Management of Bees in Winter.
The following address on this subject was delivered by Mr. E. Rood, of Wayne (Mich.), at the Michigan Bee-keeper’s Convention, held at Lansing, on the 23d of March last. The crowded state of our columns and files at the time it was received, prevented an immediate insertion, and its appearance now will probably be all the more opportune and serviceable.—Ed.
If there be no objection, I would like to reverse the order of the time or statement of the subject which I am expected to discuss, as the spring management follows that of the winter.
The winter management, of a necessity, involves some things that must be done in the fall; and let me premise by saying that almost, if not all of the operations and manipulations of bees, are quite simple, when the natural habits and requirements of the insect are well understood, and with a reasonable amount of intelligence and perseverance the object is accomplished. Let me assure new beginners, and those that have not begun, that the honey will much more than compensate for the labor bestowed upon them, as I know of no branch of rural pursuits that, in dollars and cents, pays as well. And the pleasure derived from a study of their nature and habits, will far more than compensate, in a scientific point of view, for all their stings.
In preparing for winter, of necessity it is incumbent upon us to see or learn that they have sufficient food to carry them through until they can procure it for themselves;—say twenty or twenty-five pounds if wintered in a special depository, and twenty-five or thirty if wintered on their summer stands.
We should then remove the surplus honey-boxes as soon as the first hard frost; as, if they remain on, the bees will the next day carry into the breeding apartment all that is not capped over; and I have seldom or never known a swarm but what had enough in the body of the hive to winter on, if they had stored any in the surplus boxes.
Next, weigh one or more empty hives, to which weight add, say ten pounds for weight of bees, combs and bee bread; then the first cool day proceed to weigh every swarm,—no guessing about it. Mark the net weight of honey upon the same corner or place on each hive.
Next, the first fine day commence to equalize the amount of honey in the various swarms; if in movable frames, taking from the heaviest and giving to those that require feeding; if not in movable frame hives, the light ones must be fed in the evening with some of the various feeders, and a good swarm will carry from five to eight pounds to the combs in a night. They may be fed on a syrup made of clarified sugar, but the syrup should never, nor should honey be kept, melted, dissolved, or fed from copper or brass vessels, as it has been ascertained that verdigris will cause foul brood.
We have now provided our bees with sufficient food for winter, and why should we not? We provide (or should), a sufficient supply for each sheep, and certainly the profits of a swarm of bees are as great as from a sheep—aye, and far greater—and they do not require one-fourth part of the care and attention.
I know of but one other preparation for wintering. In almost any apiary there will be some small swarms and some destitute of queens, they may and should be doubled up, but no two large swarms should be put together—they will not do well.
We are now ready to put our bees into winter quarters. The exact time for removing them to the quarters cannot be now definitely determined. If there are any small swarms, it will be well to put them in somewhat earlier than the large ones; as there is not as much animal heat, and those upon the outside of the cluster become chilled and perish; perhaps the first of December, as a general rule, will be the correct time.
Now for the winter quarters. If they are wintered on their summer stands, it would be much better if the yard was enclosed with a high board fence, or something to break off the winds. The fly-holes should be nearly closed, so that it will be one-half or three-fourths of an inch in size, that it may not get stopped up with dead bees, also that but a trifle of air may enter, thus preventing much draft, and as upward ventilation is almost absolutely necessary, there should be openings in the top of the hive for the vapor to escape, but the openings should be protected in a manner to prevent the wind from driving into them. There are many ways, as laying on five or six inches of straw and placing the roof on it, or a board and some weight to keep it in place, or the cover to the honey boxes may be filled with straw or some other substance that will absorb all the moisture. This upward ventilation should be closed, say the 15th of March, or after the extreme cold weather is over. Thus I have given you all that seems necessary, where they are wintered on their summer stands.
When they are wintered in special depositories, the preparation is the same, except that no straw or other substance is necessary; but the honey-board must be raised, say a quarter of an inch, or if in common hives, the holes in the top of the hive left open, the fly-hole the same as above, the temperature kept between twenty-five and forty-three by thermometer, the cellar or room perfectly dark, and when you enter it, do so with a lantern.
I will now proceed to give what I regard as the best form and method of constructing a special depository. Convenience to the apiary is essential; it is as well, and perhaps better if we can, to place it in the edge of a bank—as some root cellars are made—bluff, or side-hill. The door should be at the lowest side, for the convenience of entrance, as it is difficult to pass up and down stairs with a swarm of bees.
The size of the room will of course be sufficiently large to contain what bees we wish to place therein. Sixteen feet by twenty, inside measure, will hold one hundred and fifty swarms, and leave ample alley room. The place should be dry, there should be a double door, the room perfectly dark, ceiling joists and a floor should be laid over head, and eight or ten inches of sawdust, tan-bark, dry marsh muck, or some nonconductor placed on it before putting on the roof. Four pipes, chimneys or tubes, made of ten or twelve inch boards, should run from just below the ceiling through the roof, and be of sufficient length to exclude the light, say eight feet, on the lower end of which there will be a simple slide or valve. Place one in or near each corner of the room. Thus we have the means distributed for the ascent of the surplus heat, and the animal heat of one hundred swarms is quite considerable, and the great difficulty, if any, will be to keep our room cool enough. To jump at the conclusion that a room with thin walls will accomplish it, will not answer; the great difficulty is to have an even temperature. As, if our walls are thin, the rays of the sun and warm air will make the room too warm. In February, 1869, I was under the necessity of doubling the thickness of a ten inch wall on the south side.
We also place a pipe or tube quite around the inside of the room upon the floor or ground (a floor is quite unnecessary, worse than nothing, for it makes a hiding place for rats and mice), this tube may be made of foot boards, and inch holes bored in it, once in two feet, for the equal distribution of the cold and fresh air, when needed. One end of this pipe must pass through the wall, and must have a slide or valve at or near the outer end.
If my room was at the bank or hill, the lower side or end will of necessity be destitute of earth banking, and we would make the wall at least sixteen inches, filled as above with some nonconducting substance, and dry marsh muck is equal, if not superior, to almost any other substance, except fine charcoal, and is easily procured.
A house built altogether upon a level surface, with the walls of sufficient thickness, say eighteen or twenty inches, will be equally good. The cost of such a house as I have described cannot be great. Most, if not all the labor, can be performed by the apiarian.
This house will be found very convenient for many other purposes in the spring and summer, in the various operations, to wit: in overhauling and examining the bees in the spring, as a window sash may then be placed in the top of one of the doors, and a stove placed within—thus I have one arranged.
When you suspect there may be a material change in the temperature of the room, look to the thermometer; if too cold, close the valves, if too warm open them more or less, as occasion may require; if that is not sufficient, open the door after dark, and close it again before light, and if that is not sufficient, throw in and spread over the floor a few bushels of snow or pounded ice.
Many swarms will be benefited by being set out on their summer stands at the time of the January thaw, or in February, those that are besmearing their hives, that they may discharge themselves, which will cure most cases of diarrhœa, or dysentery as it is called—though there are real cases of diarrhœa, but not often.
Thus we have passed over the most essential points in the wintering of bees. I will now proceed to give some, if not all of the necessary steps in their management in the spring.
It is difficult to give the exact date at which they should be removed to their summer stands, but whenever it is done, it is not at all important that each swarm should be placed on the identical stand it had the previous season, neither is this precaution necessary if set out in the winter.
In removing them from the cellar, it will first be necessary to close up the fly-hole and remove the chip or block from under the honey board—to confine the bees in the hive.
Immediately after placing them upon their summer stands, if housed in special depositories, and perhaps about the same time or a trifle earlier if wintered out, the bottom boards should be cleaned of dead bees and other filth, it saves the bees much labor and no doubt conduces to their health.
As soon as they have become accustomed to their new location, one of the most important operations in bee management becomes necessary, to wit, the thorough examination of the swarm, for five purposes: First, to ascertain if they have sufficient honey to carry them through; of this we may judge with sufficient accuracy from the appearance of the quantity. Be sure to leave them enough, as the breeding season is now considerably advanced. We must also regard the size of the swarm, which will, of course, include the quantity of brood now on hand. Secondly, to see if they have too much honey. This reason is almost equally important with the other; it could be hardly conceived by the novice how it was possible that a swarm of bees could have too much honey. Well, we would like to have you explain that, Mr. Lecturer, says one—I think many. Well, be patient, my friends, and we will make the attempt. First, then, we will suppose the breeding chamber of the hive is the proper size. This involves the question as to what is the proper size. Well, there are various opinions about it; but with some experience, aided by a few simple figures, we may approximate to it. We may assume that a vigorous and healthy queen can and will lay three thousand eggs a day; now, each square inch of comb will contain fifty eggs, and fifty will go into three thousand sixty times; it takes about twenty-one days for the eggs to hatch; now twenty-one times sixty is one thousand two hundred and sixty: this would be a solid mass of comb, larva and pupa; of a necessity, then, we must add to the above one thousand two hundred and sixty, half as much more room, six hundred and thirty inches, making the inside of the hive one thousand eight hundred and ninety cubic inches. It will be well to add say half an inch more to the depth of the hive, as the bees seldom build combs to within half an inch of the bottom board. Well, suppose the hive is fourteen inches each way (horizontal) we would thus add ninety-eight inches more; this would give one thousand nine hundred and eighty-eight, or for convenience, two thousand cubic inches; two thousand two hundred and eighteen and one-fifth cubic inches are a bushel, which is most commonly given as the proper size of the hive. Now, our figures have given nearly that size, and worked mathematically close, and giving a little leeway, our hive will hold about a bushel. Let us recollect this is the room required for breeding purposes. We added two hundred inches, and will suppose that will be filled with pollen and honey; now, if these premises be correct, we start in the spring with the size of our hive much reduced by being filled with honey, as we have but two hundred cubic inches for that purpose and the bee-bread. Can we now see that a swarm of bees may have too much honey in the breeding chamber? Still we must leave enough at this examination to carry them safe through till an abundant supply can be obtained from the blossoms. Suppose, therefore, we leave from thirty to fifty pounds of honey in the hive, is it not evident we have trenched that amount of space upon the breeding territory? Then, if the season is a good one for honey, this room is constantly being diminished by the bees depositing honey in the cells as soon as the brood leaves, the result of which will be your young swarms will be too small, and by winter the old ones, for the want of breeding room, are too few to raise sufficient animal heat to winter. Even if the proper amount only is left in the hive in the spring, and the season is a good one for honey, the hives should be examined, say the first day of August, and the outside sheets that are filled with honey and have no brood in them, be removed, and empty sheets or frames placed in the centre of the hive that the queen may have more room.
Thirdly. We examine the hive to see if there is too much drone comb (and any is too much in a large apiary) for if you remove all, the bees will find means to raise drones enough, as in a hive with the ordinary quantity there are probably enough for an apiary of fifty or seventy-five swarms.
Fourthly. We examine the hive to determine if the queen is living, and if so, if she may not be a drone layer. The question will be asked by some how we determine if she is living, or is a drone layer. If there is no queen there will be no brood, and vice versa, and if the brood be all drone, there would be no doubt of her being a drone layer. In either case, the swarm should be doubled up with a swarm that has a normal queen; the drone layer should first be killed.
Fifthly. In performing these examinations it is an excellent plan to transfer each swarm to a clean hive, as the rabbets have often become partially filled with propolis or gum, as are also the ends of the frames covered with it, and sometimes the hive may want repairs.
We have seen that this examination is one of paramount necessity. The better place to operate is perhaps in a room or place with a single window, or a half window is better, and the room should be so warm that the bees will not chill upon the window. It should be so arranged that the bees that gather thereon may be frequently liberated; the weather should be sufficiently mild for them to fly from the place to the hive. A decoy hive should be set upon the stand, with a few pieces of comb in it; the decoy hive should be of the same color as the one being operated upon. An active person can examine twenty hives in a day with an assistant. This examination may be performed out of door at the stands, were it not for the fact that it is a season of the year when the robbers are most persistent. In performing these operations, it will be found advantageous to blow in a little smoke at the time of opening the hive.
We now have our bees in clean hives with plenty of honey—not too much—and without too much drone comb. But perhaps a few queens may have died a natural death during the winter, or there may be some drone layers. In either case, the bees should be put with another swarm. This may done in various ways; the safest, perhaps, for the uninitiated, would be to drive the swarm from the hive without a queen into the other, by first blowing in a little smoke, also sprinkle in a trifle of scented syrup, and then drumming; and after they are driven the swarm had better be removed to a perfectly dark room or cellar say for a week, or remove them to a distance of at least a mile for a week. This removing should be done instanter. An additional precaution would be to place the one hive above the other preparatory to driving, with a wire cloth between them, say for forty-eight hours, that each may have the same scent.
It is often the case that many swarms are small in the spring; then comes the question, what is it best to do with them? I am of the opinion that the better plan is to feed them, to stimulate the queen to breeding. Commencing the 15th of March, give the swarm from three to four tablespoonfuls of honey every day, or every other day, except the days they gather from flowers, will answer; but they must be watched closely to see if they have plenty of honey in the combs for their brood, and they consume much more than we would suspect; as, for illustration, suppose a hive to be filled with larva capped over, can any person tell me how that amount or mass of animal matter can be brought into that form without an equivalent in weight of liquid sweet (honey or sugar syrup) and pollen, for which we substitute in our stimulating process in the spring unbolted rye flour, placed where it will be protected from wind and water. They may be easily enticed to it by placing a little honey in the vessel.
Another method of procedure is to double up the weak ones. Another still is to equalize them by taking a sheet of brood that is hatching from a large swarm and giving it to the small one.
One of these methods is very important, as after all the apparent secret of bee management the greatest secret lies in keeping the swarms strong.
The bees in small swarms are all compelled to stay at home to keep up sufficient animal heat to keep the brood warm, perhaps scarcely gathering honey enough to stimulate the queen to lay; and if she did lay up to her full capacity, there are not bees enough to keep the brood warm.
Another advantage in having strong swarms is to avoid the miller or wax moth.
I lay down the proposition that the moth never materially injured a good swarm in a decently made hive.
In this connection, I lay down another proposition, that without some explanation may seem as strange as the one above alluded to, (that a swarm of bees may have too much honey.) I think I may assert that the moth is or may be an advantage. We always act from one or more motives moving us to a particular point. Amongst other things, I stated that the moth never materially injured a good swarm of bees. Now, one of the requisites of a good one is strength. Let us see if the moth may not be an advantage. Most bee-keepers have had in their yard say at least two swarms of that size that all they could do would be to get themselves into good condition as to numbers and stores for the coming winter, without giving the owner a young swarm or an ounce of surplus honey, and at the same time they were very much exposed to the moth and stood a good chance to be destroyed by them, because there are not bees enough to guard the unprotected combs.
Now, we will put these two swarms together, and see what the result will be; we will have a swarm strong enough to guard against the moth, strong enough to keep a large quantity of brood warm, by which it will be strong enough to throw off a swarm in good season, and if it is a fair season for honey we may expect twenty-five pounds of surplus honey from the mother swarm. And what have we lost? a queen. The comb we will preserve in a cool, dry place, and give them to the young swarm. Has the moth in this view been a benefit?
We have now our hives properly examined, those that need it fed, the honey taken away if too much, the queenless doubled up, the weak stimulated, equalized or doubled up. There are now but few things to be done, the hive should be made as tight as possible with no upward ventilation, the fly-hole opened but a trifle, and as the swarm increases, which we can determine by the steam, or rather dampness, on the bottom board at the fly-hole in the morning, we will enlarge the fly-hole.
We will next place a trough in the centre of the yard and keep water in it, and to prevent the drowning of the bees will cover its surface with corn-cobs, and occasionally exchange them for fresh ones as they become sour in time.
Now we feel pretty sure thus far we have warded off that scare crow, “luck.”
I think of but one other duty we can perform for our and their benefit, that is within the task assigned me, to wit, that of placing the surplus honey boxes on the hive. Mr. Quinby, I think is the only writer that tells us the proper time, namely, when the hive is full of brood and honey below. As they only go into the boxes for the want of room below, and not always then, they should not be put on much sooner, as it enlarges the space to be kept warm by the animal heat, all of which is needed up to that time.
[For the American Bee Journal.]