In any stage from the egg to maturity these royal insects are liable to be destroyed;--if honey fails from any cause sufficient to make the existence of a swarm any way hazardous,...
My first experience will probably go back to a date beyond many others; it is almost twenty years since the first case was noticed. I had kept bees but four or five years when I di...
Much has been said about returning all after swarms to the old stock; the advantages of which will depend on the time of issuing; whether late or early, the yield of honey, etc. It...
If you would take the trouble to put up a cage or two for the wren to nest in, he would be a valuable assistant in this department of your labor. He would be on the lookout when yo...
In the location of the apiary, one important consideration is, that it is convenient to watch in the swarming season; that the bees may be seen at any time from a door or window, w...
It is supposed by many, when these worms are found on the board, they get there by accident, having dropped from the combs above. They seem not to understand that the worm generall...
The apiarian having his bees plundered in the fall, is not fit to have charge of them; their efforts are seldom as strong as in spring, (unless there is a general scarcity,) the we...
Arouse the bees by striking the box lightly four or five times. If all the cells are finished, and honey is still obtained, turn the box bottom up, near the hive from which it was...
For home consumption, the wood-box will answer equally well for all purposes of obtaining the honey, but will give no chance to watch the progress of the bees, unless a glass is in...
But when the bees make no effort to dislodge the enemy or his works in old stocks, the case is somewhat desperate! Instead of the foregoing symptoms we must look for something enti...
Another thing is very important; _swarms should be protected from the sun for several days, in hot weather_, from nine o'clock till three or four; and then if the heat is very oppr...
Such combs as are taken from the middle or vicinity of brood-cells, are generally unfit for the table; such should be strained. There are several methods of doing it. One is, to ma...
The first obstacle in the way (after the right is obtained) is the construction. Let's see; we want inch boards to make the shell, three-quarter inch boards for the tops and bottom...
Should the apiarian now give them a little assistance for a few days, they will soon be in a prosperous condition. The hive should be frequently raised, and everything brushed out...
The objection to this mode of renewing combs generally, will be the fear of getting stung. But I can assure you there is but little danger, not as much as to walk among the hives i...
But should you discover the bees running to and fro in great commotion, although there may be but few about the entrance, you should lose no time in sprinkling those outside with w...
Their sting, as it appears to the naked eye, is but a tiny instrument of war; so small, indeed, that its wound would pass unheeded by all the larger animals, if it was not for the...
In a glass hive, the bees may be seen depositing their load of pollen; the legs holding the pellets are thrust into the cell, (not their heads), and a motion like rubbing them toge...
To give the bees all necessary advantages, and obtain the greatest possible amount of profit, with the least possible expense, has been my study for years. I might keep a few stock...
Nature has armed them with means to defend their stores, and provided them with combativeness sufficient to use them when necessary. This could not be bettered. If they were powerl...
Cut off the branch with the bees, if it can be done as well as not, and shake it in front of the hive, a portion will discover it, and will at once commence a vibration of their wi...
These glass boxes are usually filled with bees; before leaving they may be seen in commotion, long before any unusual stir is visible outside, sometimes for near an hour. The same...
I _never failed to hear it_, previous to a second swarm, or any after the first, whenever I listened; and whenever I have listened and not heard it at the proper time, I never knew...
These old cells do not need renewing half as often as has been represented. It is the interest of these patent-venders to sell rights; this interest either blinds their eyes as to...
The red raspberry (_Rubus Strigosus_) next presents the stamens as the most conspicuous part of the flower, soliciting the embrace of the bee, by pouring out bounteous libations mo...
Besides freezing, there are other facts to be observed in stocks which stand in the cold. If we examine the interior of a hive containing a medium-sized swarm, on the first severel...
Transferring the swarms to different hives from one to forty-eight hours after being hived, will show their progress. I have found that wax is attached to the top of the hive at fi...
Whatever conveyance is employed, the hive should be inverted. The combs will then all rest closely on the top, and are less liable to break than when right end up, because then the...
The next morning after a loss of this kind has occurred, and occasionally at evening, the bees may be seen running about in the greatest consternation, outside, to and fro on the s...
After getting them in the hive for the fourth time, I resolved not to be baffled or have much more such trouble, and perhaps go to the woods at last, thereby setting a bad example....