Part 9

In localities where winters are severe and breeding is suspended for several months great care should be taken that brood rearing is rather active during the late summer, so that the colony may go into winter with plenty of young bees. In case any queens show lack of vitality they should be replaced early, so that the bees will not become queenless during the winter.

The important considerations in wintering are plenty of young bees, a good queen, plenty of stores of good quality, sound hives, and proper protection from cold and dampness.

If, as cold weather approaches, the bees do not have stores enough, they must be fed. Every colony should have from 25 to 40 pounds, depending on the length of winter and the methods of wintering. It is better to have too much honey than not enough, for what is left is good next season. If feeding is practiced, honey may be used, but sirup made of granulated sugar is just as good and is perfectly safe. If honey is purchased for feeding, great care should be taken that it comes from a healthy apiary, otherwise the apiary may be ruined by disease. Never feed honey bought on the open market. The bees should be provided with stores early enough so that it will not be necessary to feed or to open the colonies after cold weather comes on. Honeydew honey should not be left in the hives, as it produces "dysentery." Some honeys are also not ideal for winter stores. Those which show a high percentage of gums (most tree honeys) are not so desirable, but will usually cause no trouble.

In wintering out of doors the amount of protection depends on the severity of the winter. In the South no packing is necessary, and even in very cold climates good colonies with plenty of stores can often pass the winter with little protection, but packing and protection make it necessary for the bees to generate less heat, and consequently they consume less stores and their vitality is not reduced. Dampness is probably harder for bees to withstand than cold, and when it is considered that bees give off considerable moisture, precautions should be taken that as it condenses it does not get on the cluster. An opening at the top would allow the moisture to pass out, but it would also waste heat, so it is better to put a mat of burlap or other absorbent material on top of the frames. The hive may also be packed in chaff, leaves, or other similar dry material to diminish the loss of heat. Some hives are made with double walls, the space being filled with chaff; these are good for outdoor wintering. The hive entrance should be lower than any other part of the hive, so that any condensed moisture may run out. The hives should be sound and the covers tight and waterproof.

Entrances should be contracted in cold weather not only to keep out cold wind, but to prevent mice from entering. There should always be enough room, however, for bees to pass in and out if warmer weather permits a flight.

In the hands of experienced bee keepers cellar wintering is very successful, but this method requires careful study. The cellar must be dry and so protected that the temperature never varies more than from 40 to 45° F.; 43° F. seems to be the optimum temperature. The ventilation must be good or the bees become fretful. Light should not be admitted to the cellar, and consequently some means of indirect ventilation is necessary.

Cellar wintering requires the consumption of less honey to maintain the proper temperature in the cluster and is therefore economical. Bees so wintered do not have an opportunity for a cleansing flight, often for several months, but the low consumption makes this less necessary. Some bee keepers advocate carrying the colonies out a few times on warm days, but it is not fully established whether this is entirely beneficial and it is usually not practiced.

The time for putting colonies in the cellar is a point of dispute, and practice in this regard varies considerably. They should certainly be put in before the weather becomes severe and as soon as they have ceased brood rearing. The time chosen may be at night when they are all in the hive, or on some chilly day.

The hives may be piled one on top of the other, the lower tier raised a little from the floor. The entrances should not be contracted unless the colony is comparatively weak. It is usually not considered good policy to close the entrances with ordinary wire cloth, as the dead bees which accumulate more or less on the bottom boards may cut off ventilation, and the entrance should be free so that these may be cleaned out.

It is, however, good policy to cover the entrance with wire-cloth having three meshes to the inch to keep out mice.

The time of removing bees from the cellar is less easily determined than that of putting them in. The colonies may be removed early and wrapped in black tar paper or left until the weather is settled. If the weather is very warm and the bees become fretful, the cellar must either be cooled or the bees removed. Some bee keepers prefer to remove bees at night, so that they can recover from the excitement and fly from the hive normally in the morning. One of the chief difficulties is to prevent the bees from getting into the wrong hives after their first flights. They often "drift" badly with the wind, and sometimes an outside row will become abnormally strong, leaving other colonies weak.

The night before the bees are removed from the cellar it is good practice to leave the cellar doors and windows wide open.

=DISEASES AND ENEMIES.=

There are two infectious diseases of the brood of bees which cause great losses to the beekeeping industry of the United States. These are known as American foul brood and European foul brood. Both of these diseases destroy colonies by killing the brood, so that there are not enough young bees emerging to take the place of the old adult bees as these die from natural causes. The adult bees are not attacked by either disease. In the hands of careful bee keepers both diseases may be controlled, and this requires careful study and constant watching. In view of the fact that these diseases are now widely distributed throughout the United States, every bee keeper should read the available literature on the subject, so that if disease enters his apiary he may be able to recognize it before it gets a start. The symptoms and the treatment recommended by this department are given in another publication which will be sent free on request.

Farmers' Bulletin No. 442. "The Treatment of Bee Diseases."

It is difficult for a bee keeper to keep his apiary free from disease if others about him have diseased colonies which are not properly treated. The only way to keep disease under control is for the bee keepers in the neighborhood to cooperate in doing everything possible to stamp out disease as soon as it appears in a single colony. The progressive bee keeper who learns of disease in his neighborhood should see to it that the other bee keepers around him are supplied with literature describing symptoms and treatment, and should also try to induce them to unite in eradicating the malady. Since it is so often impossible to get all of the bee keepers in a community to treat infected colonies properly and promptly, it is desirable that the States pass laws providing for the inspection of apiaries and granting to the inspector the power to compel negligent bee keepers to treat diseased colonies so that the property of others may not be endangered and destroyed. This has been done in a number of States, but there are still some where the need is great and in which no such provision has been made. When no inspection is provided, bee keepers should unite in asking for such protection, so that the danger to the industry may be lessened.

In case there is an inspector for the State or county, he should be notified as soon as disease is suspected in the neighborhood. Some bee keepers hesitate to report disease through fear that the inspector will destroy their bees or because they feel that it is a disgrace to have disease in the apiary. There is no disgrace in having colonies become diseased; the discredit is in not treating them promptly. The inspectors are usually, if not universally, good practical bee keepers who from a wide experience are able to tell what should be done in individual cases to give the best results with the least cost in material and labor. They do not destroy colonies needlessly, and, in fact, they all advocate and teach treatment.

The brood diseases are frequently introduced into a locality by the shipping in of diseased colonies; or, more often, the bees get honey from infected colonies which is fed to them, or which they rob, from discarded honey cans. It is decidedly dangerous to purchase honey on the market, with no knowledge of its source, to be used in feeding bees. Many outbreaks of disease can be traced to this practice (see "Feeding," p. 26). It is difficult to prevent bees from getting contaminated honey accidentally. If colonies are purchased, great care should be taken that there is no disease present. Whenever possible, colonies should be purchased near at home, unless disease is already present in the neighborhood.

There are other diseased conditions of the brood, known to bee keepers as "pickle brood," but these can usually be distinguished from the two diseases previously mentioned. The so-called "pickle brood" is not contagious and no treatment is necessary. Bees also suffer from "dysentery," which is discussed in the earlier part of this bulletin, and from the so-called "paralysis," a disease of adult bees. No treatment for the latter disease can as yet be recommended as reliable. The sprinkling of powdered sulphur on the top bars of frames or at the entrance is sometimes claimed to be effective, but under what circumstances it is beneficial is unknown.

A number of insects, birds, and mammals must be classed as enemies of bees, but of these the two wax moths, and ants, are the only ones of importance. There are two species of moth, the larger wax moth (Galleria mellonella L.), and the lesser wax moth (Achroia grisella Fab.), the larvæ of which destroy combs by burrowing through them. Reports are frequently received in the department that the larvæ of these moths (usually the larger species) are destroying colonies of bees. It may be stated positively that moths do not destroy strong, healthy colonies in good hives, and if it is supposed that they are causing damage the bee keeper should carefully study his colonies to see what other trouble has weakened them enough for the moths to enter. Queenlessness, lack of stores, or some such trouble may be the condition favorable to the entrance of the pest, but a careful examination should be made of the brood to see whether there is any evidence of disease. This is the most frequent cause of the cases of moth depredation reported to this department. Black bees are less capable of driving moth larvæ out, but, even with these bees, strong colonies rarely allow them to remain. The observance of the golden rule of beekeeping, "Keep all colonies strong," will solve the moth question unless disease appears.

Bee keepers refer to these insects as "moths," "wax moths," "bee moths," "millers," "wax worms," "honey moths," "moth worms," "moth millers," and "grubs." The last six terms are not correct.

Moth larvæ often destroy combs stored outside the hive. To prevent this the combs may be fumigated with sulphur fumes or bisulphid of carbon in tiers of hives or in tight rooms. If bisulphid of carbon is used, great care should be taken not to bring it near a flame, as it is highly inflammable. Combs should be stored in a dry, well-ventilated, light room.

In the warmer parts of the country ants are often a serious pest. They may enter the hive for protection against changes of temperature, or to prey on the honey stores or the brood. The usual method of keeping them out is to put the hive on a stand, the legs of which rest in vessels containing water or creosote. Another method is to wrap a tape soaked in corrosive sublimate around the bottom board.

=GENERAL INFORMATION.=

For the purpose of answering numerous questions which are asked of this department the following brief topics are included.

=BREEDERS OF QUEENS.=

There are a large number of bee keepers who make a business of rearing queens of good stock for sale. The queens are usually sent by mail. If poor stock is all that can be obtained locally, it is recommended that such colonies be purchased and the queens removed and replaced with those obtained from a good breeder. This department can supply names of breeders, nearest the applicant, of any race raised in this country.

=INTRODUCING QUEENS.=