The bee-keeper's handy book, or, Twenty-two years' experience in queen-rearing : containing the only scientific and practical method of rearing queen bees, and the latest and best methods for the general management of the apiary

Front matter

-TO MY PATRONS,**

The long delay in the publication of the Bee-keeper’s Handy Book, was unavoidable and was caused mainly by the addition of nearly seventy-five pages to the work more than was originally in¬ tended. My readers will profit by this gain, which is a loss to me of over $100.00.

The essay of Mr. House, on “The Management of the Apiary, etc.,” is thorough, sound and exhaustive, invaluable alike to the expert and novice and is certainly worth many times the cost of the book.

Preface

It may not be out of place for me to give the reasons that induced me to assume the position of author and give to the bee-keeping fraternity a work of this kind. I had been engaged in queen-rearing but a few years when I became convinced that the system then in vogue was faulty and that a much better method was needed and might be devised. With this object in view I at once instituted a series of experiments which, I am happy to say, have been crowned with success, even beyond my most san¬ guine expectations, and I am now able to present to my fellow bee-keepers a system which is both scientific and practical.

After so many years of arduous toil and study in perfecting this method, I felt that it was no more than just that I be reasonably remunerated for my labors and for the knowledge that I had gleaned from my long experience in queen-rearing; consequently I decided to publish my method in book-form, trust¬ ing to the hearty response of the bee-keeping fra¬ ternity for remuneration.

It will be remembered that the Rev. L. L. Langstroth (a bee-master whose name we love to honor)

(iii)

iv

had intended to publish a similar work, but poor health and the loss of his son obliged him to abandon it, much to the regret of his many friends and ad¬ mirers.

I need not state that this work was not intended as a literary effort, as indeed I make no pretensions in this respect. I hare endeavored to present to my readers a work that will be beneficial and advan¬ tageous to them and have tried to avoid all that is superfluous or ambiguous, believing that plain, prac¬ tical common sense is far preferable; and if it meets with general approval I shall rest content. I claim that my method of rearing queens is new and origi¬ nal, being the results of my long experience in queen-rearing and practical apiculture.

In order that my readers might have the benefit of the experience of one of the most prominent and successful apiarists in the country, I obtained from Mr. George W. House, of Fayetteville, N. Y., an essay on the best method of managing the apiary in order to obtain the largest amount of surplus honey, including preparing for market and marketing the same. It is ably written and instructive, presenting many new and original ideas which are sound, prac¬ tical and invaluable, and which cannot fail to bene¬ fit either the novice or the expert, if the directions

V

given are carefully put into practice. Mr. House seldom fails to secure a fine crop of honey and is suc¬ cessful in marketing the same.

I have also included an essay on the new races of bees from the pen of Silas M. Locke, of Salem, Mass., who, during the season of 1881, was employed by Mr. D. A. Jones, of Beeton, Ont., as superin¬ tendent of the queen-rearing department. Mr. Locke has had the best of opportunities to study the mark¬ ings, habits and characteristics of the new races, and his essay will be found interesting and instructive, presenting many new features regarding them, and forming one of the best descriptions yet given to the public.

By the careful study of this work, and by putinto practice the directions herein given, one will experience no difficulty in rearing queens of a su¬ perior quality. Let it ever be our aim to rear better not cheaper queens.

Author.

Contents

PAGE

INTRODUCTION.1

Importance of queen-rearing as a branch of

apiculture ...... 1

Chapter I.3

Selection and care of breeding-queens . S

Advantage of using small hives and combs for

breeding-queens.4

Combs to use in obtaining eggs . . 4

Foundation for cell-building ... 5

Disadvantage of keeping breeding queens in

full colonies.6

Miniature hives for breeding queens . . 7

CHAPTER II.7 Room for handling bees .... 7

What colonies to select for cell-building . 7

How to prepare bees for cell-building . 7

Length of time to keep bees queenless . 9

Royal jelly; how prepared ; composition of . 10

(vii)

viii

CHAPTER III 12 Cell-building.12

How to have cells built in rows ; new method 13

How to prepare the comb for the queen-cells 14

How to fasten the prepared strips in position 17

How to release the bees from the swarming box 17

How to separate the drones from the bees . 18

When to prepare the bees for cell-building . 19

CHAPTER IV 20 Feed when forage is scarce ... 20

What to do with surplus queen-cells . . 21

Cutting out queen-cells .... 22

Queen nursery and how to use it . . 24

Introducing virgin queens ... 25

How long to keep a colony queenless before

introducing a queen .... 25

Another way to introduce virgin queens . 26

CHAPTER V.27 The old and new methods of cell-building . 27

How to rear queens in full colonies and still 28

have none queenless .... 28

How to obtain more cells . . . . 29

How often the same colony may be used for

cell-building.29

Destroying drone-brood and worthless drones 30

Use of the drone-trap .... 30

PAGE

How many queens ought a colony to rear . 31

How to rear valuable queens ... 32

CHAPTER VI 32 Hive to use for young queens ... 32

How to form nuclei ..... 33

Where to place nucleus hives ... 34

Why bees ball and destroy queens . . 34

How to insert queen-cells .... 35

The age at which queens are fertilized . 36

How to force the young queens to fly . 37

Queens fertilized but once ... 37

How far to keep the races apart to insure

purity.37

How to keep laying queens ... 38

Feeding nuclei; why they sometimes swarm out 39

CHAPTER VII .40 Unprofitable breeding queens ... 40

Most profitable breeding queens . . 40

The selection of the drone mother . . 41

How to rear and preserve drones . . 41

How to judge of a queen before testing . 42

Destroy weak and feeble queens . . 43

Large versus small queens ... 44

Best bees for queen-rearing ... 45

The Italians not a distinct race . . 46

X

FAGS

Rearing queens from the egg ... 47

The proper time to commence queen-rearing 48

CHAPTER VIII. 48 The new way versus the old ... 48

How young queens manage, when two or more

hatch at one time.49

How to rear a few queens .... 51

Handling queen-cells .... 52

Reasons why queens fail to lay, die suddenly,

or are superseded.54

CHAPTER IX 56 Tested queens the standard of excellence . 56

Selected queens 58

Warranted queens.58

Dollar queens.58

Robbing nuclei; how prevented . , 59

Fertile workers 61

CHAPTER X 62 Room for transferring and handling bees . 62

What tools are needed .... 64

Transferring bees.65

When to transfer.68

Uniting bees.69

Utility of uniting bees .... 70 xi

Uniting bees in swarming time ... 71

When and how to remove cells from a colony that has just cast a swarm ... 71

Proper age to supersede queens . . 73

CHAPTER XI 74 Spring and fall feeding .... 74

Spring feeding.74

The amount of food to give each day . . 76

Fall feeding 76

Foul brood 78

How to detect foul brood .... 78

Fire, the best means of cure ... 80

CHAPTER XII .82 Wintering bees.82

Suggestions on cellar wintering ... 84

Should the hives face north or south ? , 85

Does like produce like ? .... 87

Parthenogenesis 89

CHAPTER XIII.91 Keeping bees for pleasure and profit . . 91

Who should keep bees.93

How to commence bee-keeping . , , 95

Best location for an apiary . . , 96

Requisite implements for the apiary , , 97

PAGE xii

MANAGEMENT OF THE APIARY. An Essay by Geo. W. House .

The hive

Spring management

Contract the brood-chamber

Exchanging combs

Feeding for stimulating

Comb foundation

Extracted honey

Time for extracting

Separators .

Increase of colonies

Unfinished sections

Care of honey

Sulphuring

Preparing for market .

Glassing

Crates

Grading and crating

"Weighing and marking

Marketing

Shipping

Marketing extracted honey

Size of boxes

Cooperation

Conclusion .

NEW RACES. An Essay, by Silas M. Locke 131 Italians first imported .... 131

Italians first imported into America . . 132

First news of the Cyprian bees . . . 133

Cyprians first imported from Europe . . 133

Importation of Cyprian and Holy Land bees

by D. A. Jones. 134

Markings and characteristics of the Cyprian

bees. 135

The Holy Land bees. 139

Markings and characteristics of the Holy Land

bees.140

Apis dorsata ...... 142

Characteristics and markings of the Apis dorsata ....... 143

Hungarian bees 144

The coming bee 145

The necessary qualities of the coming bee . 146

The Holy Lands the foundation of the coming

bee 147

How shall we develop the coming bee ? . 149

GENERAL REMARKS.153

Observatory hive, a source of pleasure and

profit.153

Shipping bees by mail . . . .156

New way to test queens . . . .160

Clipping queens’ wings and swarming . 161 xiv

How to prevent swarming . , • .162

Handling new swarms ; hiving, etc. . . 162

Use of tobacco ..... 164

In-and-in breeding . . . . .165

Bee pasturage . . . . . .166

Honey-producing trees . . . .168

The basswood ...... 168

The horse-chestnut . . . . .169

Alsyke clover.169

White alder . . . . . .170

DESCRIPTION OF FIGURES . . .173

Double-walled hives . . . . .173

Queen-rearing hives . . . . .176

Miniature or fertilizing hives . . .178

Cone feeder ...... 179

Locke’s feeder.179

Swarming box.181

Queen nursery ...... 181

Introducing cage ..... 182

New way of having cells built . . , 188

XV

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

EAGE

Fertilizing or miniature hive

Swarming box

Comb containing eggs

Strip of comb on which cells are

to be built

Comb containing eggs in alternate cells

New way of having cells built

Old way of having cells built

Fruit-jar feeder .

Queen nursery

Nursery cage

Introducing cage

Screen used for ventilation

Cone feeder

Cell from which a strong queen hatched

Shipping cage

Whitman’s fountain pump

Double-walled hive, outer case

Double-walled hive, inner case

Queen-rearing hive

Locke’s feeder

Introduction

THE IMPORTANCE OF QUEEN-REARING AS A BRANCH OF APICULTURE.

Twenty-five years ago I purchased my first colony of bees, and with that event began my interest in apiculture. My colony, being in a box hive, I trans¬ ferred to frames, and commenced to rear queens and to experiment generally with bees. In the course of a few years, upon the introduction of the Italian bee to this country, there came a large and increasing demand for bees of this race.

Many bee-keepers began to rear queens and to offer bees and supplies for the apiary for sale, a large num¬ ber of whom soon failed for want of patronage, or were compelled to abandon the business on account of the cheap queen trafllc. Of all who as late as ten years ago were engaged in this branch of the business, I can call to mind but one beside myself. Few have made queen-rearing and the supply trade a success.

Shortly after the introduction of the Italian bee, the "American Bee Journal” sprang into existence, and simultaneous with its appearance began one of the most important industries of the age, viz. : practical apiculture. At this early stage of its history, queen¬ rearing was in its infancy, while but few bee-keepers had any practical knowledge of this interesting and 1 CD vastly important branch of the business, and appar¬ ently very little advancement has been made up to the present time as compared with the other branches of apiculture.

After a thorough examination of the latest works on the subject, and a careful study of all the various Bee Journals, I find only the old methods taught which were in use many years ago. Hence the bee¬ keeping public continue to rear queens in the old way, the result being that a vast number of inferior and even worthless queens are put upon the market every season.

The present and future interests of apiculture demand a more thorough and practical method of rearing queens, and I shall endeavor in this work to give my readers such information as shall tend to give a new impetus to this branch of bee-keeping, and also aid, if possible, in doing away with the cheap and worthless queens produced under the lamp nursery system; and to offer to the bee-keeping public, for their careful consideration and adoption, a thorough, practical and scientific method of queen-rearing, which is the result of many long years of practical experi¬ ence, and much hard study.

In order to become a successful instructor one must first attain a complete knowledge of the subject to be taught, and unless it has been thoroughly and fully mastered in all its details, failures only can result.

In presenting this work to the bee-keeping frater¬ nity, I do not wish to assume the position of teacher, but rather to place before its readers in as plaiu and practical a manner as possible my method of rearing queens, leaving to their judgment the careful study, and candid criticism of its contents, feeling assured of a favorable decision regarding its merits and value; knowing that if its instructions are carefully studied in all their details, and put to a practical test, the result will be successful. By careful attention to all the rules laid down herein, I hope better queens will be produced, a matter of great importance to the bee-keeper whether he keeps bees for pleasure or profit; and of vastly more importance to the bee-master who follows it as a vocation and depends upon the same for a living.

Chapter I. The Selection And Care Of Breeding Queens

All bee-masters know the importance of having a strong, vigorous and healthy queen for the mother bee ; hence it will be admitted that all queens used for this purpose should be carefully selected, perfect in every respect, and of undoubted purity and prolific¬ ness. The particular strains from which we wish to breed should be thoroughly tested, to determine their qualities regarding purity, gentleness, honey-gather¬ ing, and wintering. This is very important and es¬ sential as some do not combine all the very desirable requisites above mentioned, and I would lay it down as a rule to breed only from such.

THE ADVANTAGE OF USING SMALL HIVES AND COMBS FOR THE BREEDING QUEENS.

If a large number of queens are to be reared, the mother queens should not be kept in full colonies, as the risk of killing them in securing eggs for cell¬ building is too great, and many valuable queens are lost in this way. To guard against such loss my breed¬ ing queens are kept in miniature hives (fig. 1). The queen being more easily and speedily found on small combs, there is much less risk of injuring her, and there will be eggs enough in one of them at any time to start fifty or more cells.

d

Fig. 1. Fertilizing or miniature hive.

COMBS TO USE IN OBTAINING EGGS.

In selecting the combs for the queen to lay in, to be used expressly for cell-building, take only such as are nearly new or that have been made use of for brood but once or twice. I do not use the combs in standard frames for this purpose, as in the course of the season a large number of nice brood-combs would be either badly mutilated or destroyed in so doing. Small pieces of comb the size of the nucleus frame, described in another place, are generally at hand and far preferable to larger combs. One standard Langstroth frame of comb will fill four or five of such small nucleus frames.

FOUNDATION FOB CELL-BUILDING.

It would be a good plan to fill frames with founda¬ tion, have it worked out in full colonies, and used for brood once or twice, then cut up and fastened into the small frames. I have found foundation very good for starting cells, even when it had not been used for brood at all; but care should be taken that the cells on both sides are drawn out to nearly the proper depth. These combs, when used to obtain eggs for cell-building, will be filled so that they can be removed as often as once every twenty-four hours. They should be properly numbered and dated for future use as wanted; the other four combs in the miniature hive being used for storing honey and brood to keep the colony prosperous in young bees. A good prolific queen will fill this small comb in less than twenty-four hours, but it is better to let it remain that length of time. The advantage of using such small hives will be seen at a glance, as it will not be necessary to open a full colony every time eggs are needed from which to start cells. Again, the exact age of all eggs is easily and exactly determined, and the apiarist may tell at any time just when to prepare his bees for cell-building; the time when the queens will hatch from the cells may also be determined within a few hours. This is a matter of great im¬ portance; saving as it does, much time, labor and anxiety, as well as for other reasons which any intel¬ ligent bee-keeper will readily comprehend.

THE DISADVANTAGE OE KEEPING BREEDING QUEENS IN FULL COLONIES.

It may be convenient for those who wish to rear a few queens to open a full colony for eggs, but as they can seldom be found of the right age in sufficient quantities to start a large number of cells at any one time, the former plan is much to be preferred by large breeders.

By placing a comb, selected for the purpose, in the centre of the brood-chamber of a full colony, we can sometimes find eggs which are suitable for the purpose, on the fourth day after, which should in¬ variably be used on that day for cell-building. Some¬ times the bees will not allow the queen to use such combs in which to deposit her eggs for several days, as perhaps breeding is not going on vigorously, and the queen may not reach the empty comb for one or two days after it is placed in the brood-chamber; consequently the hive would have to be opened often to ascertain this fact. Under such circumstances, queen-rearing cannot be carried on as systematically and successfully as by the miniature hive system.

MINIATURE HIVES FOR BREEDING QUEENS.

A colony in such a hive can always be depended upon for eggs at any time for cell-building. I find that a comb put in at night will be filled with eggs the next day. Then it may be removed and another inserted in its place. Once in twenty-four hours is often enough to change them. By this plan one queen will furnish eggs sufficient to rear 10,000 queens in the course of one season. The above plain and simple rules are the first steps which should be taken and put into practice systematically, if one wishes to rear first-class queens, and make the business successful and remunerative.

Chapter II

ROOM FOR HANDLING BEES ; WHAT COLONIES TO SELECT FOR CELL-BUILDING; HOW TO PRE¬ PARE THE BEES FOR THIS PURPOSE.

Every bee-keeper should have a room specially adapted for the purpose of handling bees, as many of the operations about the apiary cannot at all times be carried on in the open air, especially in wet and cool weather.

In fact, most of the work about preparing bees for cell-building can be performed only in a convenient and handy place. In view of this I have, in another place, given a description of such a room.

Always select the strongest colonies for cell-build¬ ing, and never the weak or feeble ones, as such would not rear strong and hardy queens. You may perchance have some strong colonies in the apiary, having queens which you wish to supersede ; colonies having old, uneven or crooked combs; odd-sized frames, or those in box hives. These may be used to good ad¬ vantage ; thus ridding the apiary of such undesirable stocks, and should be selected in preference to those

Fig. 2. Swarming box.

in good hives and in fine working condition. The combs can be transferred to other frames, and the brood given to weak colonies. Having made your selection, take them into the bee room, give the bees a few puffs of smoke to cause them to fill with honey and remove the combs, examining them carefully to find the queen; after caging her, brush all the bees into a box,— a Langstroth hive cap will answer every purpose. If the bees should attempt to crawl out blow a little tobacco smoke on them, and they will remain quiet. The bees should now be put into another box, say one that will hold three pecks, the top and bottom of which should be covered with wire cloth (fig. 2, description farther on), in order to give the bees plenty of air. The top or cover of this box may be secured by Van Dusen clamps or some other simple arrangement. I use four screws for this pur¬ pose, but seldom fasten the top on unless the box is to be transported some distance.

THE LENGTH OF TIME TO KEEP THE BEES QUEENLESS.

The bees should be kept in this box at least ten hours. Soon after being put into it they will miss their queen, and keep up an uproar until released. This prepares them for cell-building. I find it a good plan to keep them in a cool, dark room, or cellar, until needed, as they will keep more quiet and there is less danger from suffocation. If the bees were properly drummed before being removed from the hive, they have filled themselves with honey sufficient to last during the time that they are kept confined in the box ; but to guard against starvation, which might occur, as the bees do not in all such instances fill themselves readily, I give them a pint of syrup in the glass feeder (fig. 8, described farther on). The bees must be kept queenless for from ten to twelve hours, else the eggs given them for cell-building will be destroyed. This I have learned from practical experience.

ROYAL JELLY; HOW PREPARED; COMPOSITION OF.

When eggs are given too soon after the bees are made queenless, they are very apt to remove or de¬ stroy them. This, however, is not the case when larvaaare provided instead. I have had some experi¬ ence in keeping pigeons as well as bees, and have noticed that there is a natural food or chyle (white, milky and very nourishing) secreted in the crop of the hen, with which to feed the young and tender birds during the early stage of their development. Reason and experience teach me that the same rule applies equally well to bees, and that when made queenless and confined in the swarming box they prepare or secrete the white, milky food, which we find in the bottoms of the cells around the eggs given them for rearing queens, and which is of the same nature as the royal jelly upon which the young queens feed while confined to the cell; also that it is necessary that they be kept queenless until instinct impels them to make this important preparation for cell¬ building.

In support of the above I would say, first, that this secretion is found in all animal bodies (under certain circumstances) for this purpose ; second, that the hen pigeon is incapable of secreting this food until about the fourteenth day of incubation, showing that the secretion is not made until needed, and lastly, the fact that bees, after being kept queenless ten or twelve hours, and then given the prepared eggs, will place this food in the bottom of the cells within an hour, going to work contentedly, knowing that they have means to produce other queens, and showing no fur¬ ther symptoms of queenlessness.

Again, the amount of jelly-food furnished a larva from which a queen is to be reared is much greater than that from which a worker is produced, and the composition of each is entirely different. It may not be generally known that a colony de¬ prived of its queen almost invariably selects a larva which is usually over twenty-four hours, and fre¬ quently from two to three days old, instead of an egg from which to rear another. Such queens must necessa¬ rily be "short-lived” as they are not reared in accord¬ ance with natural laws. Otherwise, so far as known, they follow nature. Every queen cell should be so abundantly supplied with royal jelly that after the queens have hatched there will be more or less left in the cells. This is the case with the best cells pro¬ duced by the bees under the swarming impulse, and I claim that just as good cells can be produced by the method which I have instituted. Quite a distin¬ guished writer made the statement some time ago in one of the bee journals that "artificial (or forced) queens left no jelly in the bottoms of the cells.” He evidently jumped at this conclusion without thorough¬ ly testing the matter. I admit that as artificial queens are generally reared, this will be the result, but when the reader has become thoroughly conversant with the directions given in this book, and has carefully put them into practice, he can produce those that show a goodly amount of jelly in the bottom of every cell from which a queen has hatched.

Chapter III. Cell-building

Everything being now in readiness for cell-building, we go to the hive in which the breeding queen is kept and take from it the middle comb, placed there four days previous. We shall find in the bottom of the cells, if examined closely, a white, shiny substance. This is the just-hatched egg. Unless a powerful glass is used we shall be hardly able to see the small grub at this early stage of development.

Fig. 3. Comb containing eggs.

We now take this comb into the bee-room which has been warmed to prevent the eggs from being chilled. Cut it into strips with a thin, sharp knife (an old-fash¬ ioned table knife ground thin answers the purpose), running the knife through each alternate row of cells as seen in fig. 3. 1 After the comb has been cut up, lay the strips flat upon a board or table, and cut the cells on one side down to within one-fourth of an inch of the foundation or septum, as seen in fig. 4. 2 A very thin, sharp and warm knife must be used, or the cells will be badly jammed and mangled. While engaged in this work I keep a lighted lamp near at hand with which to heat the knife, as a delicate operation of this kind cannot be performed well with a cold tool, nor so quickly.

Fig. 4. Strip of comb on which ceils are to be built.

HOW TO HAVE CELLS BUILT IN ROWS ; THE NEW METHOD.

Now we come to a process which I have for many years been tryingto effect, and its discovery has proved invaluable to me. In truth, I would have paid one hundred dollars at any time during the first sixteen years of my experience for a knowledge of this fact.

1 Fig. 3 represents a piece of comb containing eggs, with lines running through each alternate row of cells, and showing the manner in which the comb should be stripped up for cell-building. This piece of comb was also photographed, and is about one-half the natural size.

2 Fig. 4 represents a sectional view of one of the prepared strips as cut from fig. 3, and ready to place in position for cell-building.

I never was troubled in getting all the cells which I needed built in the old way, but to have them so evenly spaced that each could be cut out without injuring or destroying its neighboring cell, puzzled me for many years; by persistent thought, persevering labor and experiment, however, the matter was at last settled satisfactorily. This one fact alone is worth one hundred dollars to any queen-dealer, and ten times the cost of this book to any bee-keeper, even though they rear but few queens; and I feel assured that all my readers will admit this when they have tested it.

HOW TO PREPARE THE COMB FOR THE QUEEN CELLS.

The strips of comb being all ready, we simply de¬ stroy each alternate grub or egg, as seen in fig. 5. 3 In order to do this, take the strips carefully in the left hand and insert with the right the brimstone end of a

Pig. 5. Comb containing eggs in alternate cells.

common lucifer match into each alternate cell, press¬ ing gently until it touches the bottom, and then twirl it rapidly between the thumb and finger; by this means the egg or grub will be destroyed. This gives plenty of room for large cells to be built, and the s Pig. 5 represents the prepared strips with the egg removed from each alternate cell.

bees to work around them and also permits of their being cut out without injury to adjoining cells, fig. 6* (a full description of which is given elsewhere).

Fig. 6. The new way of having cells built.

All queen-dealers know that this cannot be done when the cells are built by the old method as shown in

* This cut represents one of the frames used in my fertilizing hives, one-half of the comb being cut out to make room for the queen-cells. A A represents the strip of comb containing the eggs (on which the cells are built) fastened to the comb. The frame was photographed (as shown in cut) smaller than its natural size. The cells are exactly as the bees build them by my new method.