The Kennewick courier-reporter. [volume] (Kennewick, Wash.) 1914-1938, 1925-07-30
Extension and Club Work
By Miss Gertrude Gage
BEES IN BENTON COUNTY

BEEs IN BENTON COUNTY
=. A lively interest is being shown in
hoo work in the county. A Bee asso-
c;.tion has been organized at the
west end of the county and every
body living in the county and handl-
mo bees is eligible to join. Should
enough interest be shown to warrant
+. Mr.. Slocum, the bee specialists
from the state college will be sched-
MED for work in the county during
tho coming season. Requests for this
work should come in to the club
agent as early as possible, as all spe-
cial schedules are made out IN Mo-
venlber. Il
The following articles were pre-
nared for the club members by Mr..
Slocum, but will no doubt be of gen.
eral interest and help even to adult
bee keepers:
A general knows that if he can
Gather a large force at the strategic
moment, success is assured. Inc wise
heekeeper has learned this lesson
and tries to apply this principle to
bis bees. If he can secure the largest
working force possible at the begin
ming of the main honey flow, he will
receive surplus honey if there is any
to he secured. To accomplish this it
;s necessary for him to keep his
working force together and not allow
his bees to swarm profusely.
The factors which will bring about
tho swarming impulse are: the lack
of shade. insufficient ventilation, linn
tied storing and brood rearing room,
crowded condition of the brood cham
her. caused by large numbers OF the
syoune bees, field bees and drones, and
old queens.
Every section of the state OF Wash
motion requires shade during portions
If the wear. If it should get too warm
in the supers the bees become lazy.
The same is true of ventilation.
Super room should be added as
rapidly as required by the bees. A
little drop Of nectar is placed IN
each cell and when it becomes Well
rinened. more is added, finally the
cell is full when it is sealed over.
We have records of colonies bringing
in eight to ten pounds of honey IN
one day, so you may see the neces-
sitv of giving sufficient storing space.
If the bees lack storing space, they
will place as much honey as posslDle
in the brood chamber, limiting the
number of cells in which the queen
can Law. Such condition is spoken
,of as "honey bound" Crooked or
drone comb will also limit brood
rearing space. If drone or crooked
comb should be placed in the center
of the brood chamber, it has the same
effect as cutting the hive IN TWO,
making it that much smaller. 5000
strong colonies in small hives, such
as the eight frame hive, when no
swarm control measures are practlceo
are almost sure to swarm.
Newly emerged bees loiter near the
vicinity of the cells from which they
came. 1t is, therefore, necessary TO
entice them into supers as soon as
possible or the swarming impulse
NAV become dominant. This is done
by raising frames of sealed prooo
in to the extracting supers and by
placing bait sections (partially drawn
out sections saved from the previous
wear, into the comb honey section
supers.
Field workers confined to the hive
by cool or rainy spell may cause
a
wise to place an empty hive body pc
tween the brood chamber and the
bottom board, to afford clustering
space for the workers. A crowded
condition brot about by drones, VIII
produce the same results. Drones are
an enormous drain upon the stores
of colony 1t requires all the money
that five workers can bring into the
hive to feed one drone. Stop this leak
by replacing drone comb with frames
of full sheets of foundation. Inc
worker cells are imprinted upon the
foundation, thus assuring larger
percentage of worker bees.
Old failing queens are apt to cause
swarming. The average peak OF pro-
QUcClon Is S6fleEdlly ISoSiiSsA -- -
queen is two years old. A beekeeper
should therefore requiem at least eV-
cry two years, and many OF the bee
keepers are finding it pays to do SO
every wear. Bees build supersedure
queen cells to replace failing queen
and the presence of these cells dur
ing swarming season may cause the
bees to prepare to swarm.
So much for the factors causing
swarming. The methods OF attempt
ing to control swarming dl11er III
comb honey production from those
used in extracted honey productlon.
The underlying principles are the
same, you must make a colony believe
it has swarmed, that it is either the
parent colony (the one left when a
swarm issues) or the swarm.
The main thing is to keep the col
only supplied with an abundance OF