BIPPINCOTTS
FARM MANUA\
4 BEE-KEEPING @&
Mrs C.
** The first farmer was the first man, and all histcric
nobility rests on possession and use of land."
—EMERSON,
LIPPINCOTT’S
FARM MANUALS
EDITED BY
KARY C. DAVIS, Pu.D. (Cornett)
PROFESSOR OF AGRICULTURE, SCHOOL OF COUNTRY LIFE
GEORGE PEABODY COLLEGE FOR TEACHERS, NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE
PRODUCTIVE BEE-KEEPING
MODERN METHODS OF PRODUCTION
AND MARKETING OF HONEY
By FRANK C. PELLETT
STATE APIARIST OF IOWA
LIPPINCOTT’S
FARM MANUALS
Edited by K. C. DAVIS, Ph.D.
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AUVIdVY THL UOA NOILVOOT TVACI NV SHUHSINUNA GUVHOUO AHL
LIPPINCOTT’S FARM MANUALS
EDITED BY K. C. DAVIS, Pu.D. (Corne tt)
PRODUCTIVE
BEE-KEEPING
MODERN METHODS OF PRODUCTION
AND MARKETING OF HONEY
ae?
BY pur”
ip
FRANK C’ PELLETT
STATE APIARIS#IOF IOWA
134 ILLUSTRATIONS IN THE TEXT
‘*Tf vain our toil,
We ought to blame the culture, not the soil.”
PopE—Essay on Man
PHILADELPHIA & LONDON
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Electrotyped and printed by
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THE MEMORY OF MY GRANDFATHER
2
FROM WHOM I RECEIVED MY
FIRST LESSONS IN APICULTURE.
FOREWORD
_ Tue author’s earliest recollections are of days with his
grandfather among the bees. One of the proudest days of his
whole life was the first time he was permitted to cut a limb
from an apple tree on which a swarm had clustered.
With a lifetime of intimate association with the bees and
a wide acquaintance among the bee-keepers of the nation, it may
not be regarded as surprising that he should undertake to set
down in this book the information gleaned from so many sources.
In no other pursuit, perhaps, do the originators’ names cling
to the articles of equipment or methods of manipulation, as in
bee-keeping. Most of the articles of equipment, as well as
methods in common use, bear the name of the man with whom
they originated—the Langstroth hive, Porter bee escape, Alex-
ander feeder, Root smoker, Miller queen cage, and so on through-
out the entire field of apiculture. So firmly established has this
custom become, that a writer is in danger of being accused of
plagiarism if he describes a method without the originator’s name
in connection. While the author has followed the usual custom,
in the main, some methods have become so generally adopted
that it hardly seems necessary to continue the practice. It is
not with any intention of claiming as original any of these plans
that the originator’s name has occasionally been omitted, but
rather because it does not seem needful with matters so fully
credited already.
While the author believes that a few minor methods herein
described are original with him, this book is not presented for
the purpose of exploiting original material, but rather to de
vil
Vili FOREWORD
scribe the accepted methods found valuable by extensive honey
producers, under the greatest variety of conditions. The best
has been gleaned from every possible source. —
While most of the illustrations are from the author’s original
photographs or drawings made especially for this book, acknowl-
edgment should be made for a number that are reproduced by
permission from “ Gleanings in Bee Culture,” “ The American
Bee Journal,” and other sources.
The author is also greatly indebted to Mr. C. P. Dadant,
Dr. C. C. Miller, Dr. E. F. Phillips, and especially to Mrs.
Pellett for valuable assistance.
Frank C. Pevuerr.
ATLANTIC, Iowa, November, 1915.
CONTENTS
. CHAPTER PAGE
]. Bee-KeeEpine A FascrNaTING PuRSUIT............ ey arene rag Pe |
II. Tue Business or Bee-KEEPING................000005 Sua cae er oe
III. Maxine a Start WirH BEss.................. (eeah ees 18
ee A OMANGEMENT-OF THO APIARY< . 24 866 oo bcs cc cee uess 36
TEE Be Ta of Apia ge Cea gr an ota ot a Me ner 46
ero uee COCUPANTS OF THE FIVE. 20565 ois ee iN cae aeae caus “67 BS
a AE Es BSI I at ye A eel aR a DEER RNC SEE aE 100
a a cae 128
a; © RODOCTION -OF ComB. HONEY... 35. ois ees cece wee neeeeuan 136
iE RODUCTION, OF HXTRACTED: HONBY.).4 205 G05 Flo Fda 165
‘Bi. Wax, A By-PropuUCcT OF THE APIARY. .. 2.2.0... ce cess nen ee's 195
ae APISRASHS AND FONEMIES OF BES... . 652505065. chee cc aside cveme 206
EE UMGING 60. oso cdc. eas oe cso eT pee Ee o, 234
mtv. MARKETING THE HONEY CROP. ...0°.. 0.050055. s cece ce ecee Mae f
XV. Laws THAT CONCERN THE BEE-KEEPER ............. Ske nies ee
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ILLUSTRATIONS
FIa. PAGE
The Orchard Furnishes an Ideal Location for the Apiary . . Frontispiece
1. A Bee-Keeper Who Makes Pets of His Bees...................... 2
URE OORT ooo Oe, Ga es Kk Gade Nev eva seven 3
3. The Sting is an Effective Weapon of Defence..................... 4
ee OE CI DY OE Boe oie OEE ea rea hee a beh eb akaebenun 7
5. Many Successful Apiaries Built Up from a Single Colony.......... 10
6. A Few Colonies May be Kept on the Roof....................... 11
7. House Built from One Honey Crop from Less Than 300 Hives...... 12
EE RUMMY oy os 64.5 ava 3 o'er he oes ee ek ae wens 14
MIE TOGO
prevention. A deep bottom is better than a shallow one. In
Europe the Simmins plan of placing the comb honey supers with
empty sections under the hive, to begin with, seems to be prac-
tised to some extent, although the author does not know of its
use in this country. According to this plan empty supers are
kept in place under the hive all through the honey flow. The
bees prefer to store their honey above the brood nest and will do—
-so if possible. When they are getting too crowded above they
will begin to build combs in these comb honey supers below in
preparation to working down. It is now time to remove them
and place them on top of the hive and put another empty one
in place underneath. This empty space below serves as addi-
tional clustering space and also facilitates ventilation.
A somewhat similar purpose is served by the usual practice of
blocking the hive up at the corners during the honey flow if the
weather be hot. The hive being open on all sides there is free
ventilation, which is a material factor in swarm control.
BEE ESCAPES . | 161
REMOVING THE HONEY FROM THE HIVE
As soon as possible after most sections in a super are nicely
capped the honey should be removed from the hive to prevent
travel stain. If the bees are forced to pass over the sections in
going to and from the supers above for any considerable length
of time, the white cappings will become discolored and the
market value be reduced. True, the bee-keeper tries as far as
possible to have the sections finished in the top super so that
there will remain no necessity for much travel over it when
capped. It is not always possible to arrange the supers in the
ideal manner and even if capped in the upper super some travel
stain will result if the honey is allowed to remain too long.
Comb honey in sections is usually sufficiently ripened by the
time all but the corner sections are capped.
Fie. 78.—The Porter bee escape.
Bee Escapes.—The invention of the bee escape was a great
boon to the comb honey producer. The Porter escape is the one
in most common use (Fig. 78). A board the size of the hive has
the escape fitted to a small opening in the center. The con-
struction is such that the bees can go down through it but cannot
return. By putting on the escapes in the evening it is usually
possible to remove the supers of honey, free from bees, the follow-
ing morning.
Some bee-keepers depend upon driving the bees from the
supers with smoke, but this often results in injury to the honey,
as the bees will uncap the cells in order to reach the honey. Un-
less some eare is used the combs may be somewhat discolored also.
The escapes are inexpensive and the small outlay is more than
repaid in the saving of time alone.
The LaReese or ventilated escape has some advantages over
11
162 PRODUCTION OF COMB HONEY
the other (Fig. 77). This is made with about one-third of its
surface covered with a double screen. Double wire cones make it~
possible for the bees to go down easily but difficult to find their
way back. The principal advantage of this excluder over the
other is the ventilation, which prevents the melting down of the
combs in extremely hot weather. While this happens rather
infrequently, conditions occasionally are such that, honey will
melt badly in unventilated supers. Over these ventilated escapes
the air will be kept moving by fanning bees below, even if none
are left in the super, and the bad effects of the heat will be
avoided.
If it is desirable to remove the super before the outside rows
of sections are finished they may be set aside and replaced in
other supers.
Closing the Season.—Unless there are unfinished sections
which may be left on the hive in the hope of finishing during
the fall flow, it is usually advisable to remove the comb honey
supers at the close of the main harvest and to replace with ex-
tracting combs to catch any light fall flow. In localities where
the fall flow is such that comb honey can be produced profitably
this will not apply. In many localities the fall flow is so light
that the sections will not be well finished and if marketable at all
few of them will grade better than number two. Unless one can
produce comb honey of the best quality it is better to have it
stored in the extracting combs.
When one comes to remove honey in wholesale quantities —
after the close of the flow it will be necessary to proceed carefully
or there will be much annoyance from robber bees dodging into
the sections and flying home with a load. Let a few bees get away
successfully in this manner and shortly the air will be full of
bees intent on finding the source of supply. At such times it
becomes very difficult for the operator to work and there is
greatly increased danger from stings. Everything should be
kept closed as carefully as possible and when the supers are
removed they should be covered at once.
FUMIGATION : 163
For convenience at such times most bee-keepers have strips of
canvas or muslin, large enough to cover a pile of supers, which
are called robber cloths. It is well to remove the supers at once
to the honey house where they will be safe from visiting bees.
The honey house should, of course, be so tight that no bee can find
its way in, but with escapes at the tops of the windows to make
it easy for any chance bees to get out. In bringing in honey
_ from the apiary it will frequently happen that a good many bees
will still remain in the supers. If the housé is properly con-
structed they will make but little trouble as they will fly to the
windows and escape. (See Honey House in next chapter. )
Removing Sections from Supers.—The super springs already
described make it easy to loosen the follower board which will
give room to work. Lach section holder may now be crowded
over into the vacant space and removed with its sections. A
better way is to push the whole lot out at one time. There are
two ways of doing this. Either have a form the size of the inside
of the super and set the super on it; with a mallet or other
object drive the super down outside of it, leaving the section
holders and their contents on the form; or have an empty super
on which to set the filled one upside down. Then by carefully
jarring the section holders they may be pushed down into the
empty super. As soon as loosened fully from the propolis and
wax they may be lifted out. :
ae
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on
THE HONEY HOUSE 175
These are so placed near the top of the frames that they will be
the proper distance apart when placed in the hive.
While there may be a difference of opinion regarding the
best, from the standpoint of the extensive extracted honey pro-
ducer, the novice will find the self-spacing frames much better,
as there is less danger of getting the brood nest too crowded or
the combs too far apart.
Some contend that the use of metal spaced frames tends to
dull the uncapping knife by constantly knocking against it. This
argument carries little weight, for a good operator will seldom
strike the edge of his knife against the metal.
THE HONEY HOUSE
A good honey house is a necessity in extensive honey produc-
tion. The small honey producer can get along with a large room
in the dwelling house if necessary, but the nature of the work of
extracting is such that a separate building is very desirable. It
need not be expensive, but must be tight enough so that no bee
ean enter when doors and windows are closed. If the bees once
find their way in when a lot of honey is exposed, they soon come
by thousands and make work impossible. During a good honey
flow they are so busy bringing in nectar from the field, that they
pay little attention to anything else. At such times extracting
can often be done out of doors without annoyance. A check in
_ the honey flow brings a decided change in their attitude, and
they will soon be seeking every possible opening to a building
where honey is stored.
If portable outfits are used and the honey extracted at the
various apiaries, small buildings will serve very well, because
the honey will be taken away as fast as extracted. It is a common
practice among bee-keepers following this plan to visit a yard in
the morning and spend the day extracting, and take the honey
home at night.
Even though the portable outfits are used, a good-sized build-
ey,
176 PRODUCTION OF EXTRACTED HONEY
_ing will be needed at the home yard where the honey is prepared
for market and the various appliances prepared for use.
The illustrations show two good kinds of honey houses. Fig.
88 shows a honey house two stories high. This house has some
decided advantages, and, although it was built at a cost of about
Fie, 88.—A well-arranged, two-story honey house.
one thousand dollars, the extensive honey producer will find it
well worth the cost. By looking at the picture it will be seen
that the lay of the land is such that the ground is on a level with
the floor of the upper story at one side. At the other side the
ground is on a level with the lower story. A side hill location
is not always available, and otherwise this two-story arrangement
would not be very satisfactory, as too much energy would be
THE HONEY HOUSE 177
necessarily expended in getting the honey upstairs. In a case
like this, however, the honey can be unloaded on the upper floor
without extra effort.
On the upper floor is the power driven extractor. From it
there is a pipe leading directly to a large settling tank on the
floor below. The honey will thus never be handled from the time
the uncapped frames are placed in the extractor until it is drawn
Fic. 89.—Large honey house with all work on ground floor.
into the sixty-pound cans to ship to market. This particular
honey house is arranged with the idea of eliminating every pos-
sible unnecessary item of labor. One man has produced, ex-
tracted, and prepared for market something like forty thousand
pounds of honey from five yards, with help only a few days
during the busiest season.
On the upper floor is the work shop, where hives and batve
are assembled, and where extracting combs are stored, in addi-
tion to the extracting room. On the lower floor is the big settling
tank, the bottling room and storage room for honey. A better
12
178 PRODUCTION OF EXTRACTED HONEY
arranged or more satisfactory honey house could scarcely be
planned. The honey room must always be kept dry to avoid
injury to the honey.
Fig. 89 shows another kind of honey house. Here every-
thing is on the lower floor, excepting storage for unused equip-
ment. ‘The building is composed of three large rooms. At one
end is the general storage room. In the center is the extracting
Fig. 90.—The automobile is valuable for outyard work.
room, also used for preparing equipment, wiring frames, ete.
At the other end the automobile is driven in with the load. The
automobile is a very useful, and now almost necessary adjunct
to a large apiary, where outyards are widely scattered, as the ~
time saved in travelling to and from the yards is an important
consideration (Fig. 90). ;
As will be seen from the two pictures, the extensive produc-
tion of honey necessitates a large building for comfortable work.
The tendency is always to build too small, and crowding does
ESCAPES 179
not tend to economy of time or labor. If the beginner who
expects his business to grow will plan his honey house so that
additions are easily built on, he will be wise.
-Floor.—A cement floor is very desirable, as it is much easier
to make the building proof against rats and mice. Neither
should be tolerated in the honey house, as they are the source of
great annoyance and damage. Mice will destroy many dollars
worth of extracting combs, unless they are stored beyond the
reach of the rodents. A cement floor also makes a better foun-
dation for fast-running machinery.
Doors and Windows.—The windows should be tightly
screened to keep out flies and bees, but the doors are better
without screens. If the doors are screened, they will be left
open when the extracting is going on, and large numbers of bees
are likely to collect on the screens in an effort to get in. Every
time the screen is opened a few of them will dodge in, with the
result that a constantly increasing number are flying about, which
is annoying to the bee-keeper and bad for the bees. If only the
- windows are screened, the doors will be kept closed excepting
when necessary to pass in or out, and the bees collecting on the
outside will gather at the windows where they will be unable to
enter.
Escapes.—Bees that are carried into the honey house will
naturally fly to the windows in an effort to escape. At the top
of every window should be provided an escape which will permit
them to get out, but which will turn those on the outside which
may try to get in.
A good method is to place strips of lath under the wire screen,
thus holding them out a quarter of an inch from the building.
_ If these strips extend about six or eight inches above the top of
the window, and the screen extends as far, the space under the
sereen may be left open at the top. The bees on the inside will
walk up and out, while those outside will not go much above the
window opening and will not find their way in.
Another method is to leave several wrinkles in the screen
180 PRODUCTION OF EXTRACTED HONEY
along the top. Each of these places will leave an opening large
enough to permit the bees to find their way out. To prevent
those from the outside from coming in, wire cones are placed over
the openings.
Still another common plan is to place ordinary bee escapes,
Fig. 91.—Comb at right built on full sheet of foundation; at left, without foundation.
such as are to be purchased from any dealer in supplies, in the
corners of each window. ‘This plan does not work well in
practice. Any method that will permit bees to go out without
letting outsiders in, will be satisfactory.
PREPARING FOR THE HARVEST
The importance of having combs built on full sheets of foun-
dation to prevent the building of drone comb is mentioned else-
ANNUM
‘ \\\
PREPARING FOR THE HARVEST 181
where. Drone combs are not especially objectionable in extract-
ing supers, as long as the queen does not have access to them.
The productive bee-keeper, however, should avoid having them
built in the first place, as they should never be permitted in the
brood chamber, and, unless excluders are used, the queen will
sometimes be laying in the extracting supers. It is highly desir-
able that every comb be so perfect that it can be used in any
part of the hive for any purpose needed.
Aside from the necessity of avoiding the drone comb, it is
aN\
Fic. 92.—Usual method of wiring frames.
possible to get so much better combs by the use of foundation, and
to have them built so much more rapidly, that it is economy to
use full sheets anyway. It is very annoying to have crooked
combs to deal with, and perfect combs cannot always be secured
without the use of foundation (Fig. 91).
For extracting purposes, it is important, also, that the combs
be built in wired frames (Fig. 92). It makes little difference
to the comb honey producer whether his combs are wired or not
after they are once built, because they are not subject to much
strain. In the extractor, unwired combs are likely to be badly
broken or ruined altogether. Fig. 93 shows a full sheet of
foundation ready for the bees. Four horizontal wires are used
PRODUCTION OF EXTRACTED HONEY
Fig. 93.—Hoffman frame with full sheet of foundation.
Fic. 94.—Development of combs from foundation.
in this frame. Fig. 94 shows how the bees make use of this
foundation. The left hand frame contains a new sheet of foun-
dation. The central figure shows the appearance when the bees
STRONG COLONIES IMPORTANT 183
are beginning to draw it out and the right hand figure shows a
comb nearly drawn. Fig. 95 shows a good brood comb built
from a full sheet of foundation on four wires.
The novice can seldom be made to see the importance of full
sheets of foundation and wired frames. To save.the extra ex-
pense of foundation, he will usually insist on using a narrow
strip, with the result that his combs are not well built and are
Fig, 95.—Comb built on wired frame with full sheet of foundation,
largely composed of drone cells. To avoid the trouble of wiring
the frames, he will trust to the bees to build the combs strong
enough, with the result that most of them will be broken the
first time they are placed in the extractor. Experience is a good
teacher, but here as elsewhere the tuition comes high. The use
of proper precautions in the beginning would save much loss.
Strong Colonies Important.—What has been said elsewhere
about the importance of having strong colonies at the beginning
of the honey flow will also apply here. While medium colonies
184 PRODUCTION OF EXTRACTED HONEY
may store some surplus of extracted honey when they would not
store in sections, it is only the strong colonies that pile up the
profitable crops. No matter in what form one expects to market
his crop, he must bend every energy to bring his colonies to the —
beginning of the honey flow in prime condition.
Putting on Supers.—As soon as colonies are crowding the
brood chamber, it is time to give more room (Figs. 96 and 97).
As the frames are the same as those occupied for the brood nest,
Fig. 96.—Strong colony for extracted honey production,
Fie. 97. —biony that produced forty dollars worth of extracted honey in one season.
no difficulty will be found in getting the bees to occupy them, as
encountered by the comb honey specialist. It is well to lift the
hive up and place the extracting super underneath. By this
means the bees will not be required to warm unoccupied space
above the brood nest, and as fast as the honey comes in it will
crowd the queen down, so that soon the upper hive will be full of
honey and the queen and brood will be below. The objection to
this plan is the accumulation of surplus pollen in extracting
combs. If the empty super is placed on top without an excluder
beneath there is a tendency for the queen to occupy the empty
combs for egg laying, with the result that she will keep on going
i F
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be
.
SWARM CONTROL 185
up as new supers are added, and more or less trouble will be
necessary to separate the frames containing brood from those
with honey only, at time of first extracting.
Tf empty supers are placed underneath, no harm will result,
even though they be given some time in advance of when they
are needed, and the extra room tends to keep down swarming.
Swarm Control.—It often happens that the extracted honey
producer with his large hives has little difficulty from swarming,
and need give the matter little special attention. The method of
handling this matter most generally in use is known as the
Demaree method. As soon as the brood nest is getting sufficiently
crowded to require the addition of more room, the queen is
hunted out and a frame of brood, preferably the one on which
she is found, is lifted from the hive. An empty comb from the
hive body used as a super is exchanged for it. The queen will
then be on a frame of brood in a hive body of empty combs. A
queen excluder is then placed on top of this new body and the
old one already full of brood and honey is set on top of it in the
usual place. The queen is now provided with an abundance of
empty comb in which to lay. In fact her surroundings are simi-
lar to what they would be, had she recently come into possession
of a new hive in company with a swarm. The colony wil! build
up wonderfully in a short time, and not only will the desire to
swarm be eliminated, but a tremendous working force will be
present in the hive at the beginning of the honey flow. If addi-
tional room is provided as needed, further use of the excluder will
hardly be necessary and it can be removed after two or three
weeks.
In addition to the above advantages, the brood will be in the
bottom of the hive, and the honey can be removed as fast as
ripened and taken to the extracting room. While other methods
of swarm control are practised to some extent in connection with
extracted honey production, this plan is most generally used.
It is also the simplest and surest in its results of any with which
the author is familiar.
186 PRODUCTION OF EXTRACTED HONEY
Use of Excluders.—There is a decided difference of opinion
among bee-keepers as to the value of excluders. Aside from the
above use, which is general at the beginning of the season to
start the queen to laying in the lower story, many bee-keepers are
of the opinion that there is little value in their use. Many are
decided in the conviction that the use of excluders through the
season results in a loss of honey. The author is of the opinion
that they should not be used more than is necessary, although
whether they actually result in smaller amount of honey being
stored above them is apparently incapable of proof.
In comb honey production there is seldom if ever any occas-
ion that justifies the use of a queen excluder. Occasionally some
one will complain that the queen lays in the sections. This sel-
dom happens anyway, and is of very rare occurrence, where full
sheets of starter are used in the sections. The occurrence is so
infrequent that it will neither justify the expense of excluders
nor the inconvenience to the bees that their presence causes.
Ventilation.—In cool weather the entrance will furnish suffi-
cient ventilation, but when the weather grows hot in midsummer
more must be provided for best results. It is an easy matter to
temporarily slip one hive body forward a half inch, the one above
back a half inch, thus providing ventilation in every story from
the bottom to the top of the hive. No rule can be laid down as
to how much should be given. It will depend upon the weather
and upon the honey flow. If plenty of honey is coming in so
that there is no danger from robbers, much ventilation will be
helpful in extremely hot weather. If no honey is coming in care
must be used that the openings are not longer than the bees can
guard safely.
Entrances the full width of the hive and at least an inch in
depth are regarded as none too large for hot weather during the
honey flow. Some lift the hive up an inch from the bottom board,
and support it with blocks at the corners as described under
comb honey.
The entrances should gradually be reduced as the season ad-
REMOVING HONEY FROM THE HIVE 187
vances, the honey flow ceases, and the weather becomes cool in
fall. A three-eighths-inch entrance is large enough for winter °
and even that is restricted to from four to six inches in width.
Ripening the Honey.—The practical bee-keeper will always
provide a sufficient number of extracting combs, so that no honey
need be extracted until it is fully ripened. A shortage of combs
brings a temptation to extract too soon. Green or unripened
honey should never be extracted. Some extensive honey pro-
ducers are sometimes guilty of this practice. Not long since, the
author visited an establishment where large quantities of honey
are handled. A short time before a carload ‘of extracted honey
had been received from the West that had not been properly
ripened. About one-third of this green honey was souring and
working in the cans. Some of the cans had burst, and the whole ©
thing was in such a condition as to demoralize any market where
it happened to land. A few days longer on the hives, giving the
bees time to evaporate it and ripen it fully, would have made a
fine article which would have pleased the buyer, instead of.caus-
ing him to curse the whole honey business. As a matter of course
it was nearly a total loss to the producer. Why men will be so
short sighted is hard to understand. The fact that they can
sometimes sell the honey and leave the buyer to stand the loss |
leads them to risk it again.
Honey is seldom ready for extracting until the cells are
nearly all sealed. Well-ripened honey can be kept for years
without injury if properly cared for.
Removing Honey from the Hive—Escapes are used to
some extent in taking off extracted honey, as described under
comb honey. It is a difficult matter to reach the bees in the
sections and to get them out of the comb honey supers without
escapes. Most bee men in taking off extracted honey open the
hive and lift out a frame at a time and brush or shake the bees
in front of the hive. The comb is then set in an empty hive body
brought for the purpose. Full supers of frames are then set
aside and covered until a load is ready to be taken to the
188 PRODUCTION OF EXTRACTED HONEY
extracting house. If there is an extracting room near at hand
they are wheeled in, in a cart or wheelbarrow (Fig. 98), or if
they must be taken some distance to the central plant, they are
set in a wagon or automobile in which they are hauled home.
If escapes are used they must be put in place the day before
Fie. 98.—Wheelbarrow load of extracting supers.
the honey is to be taken off, which is often inconvenient, espe-
cially at outyards.
Extracting at Once.—The honey can never be extracted as
easily as when first taken from the hives in warm weather. It
sometimes becomes necessary to leave a part of the work to be
done after the close of the season. If the weather is cool, a warm
room will be necessary and even then honey that has stood in the
honey house for several weeks will be thrown out with more or
less difficulty. With a power-driven extractor it is possible to get
the combs much cleaner than with the hand machine. |
TE ea eS Cee ee ere
STRAINING THE HONEY 189
Most bee-keepers make a practice of extracting several times
during the season, thus requiring less equipment and keeping
honey from the different sources separate.
If one sells in a wholesale market, it is important to keep
the light honey from clover and basswood separate from the dark,
fall honey, such as buckwheat, golden rod, etc. It is better to
extract after every flow as far as can be done, so as to keep the
different kinds as nearly separate as possible.
If, on the other hand, the bee-keeper has a retail trade of his
own and blends his product anyway, there is no special impor-
tance in keeping the honey separate, unless something might be
brought, in so poor in quality as to injure his crop. In many
localities in the Southern States, there is a bitter weed that
blooms in midsummer which secretes nectar from which honey
that is too bitter to be eaten is stored. Where any plant of this
kind is to be dealt with, it is important to remove all surplus
from the hive as soon as it begins to bloom, to avoid having good
honey mixed with it. A very little of this honey will spoil a
whole crop, so that it cannot be sold to advantage.
Straining the Honey.—With the greatest care there will be
bits of wax and other refuse thrown off in the extractor, which
must be removed from the honey before it is ready for market.
If deep settling tanks are used, this surplus matter will soon rise
to the top, where it can be skimmed off, or the honey can be
drawn from the bottom of the can where it is clear. By this plan
there always remains a quantity of honey at the last that is not
ready for market until it is strained.
Various contrivances are in use for the purpose of straining
the honey as it goes into the settling tank. Thin cotton cloth is
most often used as a strainer. A large surface is necessary to
prevent the cloth from clogging, when it must be cleaned or a new
one used in place of it. If the cloth alone is used, the weight
of the honey will often result in pulling it loose at one side, when
the whole of the contents will run ?nto the receptacle below. A
coarse screen of about one-fourth inch mesh is good to furnish
190 PRODUCTION OF EXTRACTED HONEY
a support for the cloth. If a large basket, which may be hung
in the tank, is made of this coarse screen and lined with cheese-
cloth it makes a fairly satisfactory strainer. There is always
more or less bother with elogged strainers, unless the basket is
deep enough so that much of the refuse will come to the top
rather than fall directly on the strainer.
Alexander Strainer—The Alexander strainer is made of
fine wire screen, and is about the size and shape of a large bucket
with bail. This pail is hung in the tank or other receptacle, in
which the honey is stored and the honey run into it as extracted.
The bottom and all side surface permitting the passage of honey,
it does not clog readily and it is strong enough to sustain the
weight of a full pail of honey. All sediment is caught and held.
The strainer is easily cleaned with hot water after the refuse is
dumped out.
Second-Hand Containers Not Desirable—So much honey
goes to market in the square sixty-pound cans that there is always
an accumulation of them in all the large centers. These are
offered for sale at a very low price. So little is to be saved by
the use of these second-hand containers that the bee-keeper can
hardly afford to buy them. If they are rusted inside, the quality
of the honey will be injured, and if otherwise perfect there is
some danger of spreading disease by their use.
As mentioned elsewhere the principal bee diseases are spread
from hive to hive in the honey. Second-hand containers brought
to the apiary are more or less daubed with the honey with which
they have previously been filled. This honey attracts the
workers, and if it came from a diseased colony there is great
danger in bringing it into the apiary. Disease is thus spread
to considerable extent. The author has had his attention offi-
cially called to this source of disease so many times that he is ©
inclined to favor restrictions on the use of containers for honey
a second time, unless it be in the same apiary where filled at first.
If the honey is put up in bright new cans a better impression
is made on the buyer than if received in cans that are rusty and
ph:
a
‘ |
2
a
;
a
3 _
al
—
r
LIQUEFYING CANDIED HONEY 191
stained. Occasionally a buyer makes serious complaint if honey
is received in such cans.
Liquefying Candied Honey.—After extracted honey has
stood for a time, it will usually candy. If it goes to market in
the sixty-pound cans in which it is stored, the producer will have
no occasion to liquefy it, as it will stand the journey with less
risk in this condition. If through any accident a can should be
damaged, there will be no leakage, as would be the case if the
- honey was shipped in a liquid condition.
If the honey is to be placed in small packages for the retail
trade, it will be necessary to heat the honey sufficiently to restore
the liquid form. Great care is necessary not to overheat the
honey, as to do so will greatly injure the flavor and consequently —
the value of the product.
Various plans of accomplishing this result have been devised.
In large establishments a system of hot water pipes is sometimes
used. The caps are removed from the cans, and they are set
up-side-down on pipes. As fast as the honey melts, it runs out
into a container below.
Large tanks are also used which are filled with hot water
around the honey cans. This water is kept at a temperature of
about .150° for a sufficient time to liquefy the honey in all the
cans.
A simple and very satisfactory plan is illustrated by Fig. 99.
This plan utilizes an ordinary cheap feed cooker such as can be
purchased in the market for about twelve dollars. There is just
room for eight sixty-pound cans in the square tank. Instead of
using hot water, a crate of wood is made to hold the cans about
two inches off the bottom and water is allowed to come just to
the bottom of the cans. A lid shuts down, as will be seen in the
picture, and a very light fire is started in the fire box underneath.
As the water is heated steam is generated, and the cans are
warmed by steam instead of having the hot water in contact
with them. A small hole in the top of the lid provides a place
for a thermometer, which indicates the temperature. One great
192 PRODUCTION OF EXTRACTED HONEY
advantage in this heater is that if, by chance, it becomes too hot
the lifting of the lid permits the escape of the steam and cooling
of the interior instantly. If the water system gets too hot, it
is difficult to cool it quick enough to avoid injury to the honey.
Several hours will be required to liquefy the contents of the
Fig, 99.—Utilizing feed cooker for liquefying candied honey by steam,
cans by this system, but the amount of fuel required is so small
as to be a very insignificant matter.
Bottling.—If the honey is sold through retail stores a portion
of it is likely to stand on the shelves for some time after it reaches
the store. In this case the contents of many of the bottles will
candy again intime. Sometimes a trade is developed that comes
to demand a certain amount of this candied honey or will take a
Sa i a lo aes aac leak pa
RETAILING CANDIED HONEY 193
jar of candied honey and liquefy it by setting in a pan of warm
water. However, in most localities, the bee-keeper will be
required to take back honey that has candied and replace it with
honey in the liquid state. It is an easy matter to restore the
honey in jars in a few minutes by setting them in a shallow tank
of hot water that just comes up around the necks of the bottles.
If the honey is kept at a temperature of about 120° for
several hours before bottling, and then sealed while still warm,
several weeks and sometimes months will often elapse before it
will candy again.
Some bee-keepers make a practice of restoring honey that has
candied in small glass jars by placing them in solar wax extrac-
tors, where they are exposed directly to the heat of the sun.
This plan seems to be very satisfactory for small quantities, as
the sun’s rays supply about the right conditions for best results.
Retailing Candied Honey.—Some honeys have a much
greater tendency to candy than others. Western alfalfa honey
candies very quickly and becomes quite hard. Some honey will
only candy far enough to become waxy and sticky. Unless it
becomes hard enough so that it is no longer sticky, there is little
opportunity to develop a special trade for candied honey in small
packages. Several kinds of pasteboard or paper packages hold-
ing small quantities of this honey are in use. The paper bucket
commonly used for retailing oysters is perhaps the most com-
monly used. When the honey shows signs of granulation, but
will still run, it is drawn into these packages and set in
a cold place. . Frequent changes of temperature hasten granu-
lation and a room where it is first warm, and then freezing, will
be the best for honey which it is desired to granulate. When the
honey is sufficiently hard, it is placed on the market. Unless
subjected to quite a warm temperature it will remain in the
granulated condition for an indefinite period.
As yet there is no general market for granulated honey in
these small packages. Every bee-keeper who wishes to handle
honey in this way must develop his own trade. It would seem
13
194 PRODUCTION OF EXTRACTED HONEY
that a nice trade might be gradually developed for small eubes
of this candy to sell at a nickel through the retail candy trade.
Once people came to know the product they would buy it freely,
if it were available in a five-cent package.
Once the public is educated to understand that only honey
of the best quality can be marketed in this form, the bee-keeper
will find a ready market for candied honey.
BULK OR CHUNK HONEY
In many localities in the Southern States there is a demand
for bulk or chunk honey. The general principles of producing
extracted honey will also apply to bulk honey. The foundation
in the supers need not always be of full sheets, nor should they
be wired. An empty comb or two in each super will be helpful
in getting the bees into the new super promptly. When the combs
are finished they are cut from the frames and new foundation
is put in for future use. Bulk honey can be produced cheaper
than section honey, but not as cheaply as extracted honey, as
the combs must be built new each time the crop is removed. With
extracted honey the combs can be used again and again, which -
makes larger production possible under ordinary conditions,
QUESTIONS
. Note the difference between strained honey and extracted honey. 5
. Discuss extractors and other equipment for the production of extracted
honey.
. What kind of frame is most satisfactory ?
What things are essential in a honey house?
Describe different kinds of honey houses with advantages of each.
How should doors and windows be screened and why?
Why are full sheets of foundation in wired frames desirable?
How and when should supers be added?
. Describe the Demaree method of swarm control.
. Discuss queen excluders.
- How much ventilation is desirable and what size entrances should be
used ?
. When should the honey be taken from the hive?
. Discuss extracting and straining of honey.
. How should honey be stored?
. Discuss candied honey.
ee -
et
Oe OD
CHAPTER XI
WAX A BY-PRODUCT OF THE APIARY
Attuovuen honey is the principal product, considerable wax,
is produced in every well-regulated apiary. Although bringing
the highest price of anything the bee-keeper has to sell, the possi-
bilities of this special output are too often overlooked because
much of it is gathered in small quantity in scraping sections,
cleaning burr combs from the tops of frames’and scraps of combs
that accumulate about the bee yard and honey house. If the
bee-keeper who has not carefully saved these odd bits of comb
will provide a bucket or other receptacle which is always kept
at hand in which to place all scrapings and bits of wax he will
be surprised to see what a quantity will accumulate during the
season. In addition the apiary and equipment will be much
cleaner as aresult. It is very annoying to the housewife to have
someone coming into the house with bits of wax clinging to his
heels to be left on the rugs or carpet, as will frequently be the
ease where such refuse is dropped on the ground about the bee-
hives.
Old combs that are to be discarded and cappings which are
present in quantity are usually saved, as they should be, but
unless some care is used they are likely to be destroyed by the
wax moths during the warm weather. It is a good plan, no
matter what method of wax rendering may be adopted, to throw
all such material into a solar extractor at once. In this way it
will be melted so thoroughly that there is little troubie with
moths, even though it is not separated sufficiently to avoid the
necessity of rendering.
Production of Wax.—When the bees are feeding heavily,
as during a good honey flow, wax is secreted as a direct result
of the quantities of food consumed. After a colony has swarmed
in warm weather large numbers of bees will cluster together
195
196 WAX A BY-PRODUCT OF THE APIARY
apparently for the purpose of secreting wax and with it building
the new combs which will be necessary to store the food supply
and rear the brood of the colony. The wax pockets are eight in
number for each worker-bee. They are located on the under side
of the abdomen, four on each side. By watching the bees at
times such as above mentioned, the little wax scales can be seen
protruding between the segments of the abdomen. The author
is not sufficiently gifted to describe the wonderful manner in
which they utilize these minute scales and the way they manipu-
late them to form the perfect combs which are so essential to the
welfare of the colony. No description will satisfy the enthusias-
tic bee-keeper who must see it all for himself. By providing
an observation hive at the proper season many interesting opera-
tions may be seen. ‘The worker may be seen to take the wax
scale in her jaws and to knead it, apparently, after which it is
added to the partially built comb which her predecessors have
started. But a moment is thus occupied when she moves away
and her place is taken by another who also adds her portion.
The work is done very much as though men in building a wall
each brought a single brick and put it in place and went away.
Yet.in spite of the apparent hit and miss method of building,
there is no more wonderful or more perfect structure than the
combs of the honey-bee.
Wax melts at a low temperature, as many a bee-keeper has
learned to his cost when brood combs have been left exposed to
the hot sun on a summer day. At times the heat is sufficient to
melt the combs within the hives, especially when they are sur-
rounded by high board fences, dense undergrowth, or other ob-
struction that prevents a breeze from reaching them, or if the
hives are not well ventilated.
The young bees do most of the work of comb building, as
the ability to secrete wax declines with advancing age. In case of
necessity old bees will build combs, although apparently they
secrete wax less readily and in smaller quantities than the
younger ones.
PRODUCTION OF WAX 197
Color.—There is a great variation in the color of wax, depend-
ing upon the source of the food supply of the bees at the time
of comb building. As a rule newly built comb is light in color,
gradually growing darker with use. The brood combs shortly
become quite dark, and in time almost black, due to the stains of
constant travel as well as refuse from the growing larvee and
_ the cocoons which are left behind when they emerge from the
cells. When clad combs are melted, so many of these cocoons
often remain that they will retain the exact shape of the original
cell. :
Size and Shape.—The difference in size and shape between
the cells prepared for various purposes, as for the rearing of
queens, is so striking as to attract instant attention on looking
within the hive. Much has been written in admiration of the
mathematical precision with which the bees are able to occupy
all the available space by building a six-sided cell, the bottom
of each of which was opposite the bottom of one-third of each
of three others. By building in this way the maximum of both
capacity and strength is secured with no lost space.
If the bees build according to their own plans the combs are
usually about an inch in thickness with cells of equal depth on
each side. If built within frames in a hive they may be thicker
or thinner, depending upon the spacing of the combs. Extracted
honey producers often space their frames so as to secure thicker
combs to make the work of uncapping easy. The distance be-
tween the combs is from three-eighths of an inch to seven-
sixteenths of an inch, depending upon circumstances. The bees
require about three-eighths of an inch at least in order to move
about easily. Combs are usually placed about an inch and a
half from center to center.
The worker cells are the smallest and we resort to the use of
foundation to insure that the cells will mostly be built of this
size, as mentioned elsewhere. According to most writers each
worker cell is about one-fifth of an inch in diameter, and the
drone cells are somewhat larger. The queen cells are built espe-
198 WAX A BY-PRODUCT OF THE APIARY
cially for the particular purpose of rearing queens and are built
only as needed and frequently torn down when no longer of
immediate use. The regular comb built permanently is all of .
the six-sided shape and of the two sizes. The larger cells such
as are used for rearing drones serve equally well for honey
storage. .
_ Uses of Wax.—For many centuries beeswax has been known
as a commercial commodity. So valuable was it in ancient times
that taxes were at times paid in wax and a tribute of wax was
levied by victorious kings on the unfortunate inhabitants of the
country which they had overrun, Many references to this prod-
uct are to be found in ancient writings both sacred and secular.
Rents and other obligations were paid in beeswax to such an
extent as to indicate the demand must have greatly exceeded the
supply. Before the invention of paper, wax tablets were used
for the purpose of making temporary records, for correspondence,
ete.
Wax candles have long been used for various ceremonial pur-
poses in the churches, and this custom has survived the centuries
and still offers a market for quantities of wax, for some churches
still.use candles made of beeswax for this purpose.
Many delicate objects are moulded of wax, as fruits and
flowers, that are so natural in appearance as to perfectly deceive
the casual observer. Figures and models of various kinds are
also made of this material, as it is very plastic and responds to
the most delicate touch of the artist.
Tailors make use of pure beeswax in many cases for sewing
wax, shoemakers and harnessmakers also make use of it, either
pure or mixed with other materials for waxing their threads.
It is a common ingredient of varnish and furniture polish,
lithographic inks, various cements, waterproofing materials, and
in many remedies and other commodities handled by the drug
trade.
Comb Foundation.—The bee-keeper has of late years come to.
be his own best customer. Since the invention of the mills that
- ADULTERATION OF WAX 199
make comb foundation possible, extensive use has been made of
it among the bee-men themselves.
Next to the movable frame hive, comb foundation has per-
haps made possible the greatest advance in bee culture. Without
the use of foundation it is a very difficult matter to get straight
combs or to prevent the bees from building crosswise or otherwise
than according to the bee-keeper’s wishes. With the use of foun-
dation the possibilities of honey production are multiplied and
no practical honey producer would think of doing without it.
_ Only pure beeswax should be used in foundation as otherwise
the sale of honey in combs built on it would be a violation of
the pure food laws. Fortunately little if any adulteration of
comb foundation is practised, the manufacturers being very care-
ful to test all wax used for the purpose and the bee-keeper can
buy from any of the well-known manufacturers with confidence.
The wax is melted in the factory and wound in long sheets
which are run through mills bearing the impression of the size
and shape of the worker cells. As the foundation is printed it
is cut in strips of convenient length and these are wrapped in
thin paper to prevent sticking together when warm. The papered
strips are then packed in paper boxes in such quantities as the
needs of the market demand. Use of foundation is considered
in the chapters relating to comb and extracted honey.
Substitutes for Beeswax.—Various mineral and vegetable
waxes have taken the place of beeswax in various commercial
uses. These waxes can be produced much cheaper and answer
fully as well for many purposes. Paraffin, ceresin and several
others are well-known commercial products. Substitutes for
wax made into foundation will not be accepted by the bees.
Adulteration of Wax.—Dealers who buy beeswax must exer-
cise constant vigilance to avoid being imposed upon by an adul-
terated product. As the adulterations can be purchased at prices
much below that of beeswax, dishonest men see possibilities of
great profit if they can sell their dishonest product. Various
tests have been discovered for detecting the adulterations until
200 WAX A BY-PRODUCT OF THE APIARY
it is now very difficult indeed to get adulterated wax to market
without detection.
Paraffin, ceresin and sometimes tallow are common adulter-
ants of wax. Wax is so commonly adulterated that when it
reaches the market it will be subject to very careful examination
and any fraud is likely to be discovered.
WAX RENDERING
Commercial establishments which deal in wax are so well
prepared to render the wax at a low price that many bee-keepers
ship all combs and refuse containing wax to some of these estab-
lishments at the end of the season. Either the bee-keeper pays
cash for rendering the wax and has it worked into comb foun-
dation for future use, or he sells the wax for cash and is charged
a small fee for rendering. Where the bee-keeper has but a small
amount of material this is frequently the most satisfactory way
of disposing of it, as he avoids a very mussy job at best and his
time may often be otherwise employed more profitably.
The Solar Extractor—The solar wax extractor is made by
placing a glass a few inches above a sheet of metal which is tilted
enough to allow the melted wax to run off and depending upon
the heat of the sun to melt the combs. New and tender combs or
cappings will be pretty well rendered in this manner but old
combs will not be well separated. In any case a solar extractor
is a valuable item of equipment in an apiary for bits of comb can
be thrown into it as collected and thus be saved. Old combs may
be melted to prevent damage by moths. Considerable quantities
of wax will accumulate in the wax box at the bottom and this will
save handling again later. The whitest and best wax will be
secured in this way. It will nearly always pay to render the
refuse from a solar extractor in a wax press as otherwise much
of the wax is wasted.
Boiling in a Clothes Boiler—There are a number of crude
methods by which bee-keepers with but a small amount of wax
have long extracted it. One of these is to boil the combs in a
THE WAX PRESS 201
wash boiler and to skim the wax from the surface of the water.
Sometimes the combs are placed in a burlap bag and thrown in
the boiling water. Sticks are used to punch the bag and to stir
it about in the hot water. While a certain amount of wax will
be secured in this manner it is very wasteful and from one-fourth
to one-half of the wax will be lost unless the refuse is rendered
again by some plan.
Small bits of comb are often placed in a pan in the oven.
The pan is partly filled with water and the hot wax dipped off or
the combs are laid on a screen through which the wax will run
while the waste will remain on the screen. The wax is some-
times left to harden in the pan and the cake-lifted out when cool.
While rendering by some of these crude methods is better
than wasting the wax the amount wasted will shortly pay for a
good press. }
The Wax Press.—No satisfactory way to get all the wax has
been found without the use of some kind of press. Some may
think that they are getting all the wax because the slumgum or
refuse is apparently free from it, but the chances are that when
rendered with a good outfit this slamgum would produce from
fifteen to twenty-five per cent more wax.
A man who understands mechanics and is handy with tools
ean readily construct a wax press, though there are good ones to
be had in the market. The principal requirements are great
pressure applied when the mass is hot, and that there be plenty of
- water mixed with the melted combs to insure that the wax will
run freely. Many of the outfits in use have some provision for
the use of steam to keep the whole thing hot when the pressure
is applied. It has been found of late that the press need not
be heated if the work is done when the weather is warm or in a
- warm room, providing that the material is boiling hot when
dipped into the press.
Many different plans for making presses for this purpose have
been described in the bee journals but the essential requirements
are the same. Some are round and some square but with pressure
202 WAX A BY-PRODUCT OF THE APIARY
properly applied and the material of the right temperature almost
any of them will get the wax.
The Hatch Press.—The most popular press seems to be a
modification of the Hatch press and is usually called by that
name. Itisa simple implement as good things usually are (Fig.
100). There is a stone, frame to give sufficient strength to the
ni iron screw by means of
which the pressure is ap-
plied. The form is of metal
and round in shape. There
is a round opening for draw-
ing off the liquids. This
may be closed with a cork
when desired to prevent the
escape of the hot water
when pressing. —
How the Wax is Ren-
dered.—In addition to the
press will be needed a boiler
in which to melt the combs
and some sheets of burlap.
The boiler should be partly
filled with water and placed
over a hot fire. The combs
to be rendered are thrown
shih spe SP capead abn inhi into the water and after it
begins to get hot are stirred freely. As the mass is melted ;
additional combs can be added. Plenty of water should be
used to insure best results. The mass should be heated thor-
oughly and all wax should be melted fully but care should
be used not to overdo it and scorch the wax, as might easily
happen if too many combs are boiled for the quantity of water.
The burlap should be laid in the press and the opening corked
up and the tank filled with hot water in order to have the
press hot when the melted combs are poured into it. The water
THE STEAM PRESS 203
can then be drawn off and set aside for use if needed. The bur-
lap is then used to line the form and a quantity of the mass
from the boiler is poured into it. A large dipper is a good thing
for this purpose. The wax should not be strained before pressing
but water and all should go into the press. The ends of the
__ burlap are now turned over the mass so that it cannot escape
excepting as strained through the cloth. The cleated follower
is then placed on top of the cheese and the whole thing is set
in place under the screw. The screw is turned slowly down as
long as liquids can be squeezed from the “ cheese.” The water
and hot wax will run off together through the opening in the side
of the can. When no more wax is coming the screw can be re-
leased and the “ cheese ” doubled up and given another pressing.
The “ cheese ” is then removed and thrown to one side and
another lot is pressed until all the combs have been rendered.
Usually it will be necessary to break up the “ cheeses ” that re-
main and boil them again, and again press them as in the begin-
ning to get all the wax. This second rendering will usually bring
a surprising amount of wax from material that appears to be
entirely free from it. Tests from various samples have shown
from ten to fifteen per cent of wax still in the slumgum.
The Massachusetts Agricultural College has opened a wax
rendering station for the benefit of the bee-keepers of that State.
Bee-keepers are instructed to use a barrel for storage purposes
and as combs and bits of wax are thrown into the barrel to tamp
it down tight and when full to ship to the station for rendering.
If smaller quantities are to be shipped some smaller container
can be used. This station is proving to be very popular with the
bee-keepers of that State and large quantities of comb are being
shipped to the station.
The Steam Press.—At one time steam wax presses were in
common use but they are generally being replaced by the method
previously described. The steam press is heated by steam gener-
ated from water in the bottom of the can. It will be necessary
to set the press on a hot stove or to make some provision for
heating the water. Above the water is a basket to hold the
204 WAX A BY-PRODUCT OF THE APIARY
combs on which pressure is applied by means of a screw. The
melting wax falls into the water below and runs out the over-
flow spout (Fig. 101).
Boiler Press.—There are different kinds of hot water presses
in use but in general they may be said to consist of a strong can
in which is contained a heavily bound basket. A bar across the
center supports the screw by means of which the pressure is
applied. In this kind of extractor
the water comes up around the —
melted combs which are under
pressure and the boiling and
pressing are carried on at the
same time. When the wax is all
out sufficient water is supplied to
carry it off through the tube near
the top, while the small amount
of refuse straining through the
cloth settles to the bottom of the
can. This plan gives good results
if carefully done but there is
some difficulty in getting all the
wax out of the can.
There is no trouble about the
mass cooling while under pressure
and the operation can be repeated
as often as desired by simply loosening the screw and saturating
the cheese with water again.
Bleaching Wax.—Every time the wax is melted the tendency
is to a lighter color and the exposure to the sun in the solar
extractor also tends to whiten it. Although sulfurie acid is
sometimes used for clarifying, there is seldom any occasion
for the bee-keeper to bother about bleaching further than to
re-melt any cakes of wax that are very dark and to remove as
much impurity as possible. The difference in price that will be
received will hardly pay for the extra trouble, however.
Fie. 101,—Steam wax press.
QUESTIONS 205
Cooling the Wax.—Utensils into which the hot wax is poured
for cooling should first be dipped into cold water or greased
to prevent the wax from sticking. Then care should be used to
prevent the wax from cooling too rapidly or the cakes will crack.
QUESTIONS
. How is wax produced?
. Of what use is it to the bee-keeper?
. Discuss the various commercial uses of beeswax.
How is comb foundation made?
Why is beeswax often adulterated ?
. Discuss the different methods of rendering beeswax.
Ao WN
CHAPTER XII
DISEASES AND ENEMIES OF BEES
As a country grows older new vicissitudes beset almost any
line of business, and bee-keeping is no exception. In many sec-
tions of the United States brood diseases have not as yet appeared,
and in many others the bee-keepers are having their first experi-
ence in combating them. However, it is only a matter of time
until bee-keepers can expect to be compelled to deal with foul
brood no matter where they live. It accordingly will pay the
business bee-keeper to inform himself as fully as possible con-
cerning bee diseases, even though there be none at present in
his vicinity.
Expert bee-keepers are frequently all but ruined by the
appearance of foul brood in their apiaries. With a thorough
knowledge of the accepted methods of dealing with disease the
experience need not be so costly, for by prompt action the danger
can be largely avoided.
The census of 1901 showed a decrease of 16.1 per cent of
the total number of colonies of bees in the United States as a
whole. The wide-spread presence of disease is no doubt largely
responsible for this condition. With an increasing population
and a decreasing number of bee-keepers, it would look as if the
business of honey production should offer a good field of opera-
tions. While the small bee-keepers with a few colonies on the —
farms are rapidly being removed, specialists are increasing in
‘number. This is as it should be, for to-day is the great age of
specialists and the business which is not worthy of development
as a specialty offers little inducement to the active man. —
While there are still many puzzling things that manifest
themselves in connection with foul brood, the essentials neces-
sary to the control of either form are pretty well understood and
practical men who are on their guard find it possible to withstand
206
rest BE, AE een ae Lr me eh a ya tery eee
poset!
ror Tea Ne Se
AMERICAN FOUL BROOD 207
the onslaught without great losses. It usually happens, however,
that disease has gained considerable headway in the apiary be-
fore its owner is aware of the nature of the difficulty. Especially
is this true when disease puts in an appearance for the first time
in a locality that has been free from it. The journals frequently
recount the experience of some unfortunate who has suffered
heavy losses in this manner. The writer, in the capacity of
State inspector of apiaries, sees such cases very frequently.
Instances have come to his attention where the losses amounted
to many thousands of dollars, whereas had the owner realized
the nature of the trouble on its first appearance it could have
been checked without difficulty.
AMERICAN FOUL BROOD
Much confusion has resulted in the similarity of names of
the two common diseases. It is unfortunate that some entirely
different name was not applied to one or the other. While Euro-
pean foul brood has long been known, in some localities, under
the name of “ black brood,” the name was not appropriate and
it has given way to the accepted title of European foul brood.
There is a decided difference in the appearance and in the action
of the two forms, so much so that there need be little difficulty
in recognizing the difference in advanced stages. In early stages
it is sometimes a little difficult to determine which form one may
have to deal with, and in that case it is well to cut out a piece of
comb containing the dead larve and, wrapping it securely, send
it to the Bureau of Entomology of the United States Department
of Agriculture. By means of a microscopic examination they
can readily determine the nature of the difficulty.
American foul brood has long been present in this country
and when we hear the term “ foul brood ” we naturally infer that
American foul brood is meant (Figs. 102 and 103). It is also
called “ ropy foul brood ” because of the peculiar ropy charac-
teristic of the dead tissue at a certain stage. The larve are
usually attacked at about the time the cells are capped and most
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103.—Work of wax moths in colony affected by American foul brood. The sunken cappings are typical of American foul brood.
210 DISEASES AND ENEMIES OF BEES
of the cells containing dead larve are capped. When the larva
dies it turns a chocolate or brown color and in advanced stages
of decay becomes darker. The cappings become sunken, and
frequently the cappings are perforated by small holes. The most
common test for this disease is to insert a toothpick or timothy
straw into the dead tissue and slowly withdraw it. The decaying
matter stretches out like thick molasses, sometimes for an inch
or two before breaking. After the dead larva has become fully
dried it forms a dried scale on the lower side of the cell. This
scale adheres tightly to the cell and can be readily observed by
holding the comb in front of the eyes at such an angle that the
light falls into the bottom of the cell and illuminates the lower
side wall.
There is also a very characteristic odor clinging to the combs
containing a badly infected case of foul brood of the American
form. . It is commonly spoken of as a glue-pot odor but that
hardly describes it. It is, however, a characteristic of the dis-
ease that can readily be recognized. Queen and drone larve are
seldom affected by American foul brood, while the other form
attacks both queen and drone larve at the same stage as worker
larvee are affected. Cases are reported where there is a decided
odor with European foul brood, but the writer does not remem-
ber ever having seen a case in all the hundreds of apiaries visited.
The ropy condition of the dead matter together with the odor is
usually considered as positive evidence of American foul brood.
When this disease is present the death of a portion of the —
brood gradually decimates the colony until it becomes so weak
that it can ne longer defend its stores and it is likely to be robbed
out and the honey carried to other colonies. The disease is thus
spread far and wide. The writer has seen cases where after the
death of the colony from foul brood the hive was turned over
and exposed to the bees by the owner, who was ignorant of the
real cause of the trouble. The disease was thus needlessly carried
into every colony of large apiaries.
The disease is caused by a bacillus technically known as
AMERICAN FOUL BROOD 211
Bacillus larve. These microdrganisms are so extremely minute
as to require a high power microscope to enable one to find them.
The germs or their spores seem to be carried from hive to hive
only in the honey. In treating American foul brood it accord-
ingly becomes exceedingly important to rid the colony of every
vestige of the diseased honey. While the honey may carry the
germs of foul brood which are fatal to young bees, it is not in
the least injured thereby for human consumption.
It is important that this point be fully understood or other-
wise any method of treatment is likely to be unavailing. On one
occasion an inspector was called to examine the bees in a neigh-
borhood where foul brood was known to be present. At one farm-
house he was told by the housewife that they no longer had any
bees but some empty hives. On investigation he found that the
bees had died during the winter from American foul brood. It
was still early spring and the honey had not yet been found by
the bees of the neighborhood. He explained carefully to the
owner the method of treatment and thought that he fully under-
stood it. The next day a man was sent back to ascertain whether
instructions had been properly followed, only to find that he
had ¢arefully disinfected the hive by burning it out, but had
left the honey lying on the ground where it was even more likely
to be found by visiting bees than had it been left in the hive.
In this case a large apiary near at hand was saved from infection
by the fortunate visit of the inspector.
Bees weakened by disease are very likely to die in winter.
In such cases the old combs should in no case be used again, but
the wax should be rendered and the hive carefully disinfected
before being put in service. Colonies thus weakened are also
very likely to fall an easy prey to the wax moth, and it fre
quently happens that colonies which are charged to the ravages
of the moth are really victims of foul brood. It is frequently
recommended that honey from diseased colonies be boiled and
fed back again to the bees. While this may be safe if carefully
done, it is much safer to feed sugar syrup if it becomes necessary
212 DISEASES AND ENEMIES OF BEES
to feed anything. It is regarded as unsafe to feed the honey from
hives infected with this disease, as high temperature for con-
siderable length of time is necessary to insure death of all spores.
In the hands of a novice it frequently happens that the boiling is
not sufficiently thorough and healthy ‘bees are thus infected.
Treatment of American Foul Brood.—This disease is rather
slow in its progress, but very sure, and once a colony becomes
infected its final death is certain, unless the bees are removed
to a clean hive and the infected brood destroyed. In the hands of
the average bee-keeper the shaking treatment, commonly ealled
the McEvoy treatment, is best. McEvoy, who was for a time
inspector for Ontario, was very successful in treating foul brood
and he it was who probably first brought successful methods of
treatment prominently before the public. However, the essen-
tials of this method were described in Europe many years before
the birth of McEvoy, and Quinby had also long made use of shak-
ing for the cure of foul brood in this country.
The first essential is to remove the bees entirely from the
source of the disease, and they should accordingly be placed in
a clean hive on the old stand and the old combs, brood, and honey
all removed. McEvoy allowed them to build new combs for
four days, thus insuring that all honey carried with them would
-be used, and then again shook them into another clean hive and
destroyed the combs that they had built in the meantime. The
second shaking is not always necessary. By using good judg-
ment the bee-keeper can usually tell when conditions are such
that a second shaking will be necessary.
The instructions given from the office of the Iowa Inspector
are as follows:
In the evening after the bees have stopped flying, brush or shake all
the bees into a clean hive containing foundation starters. Bury or burn
the old combs at once, not the next day. Take great care that no honey,
not even the smallest drop, be exposed to the bees, or the disease may be
carried back or exposed to healthy colonies.
This is essentially the instruction given for years past by
various State officials charged with enforcement of foul brood
Ao WN fe eee or ee]
TREATMENT OF AMERICAN FOUL BROOD co. Bis
laws. It is repeated here simply to show that the essentials
can be stated in a few words.
Modification of Method.—If the bee-keeper does not give the
second shaking at the end of four days he should watch very
carefully to see that the disease does not again appear. There are
a number of modifications of this method of treatment, each of
which has advantages apparent to those who follow it. Thomas
Chantry inserts a dry extracting comb in the center of the hive
on which the bees are shaken and about twenty-four hours later
very carefully removes this comb. In the meantime the bees will
have used the empty comb to deposit the honey that they may
have carried with them. This is much: to be preferred to the
second shaking as it saves a heavy loss in wax secretion and conse-
quent tax on the bees which are badly used at best. Edward G.
Brown, of Iowa, who is a large honey producer, has used this
method successfully for a number of years and recommends it
as very satisfactory if carefully done.
D. E. Lhommedieu, another Iowa bee-keeper of long experi-
ence, shakes the bees into a clean hive and leaves them for four
‘days or until he is sure that all old honey carried with them has
been consumed. He then takes combs of brood and honey from
healthy colonies and places them in a clean hive and puts this
on the stand where the diseased colony has been. Feeling that
the bees have rid themselves of the infection, he proceeds to shake
the bees into the new hive containing the brood and they are thus
saved the heavy tax of building up from the beginning.
The object is to rid the bees of every trace of the diseased
honey before the new brood appears in the hive and any method
that will accomplish this result is likely to succeed.
When a number of colonies are to be shaken, it is well to
replace the frames of brood in the old hives and to pile one above
another on top of some diseased colony which may be reserved
for treatment for a few days, until the healthy brood is hatched,
and thus save what healthy brood there is in all the hives. This
plan has been carried out very successfully in some apiaries.
214 DISEASES AND ENEMIES OF BEES
One of the best methods of treatment is to remove the queen
very carefully, disturbing the bees as little as possible. The hive
should then be tightly closed with the exception of a bee escape,
which will permit the bees to go out but give none a chance to
return. Take a frame of healthy brood from some other colony
and place in a clean hive. Fill the remainder of the hive with
full sheets of foundation or empty combs and place it where the
colony has stood. The queen may then be placed on the frame of
brood and the new hive left with the entrance somewhat smaller
than usual. Turn the hive containing the diseased colony around
so that the escape will be near the entrance of the new hive. The
bees leaving the hive go to the fields with their honey sacs empty
and returning enter the clean hive. As fast as the brood hatches
in the old hive the bees will leave only to find no way of return
and enter the clean hive in which the old queen is at work as
usual. This method has the advantage of saving the colony
without loss pf brood or checking the laying of the queen. If
properly done this is perhaps the best method of dealing with
American foul brood. Some bee-keepers advocate setting the
diseased colony on top of the clean hive with’ the bee-escape board
underneath and the old queen left in the brood chamber. By
this method the bees will rear a young queen from the brood in
the frame given them in the clean hive while the old queen con-
tinues to lay in the diseased chamber above until she is finally.
deserted by the workers.
Late-Season Cases.—When a case of foul brood ig found ~
in fall after the honey flow is over, it is seldom advisable to
attempt to winter the colony. In general it may be said that
treatment is not likely to be successful, excepting when there is
some honey coming from the fields or will be later in the season.
If cases are treated ahead of the honey flow, the lack of a flow
can be met by heavy feeding to stimulate the building of combs.
If the bees get well started in this way they will recover nicely
during the honey flow that follows later on. After the flow is
over in the fall it would cost more than they are worth to feed
EUROPEAN FOUL BROOD 215
a sufficient amount of stores to build them up ready for winter.
_ To winter a colony with the idea of treating in the spring will
require in the neighborhood of twenty-five pounds of honey, and
there is always the danger that they may die during the winter
or early spring. In this case there is not only the total loss of
the bees and the honey that they have consumed, but the added
danger that bees from other colonies may get at the stores and
rob them out on some warm day before the hives have been
looked after, and the disease be further spread. If the colony
is strong enough to have a fair chance of wintering it is possible
to save honey and wax to the value of from two to four dollars,
and this is more than a diseased colony is worth at this season of
the year. The hive may be saved and prepared for use again by
proper disinfection.
Late in the evening after the bees have stopped flying, the
entrance should be tightly closed to prevent the escape of any
bees. The hive should then be removed to some tight building or
cellar and the bees killed with sulphur. All honey fit’ for use
can be removed, but care should be taken that not a drop ever
gets back to live bees. ‘The combs can be melted up and the
wax saved. Honey not fit for the table can be made into vinegar.
The hive, including both top and bottom, should be thoroughly
Hiaiifacted before waing again, and if the frames are to be used
again they should be boiled. Any honey that is fed to bees
should be diluted with water and boiled for half an hour or until
the scum is thoroughly cooked.
Disinfecting.—For disinfecting hive parts a painter’ s torch
is very good. Some paint the inside of the hives with kerosene
and then pile one above another and set fire to them and smother
the fire as soon as the interior is scorched.
EUROPEAN FOUL BROOD
The cause of European foul brood is supposed to be Bacillus
pluton, a microorganism similar to those responsible for such
diseases as diphtheria, typhoid fever, ete., in human beings.
216 DISEASES AND ENEMIES OF BEES
Authorities are not agreed as to the method of spread of this
disease. That it is not spread altogether in the honey as is
American foul brood is evidenced by the fact that strong colonies
with vigorous young Italian queens frequently clean out the
infection and that it does not reappear in the hive. In the case
of a colony affected with American foul brood the final death of
the colony seems assured unless the last trace of the diseased
brood and honey is removed. While some authorities still insist
that the only safe method of treating European foul brood is the
Fig: 104.—Thirteen colonies left of one hundred five as the result of European foul
brood for eight months.
shaking treatment similar to that used for American foul brood,
many very successful bee-keepers insist that the destruction of
the combs and honey is not necessary with this disease.
One striking peculiarity of this disease soon becomes appar-
ent to an inspector; when it appears in a malignant form it is
usually to be found in every colony in a yard within a short
period of time. While American foul brood may be present
in a yard for months without spreading, European foul brood
frequently, though not always, spreads very rapidly and appears
in all colonies very quickly. Cases have come under the writer’s
observation, where no disease had been present in a locality,
European foul brood suddenly appeared in nearly every colony
RE Le PRE Ome
APPEARAN CE OF AFFECTED LARV 217
of several large apiaries situated near together. At times it
seems very mild and will even disappear of itself. At other
times large numbers of bees will die in a very short period of
time. The illustration (Fig. 104) shows a case where but thir-
teen colonies remained of one hundred and five in eight months.
The disease was not known to be present until two weeks after
the bees were taken from the cellar in spring, only about six
weeks before the picture was taken. As the winter loss was
unusually heavy it is presumed that the disease was present when
the bees went into winter quarters.
American and European foul brood, it would seem, can be
compared to smallpox and :typhoid fever in the human race.
American foul brood, like typhoid fever, requires a common
source of infection, in the case of the bee disease the honey,
in the case of the human ailment milk, water, etc. European
foul brood seems to spread among bees as readily as malignant
smallpox among the human race, actual contact apparently not
being necessary to the spread of either. However, until recently
little was known about European foul brood and it is entirely
probable that later discoveries will add much to our knowledge of
the disease.
Appearance of Affected Larve.—European foul brood
attaeks the larve at a much earlier stage than does American
foul brood and but a small part of the diseased brood is ever
capped (Fig. 105). In bad cases large numbers of the larvee
will be found to be dead and misshapen while still white as
shown in the plate. Later they turn yellow and finally quite
dark in color. There is seldom any apparent ropiness in the
dead tissue as in the case of the other form of foul brood. Sel-
dom is there a noticeable odor such as is so apparent in advanced
stages of the American type of the disease. Queen and drone
larve are usually attacked early. This is one of the common
tests in early stages for determining which disease be present.
The disease is usually more destructive in spring and early
summer.
218
DISEASES AND ENEMIES
OF BEES
Fie. 105.—Appearance of larve affected by European foul brood.
ALEXANDER’S PLAN 219
Detection by Odor.—In some localities European foul brood
is said to be attended with a decided odor, although unlike that
of American foul brood, being more like that of decayed fish,
according to Morley Petit, of Ontario.
Resistant Bees.—F or some reason Italian bees seem to be
much more resistant of this disease than the hybrids or blacks,
and the best insurance against this malady is to re-queen all
colonies with vigorous Italians. Some strains seem much more
immune than others, so that it is desirable to secure a strain
that, has demonstrated its disease resistance.
Treatment.—Dr. Phillips of the U. S. Department of Agri-
culture strongly recommends the shaking*treatment for this dis-
ease the same as for American foul brood. However, there is
a growing sentiment among bee-keepers in favor of what is com-
monly known as the Alexander plan. The essential element of
this plan is the saving of the combs instead of melting them up
as in the case of the other disease. There are many modifications
of the plan as proposed by the originator.
Alexander’s Plan.—To begin with, the queen is removed
from the diseased colony in order to check brood rearing. The
bees being relieved of nursing young brood, turn their attention
to cleaning out infected matter from the hive with the result
that given a new queen a few days later they often remain free
from the disease. Mr. Alexander believed it to be necessary
for twenty-one days to elapse from the time the old queen was
removed before the new queen began to lay. Of late many bee-
keepers have found that under favorable conditions a much
shorter time is sufficient. In order to be successful with this
method several things must be borne in mind. First the new
queen must be a vigorous young Italian. Then the colony must
be very strong and the treatment must be given in early stages
of the disease. If the combs are fairly rotten with decaying
larvee it is too much to expect that the bees will clean them up
again. Hybrids or black bees are seldom, if ever, able to rid
220 DISEASES AND ENEMIES OF BEES
themselves of the disease in this manner. Dr. ©. C. Miller, one
of the best known authorities, is quoted as follows:
I know there are those for whom I have great respect who have bitterly
denounced the practice of trying to save the combs in treating European
foul brood. In my first dealing with the disease I melted hundreds of
brood combs. If I am forgiven I will never do it again. Please be sure to
note that I am talking about European, not American, foul brood. The
loss of the combs is not all there is of it. Indeed, I think that is the
smallest part. The greater loss is from the set-back in the work of brood
rearing. It seems to knock things endwise for weeks, if not for the season.
Far less is the interference when egg laying is suspended for eight or ten
days.
I think I hear someone say, “But your treatment does not seem
effective for you keep on having the disease, while with the orthodox method
and the combs destroyed there’s the end of it.” Pardon me, that may be
true with regard to American but not with European foul brood. I treated
the disease after the most orthodox fashion, destroying, as I have said,
hundreds of combs, and so far as I could see, the disease was just as willing
to return as with the drastic treatment. I think I’d rather keep brood
and combs.
With reference to the Alexander plan of treating this disease
as practised by Dr. Miller and others, it is well to repeat what
has already been said, that-no method has ever been found for
eliminating American foul brood without destroying the combs.
This method applies only to European foul brood and sacbrood,
a mild disease described later on.
European foul brood was long known as black brood and first -
appeared in the East. It was known in New York for a number
of years before it made an appearance in the Central West.
While there are still many localities where it is not present it
has spread into practically all parts of the country.
Sources of Infection—The spread of American foul brood
-in the neighborhood of the diseased colonies is usually by means
of robber bees which visit those which, because of their weak-
ened condition, are no longer able to defend their stores, and
disease is thus rapidly spread. Every bee-keeper should guard
against the robbing of weak colonies. In case a colony dies from
disease the hive should be at once removed, the contents
destroyed, and the hive and fixtures thoroughly disinfected.
MINOR TROUBLES 221
Another source of the disease is the use of second-hand honey
containers. A large part of the western honey goes to market
in sixty-pound cans. These cans when empty are sold at a very
low price and many bee-keepers are tempted to make use of
them. Honey placed in these containers is sometimes later fed
to the bees, or while being refilled they have often been visited by
the bees, with the result that foul brood has been carried to the
apiary, often in a minute drop of honey.
Bee-keepers have sometimes brought the disease home by
the use of purchased honey for feeding in time of short supply
of stores. The writer has been surprised at the extent of the
‘complaint of the spread of disease from these two causes. There
is so little to be saved by the use of a second-hand container that
bee-keepers can hardly afford to take the risk. In case it becomes
necessary to feed the bees, good sugar syrup should always be
used unless the honey is eee to be from apiaries that are free
from disease.
The use of hives, frames, ete., in which bees have died is not
safe unless they have been disinfected. While disease sometimes
appears from some unaccountable source, the bee-keeper should
take every possible precaution to avoid its spread.
The presence of foul brood in an apiary is a serious matter
to the owner and cannot but result in serious loss. Frequent
reports come to the writer of the loss of entire apiaries, some-
times of many colonies, from foul brood.
MINOR TROUBLES
Sacbrood has long been known by the name of pickled brood.
The name sacbrood is, however, much more appropriate because
the dead larvee do not melt down as they do in foul brood, but
rather retain the full size, the body wall retaining the contents
in the form of a sac. This disease is seldom serious in nature
although it is mildly infectious and may be spread from one
colony to another. As a rule no attention need be paid to it,
as it usually disappears with the coming of a good honey flow.
222 DISEASES AND ENEMIES OF BEES
If the queen at the head of the diseased colony be old or failing
it is well to re-queen with vigorous young stock. Some recom-
mend treatment for this disease as with foul brood, but that is
seldom, if ever, necessary. In bad cases where the colony is
weak the queen should be replaced and the colony strengthened
by the addition of frames of emerging brood.
Symptoms of Sacbrood.—This disease somewhat resembles
European foul brood and is frequently confused with that dis-
ease. Inspectors have in several instances been called long dis-
tances to deal with European foul brood, only to find after a
few days’ delay that the disease was sacbrood and had nearly
disappeared of itself. The dead larvee are found to be extended
the full length in the cell with the sharp pointed end slightly
turned upward. The dead tissue soon assumes a dark color and
there is little or no odor to the combs.
Chilled or Starved Brood.—The young bees die from several
other causes than any of the three diseases mentioned. It fre-
quently happens in early spring that the brood nest expands rap-
idly during the first warm days, with the result that a sudden
drop in the temperature makes it impossible for the bees to
warm all the brood and a portion becomes chilled. The supply
of honey or pollen is also at times exhausted when unfavorable —
weather conditions make it impossible for the bees to gather
stores for a considerable period and much brood is lost from
starvation.
When bees are being moved without sufficient ventilation
the brood is sometimes lost from overheating. All of these causes
are occasionally responsible for the supposition that foul brood
is present when, in fact, it is not.
Poisoning.—The growth of the commercial fruit industry
has developed a new difficulty,—poisoning the bees. It fre-
quently happens that some overzealous fruit grower, blind to his
own best interest, sprays his fruit trees while in full bloom.
This not only injures the chances of getting a full crop of
DYSENTERY 223
_ fruit, by washing off the pollen at a critical period, but results
in the destruction of the honey-bees whose presence just at this
time is very essential to his success. So serious had this con-
dition become in some localities that laws have been passed to
prevent the spraying of fruit trees during the period of full
bloom. It would seem that any man who is sufficiently progres-
_ sive to spray his trees would realize the fact that he can get
better results in spraying immediately after the petals fall.
Dysentery is usually caused by too long confinement or poor
stores. Under normal conditions the worker-bee voids her excre-
ment only when on the wing. When long periods of time elapse
during which they are unable to fly and thus relieve themselves
of the accumulated waste in the intestines, they are sometimes
compelled to discharge within the hive. When this condition is
reached they soon die, unless a change in the weather permits
them to get out and to clean up. Under such circumstances the
combs are badly soiled and the bees die amidst the filth.
Honey-dew or other poor stores is quite likely to cause this
trouble. It is an important matter to see that the hives are
supplied with honey of the best quality for wintering, especially
in the North where the bees are confined for weeks or months
without flight.. (See Chapter XIII.)
Weak colonies are more susceptible to dysentery than strong
colonies, for the reason that a.greater amount of food will neces-
_ sarily be consumed in order to keep up the heat, and the waste
is consequently greater.
Prevention.—F rom the above it will be seen that-dysentery
is generally a winter disorder and that proper wintering insures
freedom from the trouble. While strong colonies, with good
stores and proper protection, seldom are seriously troubled, still
even they may have trouble under unfavorable conditions, or
during very long confinement.
Remedy.—About the only remedy is a good flight on a warm
day. If the bees are beginning to show signs of this trouble in
the cellar in winter, and a warm day comes which will permit
224 DISEASES AND ENEMIES OF BEES
a safe flight, it will pay the bee-keeper to set them out and to put
them back again at night after they have returned to the hive.
Mice.—The mice sometimes enter the hives in winter, either
in cellars or out-door wintered colonies. The author once saw
a hive where the little rodents had gnawed through an old
bottom board and really had destroyed the colony by eating the
combs and disturbing the bees during their winter rest. Both
the white-footed wood mice and the common house mice are
likely to cause such mischief. Mice and rats are also very
destructive in the honey house by destroying surplus combs,
sections, etc., and it is well, if possible, to make the honey house
mouse proof.
Skunks.—The normal and preferred food of the skunk is
insects and mice. It is then to be expected that bees will suffer
where skunks are common. They sometimes learn to scratch
at the entrance of the hive and to catch the bees as they rush out.
Skunks are also fond of honey, as the writer has found by
feeding it to these animals in confinement. However, they are
‘unable to get at the honey in the hive and the only injury from
these animals is to the bees. ;
Skunks are of considerable value in keeping down the num-
ber of rodents and such insect pests as grasshoppers and crickets,
and where they are not too abundant should be encouraged. It
is frequently wiser to protect the bees and poultry from the
animals and leave them free to war on rats and mice than to
destroy the skunks and have to fight the other pests. It is less.
trouble to guard against the skunks. In localities where they
become over-abundant, it may sometimes be advisable to destroy
them (Fig. 106).
Dragon flies, mosquito hawks, snake feeders, or devil’s darn-
ing needles, all of which are common names for the same insects,
are sometimes mentioned as enemies of bees. The trouble seems
to be limited to restricted localities, and while there are sometimes
instances where individual bee-keepers suffer considerable annoy-
ance from these insects, especially from the loss of young queens
THE WAX MOTH 225
which are caught on their mating flights, the insects cannot be
said to be generally injurius.
The robber fly is a large insect that flies with a loud buzz.
It is a rapacious fellow, seeking those it may devour. Butter-
flies, bees, grasshoppers, and even wasps and beetles fall victims
- to its voracious appetite. It is seldom sufficiently abundant to
- cause appreciable injury in the bee yard and may be regarded,
on the whole, as a useful insect (Fig. 107). —
Fic. 106.—The natural and preferred food of the skunk is insects. The honey-bee is a
tempting delicacy to the skunk palate.
Spiders also sometimes weave their webs in situations where
the heavily laden bees fall into them and are lost. Large webs
in the immediate vicinity of the hive should not be tolerated,
but aside from that little is to be feared from spiders.
THE WAX MOTH
The larger wax moth (Galleria melonella) is very widely
distributed and among indifferent bee-keepers is a serious pest.
It is present in nearly all portions of Europe and North America
where bees are kept, excepting the high altitudes of Colorado
15
226 DISEASES AND ENEMIES OF BEES
and other western States. In the vicinity of Denver it has
several times been introduced, only to disappear within a short
time, apparently being unable to live in the high and dry
atmosphere of that region. It is more destructive in the warmer
parts of the country than in the northern sections where the
season.is not so long.
The adult is an inconspicuous little moth of grayish color,
quick to take flight on the opening of the hive (Fig. 102). They
remain secluded during the day unless disturbed, but are appar-
ently very active after
nightfall. The eggs are
laid in crevices in or
about the hive where the
larvee can readily find
their way to the combs.
The insect is very pro-
lifie and once a weak
colony becomes infested
the total destruction of
the combs may be com-
pleted in but a short
period of time.
Concerning the laying, Paddock? says:
Fig. 107.—The robber fly. (After Washburn.)
In the cages where empty comb was supplied, the eggs were always
laid in cavities and if possible in such cavities as were well protected. Only
one egg is deposited at a time, though in working over a small piece of
comb the eggs may be placed close together, apparently in masses. The
eggs are always securely glued to their resting place; usually the shell
will break before the egg is loosened. The number of eggs deposited by
one female has not been ascertained but moths which had not deposited
’ eggs were killed and the eggs in their ovaries counted. The average num- |
ber of eggs counted was 1014. The time consumed in laying the full quota
of eggs varies with the generation, averaging nine days in the first and
seven days in the second.
When first hatched the larve are white and very small. They
burrow into the combs at once. The larval period is spent in
* Observations on the Bee Moth, Journal of Economic Entomology, vol.
vii, No. 2.
eee 1 boa aa eae
THE REMEDY 227
tunnelling through the combs along the midrib. The pollen
stored in the cells, as well as the wax of which the combs are
constructed, seems to furnish them with food. The tunnels are
lined with silk similar to that of which the cocoons are composed.
It is not long until the combs are but a mass of webs and refuse
(Fig. 103). The length of this stage varies from thirty-five days
in the second brood to forty-five days with the first brood accord-
ing to the author above quoted.
The cocoons are spun in masses under the cover, behind the
ends of the frames or in any other situation seeming to offer
protection, but usually within the hive where the larval period
has been spent. About two weeks are required to complete this
stage, after which the adult moths will appear.
In the extreme South it is probable that breeding continues
throughout the year with little interruption. In the North only
such individuals as are fortunate enough to select a place free
from extreme cold will survive. Those remaining in hives in
the open air in which the bees have perished will likewise die
- before spring, as they cannot endure severe freezing. There are
always a few tucked away snugly in the hives near the clusters
of bees, which are kept sufficiently warm to insure their safety.
These will shortly populate a large area with their offspring
when warm weather comes. They are also able to pass the winter
in empty hives that are carried into the cellar or other place
where the temperature does not drop much below freezing.
The Remedy.—The wax moth may be regarded as a symp-
tom that something is wrong, for a normal colony of bees will
usually defend themselves against this pest without difficulty.
Italians, however, are better able to contend with it than the
common strains. The blacks are especially liable to succumb
to an attack of moths. Usually it is the weak and queenless
colonies that fall victims to its ravages.
Three adult moths may be seen on the comb in Fig. 102.
The larvee are repulsive caterpillars and reach an inch or more
in length. Fig. 103 shows the work of these insects in a little
228 DISEASES AND ENEMIES OF BEES
more advanced stage. If left undisturbed such a comb would
very shortly be entirely destroyed.
Amateur bee-keepers frequently complain that the moth is
destroying their bees and inquire what to do for it. The answer
is: Keep your colonies strong and replace old and failing queens
with vigorous young Italians. Colonies that have become weak-
ened by disease fall an easy prey to the moths. ©
Experienced bee-keepers are seldom heard to complain of
this trouble, for they have long ago learned that constant vigi-
lance is the price of success, in the apiary as elsewhere. The
bee-keeper who does not examine the brood nest of his colonies
occasionally has no means of knowing the condition of his bees.
Frequent examination will enable him to detect and avoid the
conditions that provide favorable surroundings for the moths.
Care of Empty Combs.—The moths are a source of annoy-
ance to the bee-keeper who has large numbers of empty combs
during a part of the year. During the warm months there is no
better place to store empty combs than over a strong colony of
Italian bees. After the season is over and cold nights come they
may be placed in any cold place safely, for freezing will effec-
tively check the work of these insects. It is well to have a tight
‘compartment where no adult moths can get in so that they will
be safe after warm weather comes again. There is always danger
in putting away empty combs in warm weather, that eggs may be
present and that the combs may be destroyed before the presence
of the insects is discovered.
When combs either empty or containing honey are found to”
be infested with moths they should be cared for without delay
- as the insects develop very rapidly.
If only a few combs be injured they may ke placed in strong
colonies and the bees will clean them up quickly and effectively,
throwing the dead larve at the entrance of the hive within a few
hours. If there isa large number of combs it is well to place
them in a tight room and fumigate them. This may be done
by putting a quantity of sulfur in a dish, first pouring alcohol
a4
THE BUSINESS OF AN INSPECTOR 229
over it so that it will burn readily, and setting it on fire. Care
should be taken to place the receptacle containing the burning
sulphur in a safe place on a large stone or metal, or in a larger
tub or pan containing water. The building should be closed
very tight to prevent the escape of the fumes. The combs should
be separated to insure the fumes reaching all parts. Sometimes
a second or even a third fumigation will be necessary to insure
the destruction of all of the caterpillars in bad cases.
Bisulfide of carbon may be used to accomplish a similar
result, but great care is necessary as it is highly explosive and
dangerous. In the use of this drug the combs are placed in a
tight closet or box and a quantity of the liquid placed in an open
dish above them. It evaporates rapidly and the heavy fumes
settle over the combs, thus effectively killing the moths. No
fire or light should be allowed about when this liquid is being
used. :
LESSER WAX MOTH
There is a very small moth whose larva sometimes becomes
troublesome in comb honey. It is not nearly so destructive as the
larger species and its work is seldom noticed excepting in the
comb honey. It frequently appears in honey that has been a
considerable time in the market and greatly injures the appear-
ance by spreading its webs over the cappings and making its
small burrows into the wax, thus causing leakage, waste, and
a bad appearance. The remedy is fumigation.
THE BUSINESS OF AN INSPECTOR
More than half of the States and several Canadian provinces
now have inspectors with police powers for the purpose of con-
trolling bee diseases. But a few years will elapse until every
State and province where bee-keeping is an important industry
will make such provision. Where the work is thoroughly done
a number of men are required to cover the field, so that the
inspection work is growing in importance and in opportunity.
230 DISEASES AND ENEMIES OF BEES
With the appearance of bee disease it was very natural for
the bee-keepers to look for assistance from the State. Alone the
bee-keeper is helpless against intection from uncared for apiar-
ies. He may be ever so careful and efficient, but without pro-
tection from unnecessary contagion he must carry on the fight
against disease for a long period of time, move his apiary, or go
out of business. Since bee-keeping is being developed as a
specialty on which many have come to depend for a livelihood,
it is imperative that legal protection be extended.
The sole thought in the beginning was to provide for the
examination of all bees and to compel proper treatment or de-
struction of those found to be diseased. The inspector was given
no choice but to examine all the bees in the localities to which
he was called. At the same time funds sufficient to examine but
a small part of the bees in any State were provided.
Of late the tendency has been to depend more and more upon
proper instruction. Until much larger appropriations are avail-
able it will not be possible to reach a large percentage of the
bees in any State. If the bee-keeper is an intelligent man, an —
hour or two of the inspector’s time is all that he will require.
If upon examination one or more colonies are found to be dis-
eased, the inspector will be able to point out the characteristics — d
of the particular disorder and to give proper instructions for its
treatment. The bee-keeper will then be able to recognize the
trouble when he finds it in other colonies and to deal with it
promptly. It would hardly seem to be the province of the State
to examine every colony and give the necessary treatment. If
such a plan is followed a week will often be necessary to deal
with a single large apiary.
Where the owner is careless or indifferent it will become —
necessary for the inspector to be very thorough. in his examina-
tion and to insist on proper attention to diseased colonies. Police
power is necessary because of the fact that many persons who
keep bees are so ignorant of their care in either health or disease
that they cannot be convinced of the necessity or value of proper _
REQUIREMENTS FOR SUCCESSFUL INSPECTORS 231
attention. In such cases the bees will be left to menace the
surrounding apiaries until such time as they shall finally suc-
cumb to the disease.
Requirements for Successful Inspectors.—No man should
be intrusted with police powers who does not have proper regard
_ for the rights and feelings of those with whom he is required to
deal. He should be able to meet a trying situation and to
reason with those who are disposed to resent his visit. For-
tunately most bee-keepers are coming to be very anxious to learn
of the presence of disease on its first appearance in their apiaries
and will communicate with the inspector at the first suspicious ~
sign. In such cases the inspector will be welcomed and infor-
mation will be gratefully received. However, when disease is
found it becomes necessary to examine other nearby apiaries
to ascertain to what extent the disease has been spread. Many
of the bees will be found in boxes, kegs, or hives where the combs
are built crosswise for lack of foundation. The conditions are
such as try the patience of a mild-tempered man, and to ascer-
tain the condition of the colony and leave the owner in good
temper requires the exercise of much skill and diplomacy.
If the inspector is able to give the owner of such bees en-
courageément and advice about proper care of bees without
offence, his visit has been of value aside from the possible check
of the spread of disease. The time bids fair to come very
shortly when the inspector’s field shall be broadened until his
duty will be to instruct in the general management of the apiary
as much as to find disease. The great difficulty with present laws
lies in the fact that no man who is not a well-informed bee-
keeper is competent to deal with disease. The inspector’s in-
structions regarding disease will be imperfectly understood by
the box hive bee-keeper, nine times out of ten, and if he under-
takes to treat his colonies himself he will destroy them or scatter
the disease instead of checking it. It thus becomes necessary
for the inspector to personally supervise the treatment or destroy
the diseased colony. A diseased colony in anything but a modern
232 DISEASES AND ENEMIES OF BEES
equipped hive is worthless, as it will cost more to transfer the —
bees, as a rule, than a diseased colony is worth.
The man who is fully informed concerning up-to-date
methods of bee-keeping will be able to handle disease in his
own apiary if he can be protected from further infection. The
problem then becomes one of making every man who keeps bees
an up-to-date bee-man. In localities where disease gets well
established it will be impossible to eradicate it entirely until
every bee-keeper becomes expert. Disease has the effect of
making expert bee-keepers anyway, for those who do not become
proficient are likely to lose all their bees within a short time.
The bee inspector is usually regarded as the official repre-
sentative of the industry and should be able to represent it
creditably under any circumstances. It is not enough to be
informed concerning detection and treatment of disease, but
he must be able to deal with problems relating to any branch
of bee-keeping. Bee-keepers whom he visits will give him their
hardest problems to solve and people in other walks of life will
turn to him with any question relating to the business. He will —
be called upon to give expert testimony in case of litigation in-
volving bee-keepers and to settle various disputes between per-
sons where the rights of one or the other are in question.
Opportunity.—The various State agricultural colleges are
rapidly taking up bee culture, and it bids fair to take its legiti-
mate place in the college curriculum. Within a few years the
inspection work, instead of being under direction of a separate
State department, as now in many States, will be organized in
connection with extension work in bee-keeping. As the business
‘of bee-keeping is taking on new life the demand for properly
equipped men will probably exceed the supply for several years
tocome. That this condition has not developed sooner is because
the bee-keepers have been slow to recognize the great advantage
that would come to the industry as a result and to demand the
same recognition given other lines of agricultural activity. A
few who have not caught the spirit of the times are loud in their
‘
a
re:
ae
“4
-
they find little time or inclination to bother with the selling
end of the business. If the codperative association is in the
hands of competent managers the honey goes to the best markets
and the large volume of business transacted cuts the cost of
handling down to the lowest possible figure.
The Colorado Honey Producers’ Association is one of the
most successful of these codperative associations. The individ-
ual member packs and marks his honey according to the associa-
tion rules and ships it to the Denver headquarters. If he has
a sufficient quantity to ship it out in carlots the manager of the
association or someone for him inspects the honey to see that
it is properly graded and it is shipped to market directly from
the apiary. The bee-keeper gets the full amount of cash resulting
Warranted Pure» (Z
eecece @)
( Produced in the apiaries of our members and put up under the supervision “7
”
{
. and guarantee of the Association
THE COLORADO HONEY PRODUCERS’ ASS'N :: Denver
NOTICE » All PURE Honey will granulate. If the contents of this can should be
* granulated, put can into hot water, not much hotter than vou can
7é. bear your hand in, until honey is liquid. Never let it boil; boiling spoils the flavor of honey; _- ,
Lm ABS. NN
Fig. 123.—Honey label.
Reve ofeehe fe she ofe ofe nh ofr fe nf age oe nf she ofa fe she of oe she ob oe hea of ahr ofe
Guaranteed by WESTERN HONEY PRODUCERS, Sioux City, lowa, under
the food and drug act of June 30, 1906. Registered under Serial No. 37384.
thesfentestestentectestentectestentente stentectestentestectertectectestentente ote
PURE HONEY
Principally trom CLOVER- Blossoms
2% Pounds Net Weight
x
Seofestesfeofe
The contents of this package may candy or granulate. To restore it to
its liquid form, set the package in warm water. Do not let
it boil or the flavor of the flower will be lost.
WESTERN HONEY PRODUCERS
. SIOUX CITY, IOWA
THOMAS CHANTRY, President EDWARD G. BROWN, Secretary
W. P. SOUTHWORTH, Manager
ere Te ee ee ee ee ee eT
Fia. 124.—Honey label.
Mrbrobeederdeabeteetenteoteetentententeate
nn cae es
ADVERTISING METHODS 267
from the sale, less commission and expenses, in a few days, so
that as far as he is individually concerned it is a cash transac-
tion. Where the producer must seek distant markets this plan
offers the maximum of return possible with a minimum of
trouble. It is the association, instead of the individual, that
looks after such details as correspondence, collections, ship-
ments, ete.
Under this plan great care is used to have all grades of both
< PURE HONEY :
PUT UP AND GUARANTEED BY
WESTERN HONEY PRODUCERS
SIOUX CITY, IA.
Fia, 125.—Honey label.
comb and extracted honey of uniform quality and the associa-
tion brand soon comes to be known in the markets. Figure 122
shows the trade mark or brand adopted by the Colorado Honey
Producers’ Association. Figure 123 shows their label for large
packages. (See also Figs. 124 and 125.)
ADVERTISING METHODS
In the development of special or retail markets suitable
advertising is of the greatest value. This subject can well be
considered from two angles, that of general advertising which
has for its object to increase the consumption of honey, and
268 MARKETING THE HONEY CROP
advertising the product of a particular apiary for the purpose
of establishing a direct-to-consumer trade..
Methods of General Advertising.—There is not a great deal
that the individual bee-keeper can do in the way of general
advertising, because the expense is prohibitive. Dr. Bonney’s
little red stickers (Fig. 127) are as good as anything yet
proposed. ‘These little stickers are printed and offered for sale
by several enterprising firms at thirty-five cents per thousand
and their use has become
general among the bee-
Coldentleart
keepers almost in a day.
Thousands of them are
WARRANTED PURE
FROM THE APIARY OF
pasted on envelopes con-
taining outgoing mail,
BERT A.BROWN,
Des Moines,
and in all kinds of places
lowa.
where they are likely to
attract the attention of
the public. One of these
little stickers attached to
a letter will attract the
notice of several carriers
and clerks in the postal
service before finally
being delivered to the
person to whom it is
addressed. Dr. Bonney has found some new customers among
the mail clerks who have been attracted to the return card of
“ Bonney Honey, Buck Grove, Iowa,” on the envelopes he uses
in his correspondence. He also uses a sign at his apiary as
shown in Fig. 128.
The Iowa Bee-keeper’s Association has adopted rather a
novel plan of general advertising at the holiday season.