspicion and the owner
takes the first opportunity to find
out why the bees are not taking ad-
vantage of their opportunities. Some
times rap on the side of the hive
will be rewarded by the appearance
OF a few bees at the entrance, or ii
may bring only a sleepy buzz in pro-
test against the disturbance. Lift
ing the hive for the purpose of form
ing an estimate OF food conditions
may convey the information that
grim starvation is lurking in the hive,
In which case the bees have little
ambition to engage in labor which
they know only too well will be use
less and for which days, possibly
weeks, of short rations have reduced
strength and vitality to a point where
manual labor is impossible. In case
a shortage of stores Is indicated, II
the owner is to save the colony he
must take advantage OF the first
warm day to open the hive and give
the bees one or more frames of seal
ed honey, or, in the absence of honey,
give them q supply of pure sugar
syrup, e pints of granulated sugar
to / pint OF water,) in a suitable
feeder.
1t may be that because of stores
OF poor quality. such as honey-dew
which the bees sometimes gather In
quantity late in the season, the bees
are afflicted with dysentery, or that
through loss OF the queen at the be-
ginning of winter there is apparently
no hope of starting brood rearing.
In either case the bees are mare than
likely to remain quietly in their clus-
ter, too sick or dispirited to take
note OF the fact that outside the sun
Is shining and that their more pros
porous .neighbOrs have been released
from confinement and are having n
holiday. Given supply of food OF
good quality, the dysentery will prob
ably disappear, but for the colony
which is queenless in winter nothing
can be done except to wait for the
coming of settled warm weather when
the remnant OF the colony may be
united with another hive, or, II still
strong In numbers, a queen may be
purchased from a breeder and intro
duced.
The, colonies which have been pack
ed at the beginning OF winter, that
Is, the hive given suitable protection
against both cold and wet, will usu-
ally be found in the spring to be in
much better condition. Also. II will
be found that brood rearing has been
started several weeks earlier in the
protected hive, and In consequence
when the first blossoms appear the
colony will have large number Of
workers ready to go to the field and
bring In the new pollen so necessary
to the welfare OF the young brood.
and It is almost invariably the COL
ony which gets strong and early
start later in the season brings in
the big crop of honey.
Don't disturb the bees In any way
during the winter or early spring
unless you have good reason to be-
lieve they are starving and will be
lost II not given food.
Don't attempt to unite. transfer or
move colonies before the fruit trees
are in full bloom. Too early manip-
ulation OF the bees may lose for you
all the advantages secured through
successful wintering and the colon
les weaken and dwindle away Just
at the time when they should other
wise be building up ready for ths
harvest.