Manual of the apiary

by Albert John Cook

NUCLEI.

A nucleus is simply a miniature colony of bees—a hive and colony on a small scale, for the purpose of rearing and keeping queens. We want the queens, but can afford to each nucleus only a few bees. The nucleus hive, if we use frames not more than one foot square, need be nothing more than an ordinary hive, with chamber confined by a division-board to the capacity of three frames. If our frames are large, then it may be thought best to construct special nucleus hives. These are small hives, need not be more than six inches each way, that is, in length, breadth, and thickness, and made to contain from four to six frames of corresponding size. These frames are filled with comb. I have for the last two or three years used the first named style of nucleus hive, and have found it advantageous to have a few long hives made, each to contain five chambers, while each chamber is entirely separate from the one next to it, is five inches wide, and is covered by a separate, close-fitting board, and the whole by a common cover. The entrance for the two end chambers is at the ends near the same side of the hive. The middle chamber has its entrance at the middle of the side near which are the end entrances, while the other two chambers open on the opposite side, as far apart as is possible. The outside might be painted different colors to correspond with the divisions, if thought necessary, especially on the side with two openings. Yet I have never taken this precaution, nor have I been troubled much by losing queens. They have almost invariably entered their own apartments when returning from their wedding tour. These hives I use to keep queens during the summer. Except the apiarist engages in queen-rearing extensively as a business, I doubt the propriety of building such special nucleus hives. The usual hives are good property to have in the apiary, will soon be needed, and may be economically used for all nuclei. In spring I make use of my hives which are prepared for prospective summer use, for my nuclei. Now go to different hives of the apiary, and take out three frames for each nucleus, at least one of which has brood, and so on, till there are as many nuclei prepared as you have queen-cells to dispose of The bees should be left adhering to the frames of comb, only we must be certain that the queen is not among them, as this would take the queen from where she is most needed, and would lead to the sure destruction of one queen-cell. To be sure of this, never take such frames till you have seen the queen, that you may be sure she is left behind. I usually shake off into the nucleus the bees from one or two more frames, so that, even after the old bees have returned, there will still be a sufficient number of young bees left in the nucleus to keep the temperature at a proper height. If any desire the nuclei with smaller frames, these frames must of course be filled with comb, and then we can shake bees immediately into the nuclei, as given above, till they shall have sufficient to preserve a proper temperature. In this case the queen-cell should be inserted just before the bees are added; in the other case, either before or after. Such special articles about the apiary are costly and inconvenient. I believe that I should use hives even with the largest frames for nuclei. In this case we should need to give more bees. To insert the queen-cell—for we are now to give one to each nucleus, so we can never form more nuclei than we have capped queen-cells—we first cut them out, commencing to cut on either side the base of the cell, at least one-half inch distant, we must not in the least compress the cell, then cutting up and out for two inches, then across opposite the cell. This leaves the cell attached to a wedge-shaped piece of comb ([Fig, 56]), whose apes is next the cell.

Fig. 56.

A similar cut in the middle frame of the nucleus, which in case of the regular frames is the one containing brood, will furnish an opening to receive the wedge containing the cell. The comb should also be cut away beneath ([Fig, 56]), so that the cell cannot be compressed. After all the nuclei have received their cells and bees, they have only to be set in a shady place and watched to see that sufficient bees remain. Should too many leave, give them more by removing the cover and shaking a frame loaded with bees over the nucleus; keep the opening nearly closed, and cover the bees with a quilt. The main caution in all this is to be sure not to get any old queen in a nucleus. In two or three days the queens will hatch, and in a week longer will have become fertilized, and that, too, in case of the first queens, by selected drones, for as yet there are no other in the apiary, and the apiarist will possess from ten to thirty-five queens, which will prove his best stock in trade. I cannot over-estimate the advantage of ever having extra queens. To secure pure mating later, we must cut all drone-comb from inferior colonies, so that they shall rear no drones. If drone larvæ are in uncapped cells, they may be killed by sprinkling the comb with cold water. By giving the jet of water some force they may be washed out, or we may throw them out with the extractor, then use the comb for starters in our sections. By keeping empty frames, and empty cells in the nuclei, the bees may be kept active; yet with so few bees, one cannot expect very much from the nuclei. After cutting all the queen-cells from our old hive, we can again insert eggs, as above suggested, and obtain another lot of cells, or, if we have a sufficient number, we can leave a single queen-cell, and this colony will soon be the happy possessor of a queen, and just as flourishing as if the even tenor of its ways had not been disturbed.