ALBERT R. MANN
LIBRARY

New YorK STATE COLLEGES
OF
AGRICULTURE AND HOME ECONOMICS

AT

CORNELL UNIVERSITY

EVERETT FRANKLIN PHILLIPS

BEEKEEPING LIBRARY

Butietin No. 70.

Gest of Scotland Agricultural College.

Practical Advice to Beginners in
Bee-keeping.

BY

JOSEPH TINSLEY, B.B.K.A. (Ist Class).

Lecturer on Bee-keeping.

GLASGOW, 1916.
w

Cornell University

Library

The original of this book is in
the Cornell University Library.

There are no known copyright restrictions in
the United States on the use of the text.

http :/Awww.archive.org/details/cu31924003258443

ADVICE TO BEGINNERS IN BEE-KEEPING.

Bee-keeping is one of the most profitable of the minor rural
-industries. It is specially suitable for cotters, crofters, and
small-holders, and while it cannot rank as one of the main
sources of income on the average farm, yet it can be made one
of the most remunerative side lines. To the horticulturist and
market gardener it should make a special appeal. Further, it
is an occupation which, from its nature, is particularly well-
adapted for ladies. The initial capital required is small, the
returns are quick, while the time and labour spent in operating
a few colonies is amply repaid by the pleasure and profit to be
derived from this fascinating pursuit.

From the national point of view, the industry deserves every
encouragement. Honey, to the value of £46,921, was imported
into Great Britain during the months of June, July, and
August, 1915. This foreign honey is decidedly inferior to
Scottish honey. The production of honey in Scotland is not
equal to the demand, yet many hundred tons of nectar are
annually lost, owing to insufficient colonies of bees. The money
spent abroad could easily be retained at home.

Naturau History.

A colony of bees in the summer consists of the following
associated members :—the queen, the workers, and the drones.

Queen.

The queen, or mother, is the only perfectly developed female
in the hive. She is a little longer in the body, and her move-
ments are slow. She has a curved sting, which is used as an
ovipositor. Her chief function. is to deposit eggs, from which

76

emerge the other occupants of the hive—workers and drones.
A good queen in the summer will lay from two to three thousand
eggs per day. She will live from 3 to 5 years, but it is found
that a queen in her second year has attained her maximum
power of egg-production. To secure the best results from a
colony of bees, it is therefore essential that a young queen
should always be at the head of the colony. For example, a
queen reared in July, 1915, is at her best during 1916. The
queen deposits eggs of two kinds, those which give rise to
workers and those which give rise to drones. Worker eggs are
laid in worker cells, and under ordinary treatment produce
worker bees, but under special treatment can be made to pro-
duce queens; drone eggs are deposited in drone cells.

Worker.

The worker bee is an undeveloped female. Workers are
smaller in size than the queens or drones. They have a sting
which deters many prospective bee-keepers from taking the
subject in hand, but nature has given this weapon to the insect,
not as a means of offence, but for the purpose of protecting
itself from its natural foes. The workers have many enemies,
and were it not for the sting, the race would soon become
extinct. In a prosperous colony in the summer, the workers
number from 40 to 60 thousand. They build the cells, collect
the nectar and pollen, feed the young larve, and perform
practically all the work in the beehive. Their span of life is
short—from 6 to 8 weeks in the summer. During that period
they work incessantly, and wear themselves out in their arduous
labours. Those workers that are reared in the late autumn live
through the winter, and perform a little work in the early
spring. It takes about 3 weeks from the time the egg is laid
to produce a worker bee. When the worker bee emerges from
the cell it is very weak, and for the first week or so acts in the
capacity of a nurse bee in the hive, 7.e., to feed the grubs or
larve. After this period it is strong enough to take its place
with the other workers in the fields. It naturally follows that,
to obtain the maximum production of honey in a single colony,
it is important to have the hive teeming with worker bees at a

17

time when nectar can be collected in the fields. This must be the
chief aim of the bee-keeper. The greater the number of worker
bees the hive contains at the right time, the greater will be the
profit.

Drone.

The drone is the male bee. There are usually two or three
hundred drones produced in all normal colonies. The number
depends to a great extent upon the number of drone cells in
the hive. Their function is to fertilise the young queens. At
the close of the honey season, when their services are no longer
required, they are turned out of the hive by the workers, and
left to die. The drone does not possess a sting, and has
no means of defending himself. Consequently he falls an easy
prey to the workers. Neither has he any means of procuring
his food in the fields, in consequence of his extremely rudi-
mentary tongue. He is therefore dependent upon the worker
for his sustenance. The drone is produced from an egg laid
by the queen in a drone cell. The time occupied to produce a
drone from the laying of the egg is 25 days. Drones from poor
colonies are undesirable, and should not be encouraged. To
improve the breed of bees, the bee-keeper should make a point
of raising a few hundred drones only from those colonies which
give the best returns.

Position and arrangement of apiary.

Beehives take up little room, and anyone with a small garden
can keep a few colonies of bees. This does not imply, however,
that any position will do for the hives, and on the selection of
a suitable site will depend in a large measure the success of the
bee-keeper. The site should be carefully selected. It should
be dry and free from weeds. It should be sheltered from the
north and east winds, and should face the south—which is the
most favourable aspect. Shelter from the north and east winds
will prevent much loss of life which usually occurs when the
hives are placed in an exposed position. Spreading ashes on
the surface will naturally assist in rendering the site dry, and
in suppressing the growth of weeds, which harbour insect pests

48

inimical to the colony. The hive should be raised from the
ground by means of legs, and if these are made to rest on bricks
and tiles they will not decay so readily. Hives should not be
too closely crowded. They should stand 6 feet apart, but if the
available space is limited they may be set a little closer. A
pathway at the rear of the hives is extremely useful, for then
manipulations can be carried out without interference with
those bees which are returning from the fields.

Hives.

The essential parts of a modern beehive are :—stand on legs,
moveable floor board outer case, inner brood chamber, lifts,
and roof, and surplus accommodation.

Hives of many designs are now in the market, but it is most
important that the hives should be accurately constructed. If
not, the bees will either use an excessive amount of propolis,
or build combs in the ill-fitting spaces. Perhaps the most
popular hive is the ‘‘W.B.C.’’ hive—so called after the
inventor, William Broughton Carr. It consists essentially of a
stand, with legs, a floor board, a moveable brood chamber, con-
taining 10 frames and a dummy frame, and outer brood case,
roof, lifts, and chambers for the storing of honey. The
advantages of this hive are:—it is easily kept clean; its
capacity can-be increased by the addition of more lifts; it is
well adapted to the production either of ‘‘ extracted’’ or
“comb”? honey; and with it operations such as ‘‘ doubling ”’
and “‘ uniting ’’ can be carried out with the greatest of ease.
A hive of this type, however, is not suitable for bee-keepers
who send their bees to the heather moors in Autumn, because it
is moré difficult to pack than a hive of Ripics form, and entails
greater expense in transit.

Hives with fixed’ brood chambers can be purchased mere
cheaply. ‘But whatever type the bee-keeper adopts, he should
endeavour to have all the hives made of similar size and shape,
so that the relative parts are inter changeable. Such uniformity
in the apiary will considerably sitnplify his work.

' Hives should always be purchased new from manufacturers
of bee appliances. It is poor economy to’ buy ‘second-hand

79

hives at sales, because there is always the risk, and indeed the
probability, that their late tenants have died from disease.

On receipt of the new hive, the bee-keeper should examine
its component parts. The roof and lifts being removed, the
following parts will be exposed :—section .rack, shallow super,
queen excluder, and quilts. Below these will be the brood
chamber—a compartment containing 10 frames and a dummy
frame; the former will be’ filled with sheets of ‘‘ worker ”’
foundation, and wired. The shallow super, section rack, and
queen excluder are removed and placed under cover, for future
use. The quilt.is arranged. over the brood chamber, and the
lift and roof added. If the hive is not already painted on
receipt from the dealer, it should be given two coats of paint.
When dry, it will be ready for a swarm of bees.

Appliances.

When more.than one colony is kept, the bee-keeper should
also provide himself. with a honey extractor, for extracting
honey from combs; straw skep, to hive swarms, and super
clearer to rid the honey chambers of the bees when removing
the honey. ,

Purchasing Bees.

The beginner may start business by purchasing a swarm of
bees from a local bee-keeper, or by buying an established stock.
The first is perhaps the best and easiest.method for the average
beginner, for then the local dealer will assist the novice in
placing the bees in the hive—though this is not a difficult. opera-
tion. Swarms of bees are usually sold by weight, at 2s. 6d. to
3s. per lb. Ik is advisable not to purchase a swarm under 5. lbs.
Whether or not-honey will. be obtained.in the first, season will
depend on the time when the swarm is.purchased, and the
season. If the swarm be obtained in May or early in June it
is possible, if the atmospheric conditions are favourable, to
obtain a supply, of honey the first season. i

On the other hand, the apiarian may prefer to buy an
established stock on 8-10 frames, froni a reliable dealer in bees.
ifthe stock is:obtaiiied early in thé season, the hee-keeper may

80

rely upon securing a yield of honey the first season. A word of
warning may be given here. In consequence of the prevalence
of bee disease in the country, the bee-keeper should only trade
with reliable dealers, and obtain, at the time of purchase, a
guarantee of the healthy state of the bees.

Placing the Swarm anto the Hive.

The swarm may be received either in a skep or in a box. If
in the former, the mouth of the skep will be covered with a
piece of cheese-cloth or coarse sacking, tied with string. The
box, on the other hand, will be covered with a lid, consisting
of perforated zinc attached to a wooden frame, which is held
in position on the top of the box by means of screws.

In transferring the swarm to the hive, the beginner should
proceed methodically. The entrance should be opened to its
full width. A temporary stage in the form of an inclined plane
leading up to the hive entrance is erected. This consists of a
long board, one end resting on the alighting board of the hive,
and the other end on the ground. Over this board a white cloth
should be evenly laid. Previous to transferring the bees from
box or skep, the bees should be given a little smoke. Having
removed the cover, the operator should now lift the box or skep,
turn it upside down, and with a sharp jerk dislodge the swarm
on to the improvised landing stage. The natural inclination
of bees is to run upwards, and in a little time they will all be
safely in the hive. A sharp watch ought to be kept to see that
the queen is safely in the hive. If the weather be cold at the
time, the bees will not run quickly, but a little smoke will have
the desired effect.

When an established stock has been purchased, the bee-keeper
will find it a simple task to remove the combs with bees from the
travelling box into the frame hive.

Handling and Manipulating Bees.

To manipulate bees, the operator must necessarily have a
black net veil, to protect the face from stings, and a smoker,

81

to subdue and control the bees. The veil should be broad
enough to stretch round the rim of a straw hat, and
long enough to allow the free end being well tucked under the
collar of the coat. A piece of elastic sewn round the top of the
veil will hold it tightly in position around the crown of the
hat. As regards the smoker, the best smouldering materials
are corrugated-paper, old bags, corduroy, and decayed wood ;
any of these, when ignited, will, by the action of the bellows,
give off a good column of smoke. The smoker, once ignited,
may be kept alight when not in use by standing it vertically
with its nozzle upwards.

All manipulations should be performed gently and slowly.
Clumsiness only serves to irritate the bees. To inspect the
colony, a few pufis of smoke should be blown in at the entrance,
and, after allowing 2 to 3 minutes for this to take effect, the
bee-keeper should take up his position at the back of the hive,
and gently remove the roof. The lift is next taken off, without
any jarring effect. Following this, the wrappings over the
brood chamber, with the exception of the quilt next the bees,
are removed en bloc. In removing the quilt, the corner should
be slightly raised, and a few whifis of smoke blown into the hive.
This process should be continued until the quilt has been
entirely removed. The smoke frightens the bees, and they
instantly rush to their cells and partake of their own honey,
after which they are exceedingly docile. An examination of
the brood chamber should not occupy more than a few minutes.
The bee-keeper should first of all remove the ‘‘ dummy ’”’ from
the back or the side of the hive. This is a piece of wood, shaped
like a frame, and when removed enables the bee-keeper to have
more space at his disposal to lift out the frames. Each frame
should be taken out evenly and gently, care being taken not
to crush any of the bees during this operation. When putting
back the frames, the same precaution should be observed. If
the bees get at all irritable or out of hand, they can be controlled
by the application of a little more smoke.

No colony should be inspected when the thermometer is below
60 degrees Fahrenheit, or the brood will be chilled. Bees can
be more easily handled on warm, sunny days than in cool or
windy weather.

82

If the bee-keeper should happen to get stung at any time, he
should push the sting from the flesh by the finger nail. Any
attempt to pull out the sting by the thumb and finger simply
results in sending more poison into the flesh. The poison—
formic acid—is rarely dangerous, and in the course of time the
bee-keeper becomes more or less immune to the same.

It 1s proposed, in a further bulletin, to give advice on other

aspects of the subject.

Buuietin No. 85. Hho 1G 2%

Ghe West of Scotland Agricnlinral College.

PRELIMINARY REPORT

ON

ISLE OF WIGHT BEE DISEASE.

BY

JOSEPH TINSLEY, B.B.K.A (Firsr Crass).

GLAseow :
Perinrep sy Ropert ANDERSON, 142 Wuzst Nitze Srreer.

1918.

PRELIMINARY REPORT ON THE ISLE OF WIGHT
BEE DISEASE.

By Joszru Tinsutuy, B.B.K.A. (First Class).

Tue Isle of Wight Bee Disease is a highly contagious and
deadly malady which affects bees and probably also wasps.
This disease, which has long been known on the Continent of
Europe, first made its appearance in Britain in 1904; in this
year an outbreak was reported in the Isle of Wight, hence
the name ‘‘Isle of Wight’’ Bee Disease. It spread with
alarming rapidity throughout the country. Few districts or
hives escaped its devastating effects, and many beekeepers
suffered serious loss. By the year 1912 the stocks of bees in
England were reduced to a mere fraction of their original
proportions. In some seasons the disease would appear to
have been more fatal and to have spread more quickly than
in others.

By the year 1913 the Isle of Wight disease was generally
established in Scotland; from the southern counties, where it
first appeared, the epidemic quickly spread to the northern
reaches, leaving death and destruction in its train. In many
districts not a single colony escaped, but in certain isolated
cases, as in the Kilmaurs neighbourhood, the native bees
failed to contract the disease. Such bees appear to possess a
natural immunity, and consequently are of great value as
foundation stock.

CausE OF THE DISEASE.

The first scientific report relating to the etiology of this
disease was prepared by Mr. A. D. Imms, and was published
in the Journal of the Board of Agriculture for June, 1907.
The second, written by Dr. Malden, appeared in the Journal
for February, 1909. The third, by Drs. Graham Smith,

28

Fantham, Porter, Malden, and G. W. Bullamore, was pub-
lished as Supplement No. 8 to the Journal, and was, in effect,
an interim report on the investigation, the final results being
published as Supplement No. 10 to the Journal of the Board
of Agriculture, July, 1913. References to the subject were
also made in the Report of the Intelligence Division of the
Board of Agriculture and Fisheries, Part IH, for the years
1909-12.

In his report of 1909, Dr. Malden ascribes this disease to a
bacillus (Bacillus pestiformis apts), but in the two papers
published by Dr. Graham Smith and his collaborators the
disease is definitely stated to be due to a parasitic protozoon
(Nosema apis). In the 1913 report it is stated: ‘‘ No species
of bacteria constantly associated with the Isle of Wight disease
has been found, and B. pestiformis apis, which is frequently
present in diseased stocks and was at one time thought to be
the causal agent, is not pathogenic in pure culture.
Bacteria, however, may play an important secondary part in
producing the symptoms when the resisting powers have been
lowered by the action of Nosema.”’

The disease has more recently been investigated in Scotland
by Dr. J. Rennie, of Aberdeen University, and Mr. J. Anderson,
M.A., B.Se., of the Aberdeen College of Agriculture. As a
result of considerable experiment and investigation, they
conclude that the causative agent is not Nosema apis. While
admitting that spores of Nosema apis may frequently be
observed in the bodies of diseased bees, yet they believe that
it is not the direct cause of the disease, and that the real
source of the trouble is to be found in some other factor which
has not yet been determined.

The origin of the Isle of Wight disease has also been made
the subject of inquiry by the Beekeeping Department of the
West of Scotland Agricultural College. While we do not hold
ourselves committed to either of the above views, it certainly
does not appear to us that Nosema apis is the universal cause
of the disease familiarly known as the Isle of Wight Bee
Disease. After a thorough examination of the bodies of
thousands of bees which have undoubtedly perished from the

29

Isle of Wight (or at least from a disease all of whose diagnostic
features are the same as those of Isle of Wight), we have
rarely found the spores of protozoa as described by Dr. H. B.
Fantham and Dr. Annie Porter, even after a minute examina-
tion of the chyle—stomach and feces. On the other hand, the
stomach contents and the excrement of diseased bees have
shown the unfailing presence of masses of bacteria, and we
are of the opinion that these are not without special
significance.

The result of our work on this aspect of the subject will be
published in a later report.

SPREAD OF THE DISEASE.

Apart from the natural agencies which favour the spread
of epidemic diseases in general, and which have undoubtedly
_ been operative in the present instance, there-is direct evidence
of the Isle of Wight disease having been introduced into the
various districts of South-West Scotland by the importation
of bees from infected areas. It is quite a common practice
for beekeepers in Scotland to purchase swarms of bees from
the South of England about the month of May, so as to ensure
a strong colony for the heather harvest. Many such swarms
have come from districts where the Isle of Wight disease was
prevalent. These imported bees, though apparently healthy,
were in most cases suffering from the disease in its initial
stage, when diagnosis is difficult even to the specialist. In
the same way, the purchase of queens with attendant workers
from infected districts has also materially assisted in
spreading the disease.

Once the disease has been introduced into any district it
quickly spreads, and sooner or later invades every hive. The
infection may take place in several ways.

(a) When a colony becomes infected, the stock rapidly
dwindles on account of the high mortality incident on the
disease. The result is that the surviving members of the
colony are too weak to protect the hive against the invasion
of robber bees, who carry off the honey and infected material.
Not infrequently, also, the dispossessed and overpowered bees

30

join forces with the invaders, and accompany the robber bees
to their own hives. This introduction of infected material,
and the association with unhealthy bees, cannot fail to
establish the malady in the hives of the reivers, and so it is
a case not only of re vietis, but also of ve vietoribus.

(b) It is also a well-known fact that bees may enter strange
hives in mistake: this particularly happens, during summer,
where there is a superabundance of nectar. Such alien bees,
if suffering from Isle of Wight disease, can undoubtedly intro-
duce the disease into hitherto unaffected colonies.

(c) The practice of sending bees to the heather has also been
an important factor in spreading the disease. In this way
colonies from many different districts have been brought
together on the heather moors. There is no doubt that some
such colonies harbour the Isle of Wight disease, probably
unknown to the owners, though in some cases colonies which
were actually known to be affected have been sent to the
heather by beekeepers who fancied a change of environment
would result in a cure. When these bees are liberated at the
heather after their long journey thither, they frequently mix
together, and, in the confusion, often enter the wrong hive.
This mingling of members of different hives must be a fruitful
cause in the spread of the disease. Observation shows that
many colonies suffering from the initial stages of the Isle of
Wight disease, when sent to the heather, die there. Even if
some do survive the heather season and,are brought back to
the old home, the evil is only aggravated, for they now become
a menace and a plague to their native district.

Symptoms oF THE D1IsEAsE.

If one observes a healthy colony in the summer time, the
bees will be seen to enter and leave the hive in rapid
succession ; the laden bees returning from the fields and the
workers setting out to collect pollen and nectar do not loiter
at the entrance to the hive. They have no time to waste at
the gates. They are too busy. But with the onset of the
clisease there is a marked difference in the behaviour of the
bees. They have no longer any desire to toil in the fields.

3l

They seem to have lost their characteristic energy. They
crowd round the entrance of the hive, occasionally clustering
and displaying a general appearance of listlessness. This lack
of vitality is the first noticeable phase of the disease.

A peculiar feature of the wings—the so-called split wing—
is often observed in bees suffering from Isle of Wight disease
in its early stages. Normally the bee, when in the oct of flight,
unites the fore and hind wings together so that the two wings
on either side of the thorax act as one. (This union is
brought about by a series of hooks on the anterior margin of
the hind wing engaging a series of catches on the posterior
border of the fore wing.) But when the bee contracts Isle of
Wight disease this power of union is often lost, and the wings
appear quite separate. It should be observed that this split
wing appearance, though quite characteristic, is not in itself
diagnostic of the disease.

Occasionally a sick bee may be observed drawing its posterior
legs over the abdomen—as if the bee realised a sensation of
pain in that part.

With the advance of the malady the ‘‘ crawling ’’ symptoms
so typical of the Isle of Wight disease become patent. The
diagnosis is now plain, and there can no longer be any
doubt regarding the nature of the disease. The crawling
symptoms are first noticeable in the sick bees after they
have been confined to the hive for two or three days owing
to inclement weather. A return to genial conditions or a
sudden burst of sunshine will induce the bees to emerge
from the hives in great numbers. It will then be seen that
many of them have lost the power of flight; some drop down
on to the ground beneath the hive where they cluster; others
come to earth after a flight of only a few yards. If the
hives are situated on grass the bees may be seen crawling
up the stems to try and reach a higher position. If the hives
stand on ashes or gravel, the bees, by laborious efforts, make
their way towards the hive, up the legs of which they crawl
in an effort to reach home. The great majority of these bees
die, and the ground in the vicinity of the hive becomes strewn
with their dead bodies.

32

An examination of one of these crawlers will show the
abdomen greatly distended. This is due to a retention of the
feeces, which the insect seems powerless to void. The slightest
external pressure will cause a rupture of the intestine and
the issue of its accumulated contents. The discharge is
usually of a dirty yellow colour, but the colour will be related
to the kind of pollen which the bee had previously consumed.

Occasionally the sick bees are able to excrete a portion of the
faeces, in which case the front of the hive becomes spotted with
the voidings. This gives the appearance of severe dysentery—
a malady, however, which does not appear to have any relation
to the Isle of Wight disease.

The interior of the hive presents no abnormal appearance
in the early stages of the disease. There is no soiling of the
combs, and the whole hive appears to be in a healthy and
flourishing condition. But with the advance of the disease the
soiling of the combs attracts attention. The heavy mortality
among the workers so seriously reduces the numbers that the
temperature of the hive is lowered and part of the brood dies
from lack of heat. After the extinction of the other members
of the colony, the queen herself dies. It has been suggested
that her death is due to exhaustion and not to the disease.
This aspect of the subject, however, will receive attention in
a future report.

In winter months the presence of Isle of Wight disease in
bee colonies is difficult to determine, for now the bees are in
a semi-dormant condition, and are mostly confined to the hive.
They rarely fly except on mild days. and consequently there
is little opportunity for satisfactorily diagnosing the disease.
To make an inspection now would necessitate opening the
hive, and this act, on account of the lowering of the tem-
perature, would be harmful to the bees and to what brood
there may be. And so, even if the disease could be recoenised,
no steps can now be taken to check its course.

The beekeeper should know that a colony of bees may enter
into winter quarters apparently healthy, strong in numbers,
headed by a young queen, and with plenty of food reserves,
and yet the total colony may die out during the winter months

33

from Isle of Wight disease. But as bees may also die during
winter from purely natural causes, it becomes important, from
the point of view of the well-being of the apiary, to determine
to what particular agency, the death of a colony has been due.
In the absence of disease, the extinction of a colony in winter
may be due either to loss of queen or to lack of food. In the
former case, there will be few, if any, worker bees left alive in
the spring : the colony will have perished owing to there being
no births to compensate the deaths. On the other hand, a
diminution of a colony through lack of food is evidenced by
the dead bees clustered on the combs, many with their heads
inside the cells. Some of them may be noticed with their
tongues extended. The cells will be empty of honey and sugar
syrup, but there will be brood in various stages if the bees
were alive until the end of January. In neither of these cases
is there any soiling of the combs, and there is no objectionable
odour. ,

If, however, the death of the colony has been due to the Isle
of Wight disease, the dead bees will be found scattered over
the combs and on the floor of the hive; there will be abundant
supplies of food and also a small batch of brood, showing that
the queen performed her duties up to the last. But the combs
and also the interior of the hive will be soiled with the excreta
of the bees. There is a further important distinction in the
bodies of bees which have died from natural causes and those
which have perished from Isle of Wight disease. Normally
the bodies of dead bees shrivel up soon after death, and the
abdominal contents will be found to be perfectly dry. But
in the case of death due to Isle of Wight disease the intestine

‘is filled with a fluid which gives off a very foul odour.
Provided that the body wall is not ruptured, we have found
that the intestinal contents will retain their fluid condition
for a period of six months. On exposure to air, however,
this liquid mass quickly becomes solid.

Inrection EXPERIMENTS.

To illustrate the facility with which the disease can he

34

transmitted, the following experiments were carried out at our
Research Apiary :—

(a) About 200 bees crawling on the ground, and showing
abnormal distension of the abdomen, were collected,
chloroformed, and the liquid contents of the intestine
removed. This fluid, mixed with a pint of sugar
syrup, was systematically fed to healthy colonies until
the crawling symptoms were evident. The colonies
thus fed contracted the disease in a virulent form in
from three to six weeks.

() Colonies in the last stage of the disease were united to
healthy colonies by placing all the sick bees, combs,
brood, and stores in the form of an additional brood
chamber over the top of unaffected stocks. (The queens
in the diseased colonies were removed previous to the
union.) It took from 4 to 6 weeks to transmit the
disease by this method.

(c) The entire brood chambers from colonies that had
recently died from Isle of Wight disease were placed
over the brood chambers of healthy colonies (as in the
operation of uniting or doubling). The infected
brood chambers, which contained fecal matter in
abundance on the frames and over the combs, and
many dead bees in the cells, were not interfered with.
The chamber was necessarily used by the bees as a
honey super. This compelled the healthy bees to
remove the dirt and debris from the soiled combs, and
brought them in direct contact with disease-infected
material. The time of infection in this case was
longer—from 6 to 8 weeks.

(z) Combs from colonies where the bees had recently died
from the disease were broken up and mixed with
water. The extract, after being strained through
coarse cloth, was mixed with sugar syrup and fed to
healthy colonies. In this case infection was even
slower—from 8 to 10 weeks.

35

(e) The debris and fecal matter of the hives of several
colonies that had died from Isle of Wight disease was
collected by scraping floor boards, frames, &c. This
was mixed with water and fed with sugar syrup to
healthy colonies. It is doubtful if, in any single case,
this method of infection was successful. It should be
mentioned that the material was obtained from the
hives some time after the death of the colonies, varying
from two to twelve months. Presumably the organisms
causative of the disease have little vitality outside the
bee body, and are killed out by exposure to the
atmosphere.

(f) Honey extracted from combs upon which diseased bees
had died during the winter was given to healthy
stocks. These bees did not contract the disease.

Other methods of bringing about infection—such as placing
sick bees, numbering from 50 to 500, in healthy colonies ;
re-queening a healthy colony with a queen from a diseased
stock ; transferring larve and brood from an unhealthy colony
to a healthy colony—were tried many times. The results were,
in the main, inconclusive.

Although some of the latter methods of infection did not
always prove successful, yet from a study of the history and
spread of the disease, and of the results of the first experiments
outlined above, we must regard the Isle of Wight disease as
highly contagious, and beekeepers will be well advised to pay
every attention to disinfection of hives and appliances, and to
limiting the spread of the disease.

PREVENTIVE MEASURES.

Disinfection of Hives, Appliances, ke.

Hives in which bees have died from the plague should be
scraped and thoroughly washed inside and out with a strong
solution of formalin (1 in 60). When a large number of
hives have to be disinfected, fumigation, properly carried

36

out, is quite effective, and saves much time and labour.
Proceed as follows. Remove the interior chambers, place a
lighted formalin candle on the floor of the hive, close up the
entrance of the hive, also the cones in the roof. If the latter
does not fit tightly, place a sack or covering over it to
prevent the escape of the fumes. Leave the gas in contact with
the hive for six hours. Finally, wash the exterior of the hive
with formalin water (1 in 60).

During a bad attack of Isle of Wight disease many bees will
die on the floor and around the stands of the hive, hence it is
only reasonable to suggest that, if a fresh position cannot be
given to the new colony, the ground on which the hive stands
should be liberally disinfected with lime or chloride of lime.
All infected combs containing brood and unsealed larvae
should be destroyed. Brood combs that contain honey should
be smashed up and the honey used for home consumption.
Such honey should not be used for feeding bees.

Frames from a diseased hive may be used again if properly
disinfected. To ensure this, first clean out the usual saw-cut
in the top of the frame where the foundation is inserted, then
scrape away any fecal matter from the frames, and finally,
before placing in the disinfectant, thoroughly scrub them with
soap and hot water.

In the same way, empty brood combs, super combs, and
sections of comb, can be rendered safe for further service, but
here disinfection with formalin vapour is quicker, cheaper,
and quite effective. The combs should be placed jn a box or
other air-tight receptacle, and exposed to the fumes of a
sulphur or formalin candle.

Apart altogether from the incidence of the disease, it is an
excellent plan to disinfect with formalin all apiary appliances
such as feeders, smokers, and queen excluders. Quilts steeped
in formalin solution and dried can be safely used again.

Disinfection of the exterior of hives is most easily effected
by spraying the outside of the hive with the same disinfectant.
A large syringe is very convenient for this purpose. Any of the
solution dripping from the outside of the hives will assist in
disinfecting the ground on which they stand.

37

REMEDIAL MBASURES.

In all our experiments with so-called remedies and cures,
il should be understood that the bees, during the period of the
experiment, were not confined in any way, and that they were
distinctly infected with Isle of Wight disease before any
treatment was tried. A number of colonies of diseased bees
were purchased from various beekeepers for the purpose of
experiment.

Izal.—This proprietary article, advertised as the ‘‘ Modern
high-power germicide, and a reliable remedy against foul
brood and Isle of Wight disease,’’ was supplied to (1) a
colony suffering from Isle of Wight disease in the initial
stage; (2) a colony with a mild attack; and (3) a colony in
the last stages of the disease. The Izal was administered
both in the food and as a spray with water or sugar syrup,
the directions of the manufacturers being carefully followed.
In no single case was it effective.

Bacterol.—This bactericide is stated to have a destructive
action on spores, and its use has been recommended for Isle
of Wight disease. Similar experiments were carried out as
with Izal, and the results were the same—purely negative.

Droxygen, Phenol, Quinine, Formalin, Sulphur, AMclton, &c.,
also aperients, were experimented with, but all gave negative
results. Indeed, it is doubtful whether a medicine or drug
exists which, when administered to bees suffering from the
Isle of Wight disease will effect a cure. We think little is to

be gained by the search for a so-called specific among medi-,_

cines or chemicals. Recently Flavine has been tried, but
without any good results.

The most promising results so far obtained by us have been
got from the employment of a pure culture of Bacillus
Bulgaricus. This is the organism recommended by Prof.
Metchnikoff as a remedy for intestinal troubles. It acts as a
scavenger of the intestine, and displaces putrefactive and
injurious organisms in the bowels.

38

The method was first tried by us during the latter part of
July, 1916, at the suggestion of Prof. Renwick H. Leitch
(Dairying Department, West of Scotland Agricultural
College), who also supplied the culture. The culture was mixed
with syrup and fed to the bees by means of spraying. The
bees will readily take the food in the feeders, but spraying
is the quicker method. The treatment was tried on a swarm
of bees which arrived from the South of Scotland on the 27th
July, 1916, and which on arrival almost immediately
developed a virulent attack of Isle of Wight disease.
The swarm weighed seven pounds. It was placed on ten
frames, which had previously been fitted with brood founda-
tion. In the course of two days the whole of the ten combs
had been built, the cells being filled with nectar, pollen, and
eges of the queen. On the 30th July it was noticed that, on
the ground in front of the hive, the bees were crawling about
in hundreds. The entrance to the hive was closed the same
evening, and the colony removed from the Holmes Farm
Apiary (where it was first placed) to the Research Apiary—
about 2 miles distant. On the bees being liberated the fol-
lowing day, external indications of the disease were even
more pronounced, prebably owing to the confinement of the
bees during transit. By this time there was a disease in the
population of at least 30 per cent The Bacillus Bulgaricus
was administered on the evening of their arrival, by sprayine
both at the entrance and over the tops*of the brood combs.
The number of crawlers decreased each day, and finally
disappeared altogether after a fortnight’s treatment. The
culture had a noticeable effect, not only on the expulsion of
the fecal accumulation, but also on the nature of the dis-
charge. There is less tendency for the excretion to solidify ;
after it has been voided it rather tends to break up.
Ordinarily the colour of the faces in cases of Isle of Wight
disease varies in summer from a light yellow to a dark brown.
The Bacillus Bulgaricus changes it to a dark grey. The
colony thrived during the autumn and winter, and remained
alive until early in the spring.

It would appear, from the supplementary evidence of

39

experiments with other colonies, that this treatment, while it
may not result in an absolute cure, will at any rate for a
time repress the disease and even check mortality during the
summer months. It is possible that, if the treatment be
begun early and be continued systematically, it may entirely
ward off the disease. There are certainly possibilities in the
use of this culture, and further experiments are being carried
out.

BREEDING TO PropucE IMMUNITY.

The real remedy for this disease lies in the production or
development of strains of bees immune to it. It is a well-
known fact that some strains of bees are highly resistant to
the Isle of Wight disease, and can only be caused to contract
it by the direct administration of considerable doses of infected
material.

During the course of our infection experiments we observed
that certain selected colonies failed to contract the disease
even under conditions most favourable to infection. Their
powers of resistance were so marked that we decided to retain
them for the purpose of raising queens and the increase of
stock generally, and further to use them as a basis for our
experiments in the production of disease-resistant strains of
bees. In this attempt to produce immunity, purely scientific
methods were employed. The scheme, which started on a
limited scale, has now been greatly extended, so that an
apiary of considerable size has been built up at our head-
quarters, Kilmarnock.

To determine whether the bees so bred are largely disease-
resistant, colonies were placed, during 1916, in the very heart
of districts in Ayrshire where the disease had been rampant
for five years, and where all attempts at re-stocking had
utterly failed. During last season (1917) each experimental
colony gave a swarm and a cast, or second swarm, and in
addition produced a good yield of honey. Up to the present,
the colonies are quite free from disease.

In our efforts to raise immune strains we have experimented
very largely with foreign bees. Generally speaking, we have

40

not found them to be disease proof, although, when attacked
by the disease, they do not succumb nearly so quickly as native
stocks. Particularly was this the case with Dutch, Italian,
American, and Punic bees. There is no doubt that judicious
crossing of foreign bees with our own tends to increase vigour
and disease-resisting powers. We observed this particularly
in the case of Dutch crosses. 2

It will also generally be found that foreign bees imported
from districts which are low-lying and wet, and where there
is a lack of sunshine, will give the best results in withstanding
the disease; at least this has been our experience.

With regard to resistant strains of native origin, it may be
interesting to observe that the smaller-sized bees appear to have
greater disease-resisting powers than larger-sized bees. These
hardy little bees are often to be found living in trees in wood-
lands, and in the roofs of castles and houses.

The work on the production of immune strains of bees is
being continued, and it is hoped that we shall shortly be
in a position to re-stock disease-swept districts in the College
area from our apiary at Kilmarnock.

: e Audny
Buuuerin No. 96. ;
Hn 1G 6

Che West of Acatland Agricultural College.

SOME BEE DISEASES

—BY—

JOSEPH TINSLEY, B.B.K.A.(Ist Class), S.B.A. (Expert).
(Lecturer on Beekeeping).

GLascow *
Printep By Ropert ANDERSON, 142 West Nite Street.
1920.

SOME BEE DISEASES.

!
Josep Tixsuey, B.B.K.A.(1st Class), 8.B.A. (Expert),
Lecturer on Beekeeping (West of Scotland College of Agriculture).

Or all the diseases with which the beekeeper has to contend, probably
the most common is that known as Foul Brood. The disease has
been so named because of the foul smell which emanates from the dead
brood. But as death of the brood, even when accompanied by
‘putrefactive changes, may be due to different causes, the name is a
general one. In this country the term Foul Brood is commonly
applied to three different diseases, viz., European Foul Brood, caused
by Bacillus alvet; American Foul Brood, caused by Bacillus larve ;
and Sac Brood. In the case of Sac Brood the causative agent has not
yet been determined.

Foul Brood (Bacillus alvei).—Before we proceed to examine this
disease in detail it may be well to recall the social conditions under
which bees live. The rapid manner in which the infection is trans-
mitted will then be the more readily appreciated. In the first place,
a colony of bees varies in number from 20,000 to 40,000 individuals,
anid yet takes up relatively little space. Again, all the cells in the
hive—those in which the young hatch out and those in which the
honey is stored—are made from wax elaborated by the bees them-
selves. Thirdly, food is prepared in the bodies of the nurse bees for
the sustenance of the larve, while during exceptional periods food is
conveyed from the workers to the queen direct. Finally, the cleanli-
ness of the hive is effected by the workers themselves carrying out of
the home any objectionable material. It will thus be seen how easily
a disease of an infectious nature spreads in a colony of bees, and how
important it is that the beekeeper should be able to diagnose all
diseases in their initial stages in order to prevent rapid spreading
and obviate financial loss. _

Symptoms.—lf we examine a normal brood comb we will find
eggs, larva, and brood in all stages of development. Close inspection
will show that eggs newly deposited by the queen stand upright in
the cell. On the second day these same eggs rest at an angle of
45 degrees. On the third day each develops into a small grub curled
up like the letter ‘‘C.’’ These grubs are pearly white in colour, and

a4

present a glistening appearance as they lie flat on the bottom of the
cell. As a result of the special feeding given them by the

DEVELOPMENT OF THE BEE.

attendant workers they grow rapidly, so that by the seventh day they
present a white and plump appearance. Development takes place
rapidly, and on the ninth day the cell containing the developed larve
is covered over with a porous capping. On the twenty-first day the
worker bee bites its way through the capping and takes its place in the
hive. These are the conditions in a healthy colony, but in a colony
in which Foul Brood occurs the first noticeable difference is in the
condition of the larve. Instead of all the grubs being white and
plump and curled up like the letter ‘‘C,’’ as they would normally
appear, they will be observed to take up very irregular positions.
Some will be almost perpendicular, while others will be horizontal.
Instead of appearing pearly white, the grubs will be coloured a faint

Eary Staces or Foun Broop uw SEvEN CELLS.

85

buff or yellow. At this initial stage of the disease a cure can usually
be effected if the colony is fairly strong, but immediate attention is
necessary if the treatment is to be successful.

Treatment of Foul Brood in initial stage —The queen should be
destroyed and a new queen of a healthy variety, such as Dutch or
Italian, substituted. The colony should be given a complete change
of hive. This is imperative. All the old combs should be taken away
and burnt, and should be replaced by frames fitted with sheets of
worker foundation. The introduction of a fresh queen, the change
of hive, and the addition of new combs will materially assist in
checking the disease. The colony will be reinvigorated, and the
stamina of the future inhabitants of the hive will be greatly improved.

' In consequence of the infectious nature of the disease, all opera-
tions should be carried out in the evening, when the bees have finished
flying for the day. The beekeeper may himself-be a means of spread-
ing the infection by carrying the spores of the disease on his hands
and clothes. Disinfection of everything that comes into contact with
the hive or hive contents should be carefully carried out.

Comes oF ’Broop IN A HEALTHY ConDITION.

Second stage of the disease.—If the beekeeper has failed to
observe the malady in the initial stage he will soon be confronted

86

with a much more virulent condition of the disease. By this period
the bees will have sealed over many of the grubs that were attacked
by the disease in its early stages. The cappings of the brood cells,

Empty Broop ComB REQUIRING RENEWING.

instead of being light brown in- colour and convex in appearance,
will be dark brown and flat or indented; occasional cells may have
minute perforations in the covers. If a match is pressed into one of
these cells and then withdrawn, a brown, ropy, tenacious mass will
adhere to the wood, and an unpleasant odour reminiscent of the
glue-pot will be observed. The colony will diminish rapidly in
numbers as a result of the high death-rate in the cells. ,

t

Foun Broop. Rory Stace (B. atvet).

87

Treatment of Foul Brood in the second stage.—lIf the colony is
in a weak condition the bees should be destroyed at once. This will
save the beekeeper from further financial loss by preventing other
colonies becoming infected. But if the colony is fairly strong,
remedial measures should be applied forthwith. The queen should be
killed. In order that the whole of the healthy brood still in the hive
may be brought to maturity it is advisable to keep the colony without
a queen for at least eleven days. Immediately the colony realises its
queenlessness it, will endeavour to raise a queen from the larve in the
hive. To prevent this, make an examination of the colony about the
seventh day after the destruction of the queen, and remove all queen —
cells in the course of construction. On the eleventh day, when practi-
cally all the healthy brood will have hatched, the bees should be
brushed or shaken off their combs and placed in a clean hive. This
hive must be fitted with frames into which foundation has been
inserted and wired. A new queen is then given, Dutch or

<< — ee ne

:
‘

oe atete
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ee ——

Wirep FRAME, WITH FouNnDATION.

Italian preferred. A little feeding with sugar syrup will help the
colony to build up quickly.. The brood combs of the diseased hive
as well as the wraps must be burnt, and the interior of the hive
thoroughly scraped. All dirt, wax, and propolis removed by this
operation should be carefully collected and destroyed by fire. The
hive, internally and externally, should be washed and disinfected.
A painter’s blow-lamp may be used to fire all infected parts.
Beekeepers who are not disposed to apply this thorough treatment

88

may adopt the following method :—Shake all the bees off the combs,
including the queen, into an old skep or box, and allow this artificial
swarm to remain without food for forty-eight hours. At the end of

pp
4

Fount Broop, .Seconp Sracz (B. ALVEI).

this time transfer the swarm to a clean hive, which has previously
been fitted with frames into which foundation has been placed.
Re-queen either now or in a few days’ time. Destroy the receptacle
in which the fasting took place.

In both cases it is advisable to destroy the brood combs and
quilts. The latter can be easily replaced. The hive, if a good one,
should, as in the preceding method of treatment, be carefully scraped
to remove all wax and propolis, then washed with soapy water, and
afterwards scorched with a painter’s blow-lamp in order to destroy
any lurking disease spores. If a blow-lamp is not available, the
interior of the hive should be painted with methylated spirit and fired,
the flames being subdued by means of a wet bag. As before, the
material scraped off the hive should be carefully collected and burnt.

Treatment of Foul Brood in advanced stage.—The last stage of
the disease is distinguished by the sunken appearance of the cell caps.
The internal decaying mass dries into the form of a brown scale,
which will be seen at the base or the side of the cell. The colony
will have dwindled in numbers, and, as there is no possible cure at

89

this final stage, it is advisable to destroy by fire the contents of the
hive, leaving only the shell for future use. If the hive is an old one
it should be burnt as well.

Foun Broop. Turrp Stace (B. aLver).

American Foul Brood (Bacillus larve).—This disease is not
quite so widespread as the other form of Foul Brood. When the
larve are first attacked they turn a light chocolate colour, and as the
disease advances they become darker, resembling roasted coffee in
appearance. This disease appears to attack the larve at a later stage
than the other form of Foul Brood, usually about the time the brood
cells are capped over. As the disease progresses the larve shrink in
size, with the result that the cappings become sunken and perforated.
A glance over the brood combs will reveal the presence of great
numbers of these cells with indented cappings. Within will be seen
the shrivelled portion of the larvae which have died from the disease.
The colour of this diseased mass will be dark brown. If a match is
inserted and slowly removed the decomposed material will attach itself
to the wood and stretch in a long line before breaking. The decaying
matter has a pronounced and rather offensive odour. This disease
does not bring about the extinction of the colony as quickly as the
other form of Foul Brood, but nevertheless it is fatal in the long run.

90

Once a colony is attacked, its end is certain unless the necessary
remedies are applied.

or hd
$33,
ee.

37a
7?

: AwmRican Foun Broop.

Treatment of American Foul Brood.—As before, all work should
be performed at evening, when the bees have finished flying for the
day. ;

Brush or shake all bees and queen off the combs into a skep or
receptacle. Allow them to remain in a fasting condition for forty-
eight hours. Then transfer to a clean hive, with frames fitted with
starters only. Re-queen with Italian or Dutch strains. Destroy all
brood combs and quilts. If the hive is worth keeping, scrape the
interior of all wax and propolis, collecting such matter, which must
afterwards be burnt. Wash the inside and outside with soapy water,
to which a disinfectant should be added, such as Calvert’s No. 5 car-
bolic acid. Scorch the interior of the hive to destroy all sources of
infection.

Sac Brood..—Sac Brood is sometimes called Pickled Brood.
The larvee die in the cells, but the remains, instead of decomposing,
as in the case of Foul Brood, into a fluid condition, become attached
to the side of the cell in the form of a sac. This form of the disease
is often confused with the other two forms of Foul Brood, but in this
respect the beekeeper need not have any doubt, as the cell-content is
odourless. Cappings will also be noticed with minute holes, showing
that the work of covering the brood cells was imperfect. Starved or
ill-nourished brood would be a better name. A young and prolific
queen, together with a new comb or two, will usually effect a cure.

é
Buuretin No. 105 Lge op Aeacltae
lO P 7 : 16

Ghe West of Srotland Agricultural College

EXPERIMENTS ON

THE MATING OF QUEEN BEES

CONDUCTED AT

THE APIARY, HOLMES FARM, KILMARNOCK

BY

JOSEPH TINSLEY, F.Es.

GLASGOW
Printep sy ROBERT ANDERSON, 142 Wnast Nivu Srreet
1926

Reprinted from the “ Scottish Journal of Agriculture.”

EXPERIMENTS CONDUCTED IN THE MATING
. OF QUEEN BEES.

The question of the relationship ‘of the queen to the drones,
in her own hive has been the subject of experiments extending
over a period of three years, with a view to solving the
problem of pure mating and of making possible the more
rapid improvement in the breeds of bees.

It has been an accepted fact by practically all writers of
literature on bees that the queen bee is never mated with a
drone from her own hive, but always with one from another
colony. This statement is all the more remarkable as, so far
as we know, no previous research work has been conducted
to substantiate it.

It is well known to all bee-keepers that mating takes place
in mid-air, and that only one drone is necessary, after which
no further mating is required, the queen being capable, under
normal conditions, of depositing eggs to populate the hive
with her progeny to the end of her life. It is probable that
this aspect of copulation has seized the imagination of writers
and sustained the assumption that nature has ordained this
method to. prevent inbreeding. We are told that only the
swiftest. and strongest drones can catch the queen during her
mating flight, while other authorities have contended, without
any proof, that drones at the mating season are in large
numbers in mid-air waiting for young queens to appear.
Our experience does not agree with this latter statement.
Other writers contend that the drone is built chiefly for flying
long distances, but our experience is that the drone rarely
ventures very far away from his own hive.

Our experimental work hasbeen carried out chiefly with
the aid of observation hives holding two to three standard
combs, similar to those usually exhibited at honey exhibitions.
The glasses were so arranged that the movements of the bees
could be observed at all times without difficulty. Six of
these observation hives were in regular use throughout

4

the year, and were exhibited at the Highland and Agricultural
Show at Glasgow this summer. British, Dutch, Austrian,
Italian, and Golden Italian strains were used.

Each hive was stocked with worker bees, worker brood,
drones, drone brood, and fertile queen taken from normal
colonies. After forming this nucleus of a colony a period of
a week was allowed for the bees to settle down and get
accustomed to their new home and surroundings. A little
food was given. Exits were cut from the lecture room to
permit of easy passage for the bees from their hive to the
open air, and the inmates were allowed to work as a normal
colony. The glass sides which consisted of double thicknesses
of glass did not appear in any way to affect the work of
the bees. Queens were removed at intervals. Some of the
hives were then given queen cells on the point of hatching,
others were allowed to rear their own queens, while in other
cases virgin queens were introduced.

The following illustration is typical of the majority of
our experiments.

The queen was removed from what we will, call No. 1
observation hive, consisting of pure Dutch bees, and a ripe
queen cell taken from another pure Dutch stock was
introduced—allowing, of course, the usual forty-eight hours to
elapse before introduction. The virgin queen duly hatched
and was accepted by the colony. Curiously enough this event
produced no unusual excitement in the hive; the inmates
displayed little or no interest in an event which to us seems
fraught with importance. The virgin queen at birth is
wonderfully active and virile. Her food, we noticed, consisted
of honey taken by herself from the honey cells. We found in
the majority of cases that usually two days from birth the
virgin queen, if the weather was suitable, would leave the hive
for a short flight, and again the following day, while in some
cases we have observed three flights before the actual mating
trip. The average period of these trips was from two to three
minutes, and they were invariably taken towards the middle
of the day. We have, however, occasionally seen these flights
as late as four o’clock in the afternoon,

" 6

This action on the part of the virgin queen may be in the
nature of a cleansing flight, or to develop the wing muscles,
or possibly to familarise herself with the surroundings and
enable her to mark her hive previous to the mating trip. The
drones in the hive took no apparent interest in these pro-
ceedings even when the virgin queen returned. In one
instance we observed the workers very loath to allow the
virgin queen to return to the hive. Why, we could not tell,
but it is interesting to relate that a week later the virgin
queen was missing. The workers during the virgin queen’s
absence exhibited no sign of queenlessness, and, while she was
in the hive, no apparent interest was manifested in her. She
seemed to be constantly on the move, walking from comb to
comb.

To return to the case under notice. Six:days from the birth
of the queen we found the hive in a highly excited state.
Two flights had already been made on the two previous days,
but it was now evident that the actual mating flight was about
to take place. The weather was fine and warm. At 12 o’clock
we noticed the virgin queen hurrying towards the entrance.
The drones in this colony were evidently aware of the virgin
queéen’s intention. Some of them were already on the wing,
while others were on the alighting board. Attention was at
once paid to the other observation hives to discover if any
excitement prevailed in them, or if some system of inter-
communication bearing on this event existed among them.
In the remaining five observation hives, headed with virgin
queens and with ‘workers and drones, normal conditions
prevailed, with not a drone flying, although the whole were
in the same room separated by a few feet only. With the
assistance of the students and members of staff a watch was
kept at the entrances of the colonies in the immediately
adjacent section of the apiary. This section consists of fifty
full stocks of bees in W.B.C. hives, and the bees were at the
time busy with the storing of honey. These colonies are
situated immediately in front of the observation hives, the.
front row, in fact, being only three or four yards away. Not
a drone could be observed either flying or in front of the
hive entrances during the period that the virgin queen from

the observation hive was on her mating trip. In all the
established colonies nothing but normal conditions was
observed. Our observations both in this and many other cases
convinced us that the mating of the virgin queen from one
hive has no bearing on another, and we can dismiss the theory
of any scent connection entirely. The virgin queen returned
in three minutes exactly with the drone appendage attached
to her abdomen. Two days following her mating trip she
deposited her first eggs. Later on we were able to tell from
her progeny that she had been mated with a drone from
her own hive. A conclusion confirmed the following year when
the hive exhibited the general characteristics of this race
of bee. ;

Similar experiments were carried out with British,
Austrian, Ttalian, and Golden Italians, and identical results
obtained. There were slight variations in the time of mating
and the numbers of flights before mating, but these variations
were evidently due, usually, to different climatic conditions.

Practica, MATING.

With this knowledge we then decided upon a further
practical trial to test the possibility of mating queens with
drones from a special colony, at a cost within the reach of
the average bee-keeper.

For some considerable time the Bee-keeping Department of
the West of Scotland College of Agriculture has been con-
ducting experiments with the varioug races of bees, more
particularly with a view to discovering the most valuable
strain of bee suitable for the south and west of Scotland, and
for this purpose many colonies of the native race have been
purchased from all parts of Scotland. It was the endeavour
to obtain pure mating for this scheme that led us to conduct
the experiments contained in this report.

For the purpose of this experiment 25 Swiss mating boxes
were used. Into each box a pint of Dutch worker bees was
placed. The plan adopted to obtain these bees was to ‘‘ drive ”’
a skep of Dutch bees over a queen excluder, thus preventing
queen and drones passing through. The driven bees were
then syringed with cold water, This prevented them from.

a

flying and facilitated our work in spooning them out in a
mass and filling the mating boxes. Food in the form of sugar
syrup was given and the bees securely fastened in with
adequate ventilation. These boxes of bees were then placed
in a cool dark shed for the night. By morning the bees were
perfectly dry, having generated heat during confinement.
Previous to this experiment a native colony, purchased some
months previously from West Argyllshire, was rearing queens
on the cell-cup principle, while another native stock, procured
from Arisaig, was being used for masy production of droues—
achieved by the liberal use of drone comb.

As all bee-keepers are aware, it is very difficult to make old
bees stay in a new location, particularly when their old home
is only a few yards away. It was therefore necessary to
remove the small mating boxes some distance from the apiary.
An old quarry, some two and a-half miles away, was used
and the bees transported. On arrival, the entrances were
opened, more food given, and at the same time a ripe queen
cell was introduced from the queen-rearing colony.

The drone rearing colony was removed at the same tiie
to the mating station. A liberal shaking of the combs in
front of the mating boxes gave each aw number of healthy
strong males. This process was repeated the second day. The
weather was not at all ideal for mating, but, notwithstanding
this fact, we discovered within a fortnight after the intro-
duction of the ripe queen cells twenty-one of the queens
were mated and four missing. Later in the year we were
able from the progeny of the queen to prove that all had
been pure mated, although within four hundred yards of the
station there was a? bee-keeper with six colonies of bees com-
prising Italian and Austrian strains.

We then decided to carry out further tests in the College
apiaries to discover the reason for the bee-keeper’s contention
that queens often mated with’alien drones. In a very limited
space we have at present 150 colonies of bees of various
strains, including British, French, Austrian, Dutch, Italian,
and Golden Italians.

8

We decided to rear a number of queens and mate them in
the home apiaries where the queens would have every chance
of mating with alien drones. The observation hives were
stocked with pure races'of bees and queens, but later the
queens were removed and ripe queen cells given. In the
observation hive containing the British race we observed
Italian drones had gained admittance and had been accepted
as permanent residents in the hive. We also noticed in other
observation hives a casual stranger. This led us to make a
close inspection of those nuclei with virgin queens, and where
alien drones were noticed a record was made. Examination
later in the season, when the young queens were laying,
revealed that in 5 per cent. of the nuclei the progeny were
related to the alien drones, while in the remaming hives pure

tating had been accomplished.

By observations in the late autumn on colonies of bees
in possession of virgin queens we had further proof of this
feature of mating. Such colonies continued to give sanctuary
to their own drones, and we found also that a queenless colony,
would actually keep drones all through the winter, evidently
in response to the instinct to preserve them for the mating of
the needed queen. In colonies with mated queens only a few
feet away all drones were destroyed; if mating usually takes
place with drones from another colony, we should expeci.
colonies with mated queens to keep drones for this purpose.

ConcLustIon.

Our experiments tend tu show that, provided no other drones
are admitted to a colony of bees, the virgin queen will mate
with her own drones, and it is therefore possible to bring
about pure mating or the crossing of queens with any other
variely of the saime type.

I desire to place on record my appreciation of the assistance
I have received from my two colleagues, Mr. William Hamilton
and Mr. James Struthers, without whose help it would have
been impossible to conduct the experiment.

Cornell University Library

SF 523.T592
‘io iii