Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 180, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 16 August 1917 — REGULATE SWARMING TO INCREASE HONEY [ARTICLE]

REGULATE SWARMING TO INCREASE HONEY

Expert of Missouri College Gives Suggestions Intended to Assist Bee Keepers. Bee swarming is natural, and cannot be entirely prevented though it can be regulated. Some strains of honey bees, such as the small black bees, swarm more often than others, though all strains may be expected to swarm whem conditions are right. To secure the greatest production of surplus honey, reduce swarming to a minimum. By repeated, swarming many weak colonies are produced, each of which stores little if any surplus honey, and they may all be so weak that they will perish during the following winter. ' Congestion in the hive, tree or other abode, a restriction of the brood nest, over-heating, due to poor air circulation and the lack of shade, and an overabundance of drones, are some factors which tend to encourage swarming. Leonard Haseman of the University of Missouri college of agriculture offers the following suggestions for regulating swarming: Make the abode of' the colony comfortable, give it shade, remove drone brood, provide plenty of room for surplus honey in the supers, and make sure that the brbod chamber .is large enough to accommodate the colony. The tendency to swarm is usually most noticeable during May,-June and early July, and if the foregoing precautions are taken in time will help prevent development of the swarming fever. ~ If the swarming fever is once developed by a colony, swarming is much mdre difficult to prevent. The careful removal of queen cells every week may help to prevent the swarm from emerging, but may not relieve the swarming fever. By removing part of the brood combs rich in brood and giving them to weaker colonies in exchange for some of their combs which have little or no brood.

the normal emergence of brood is disturbed, which tends to relieve the swarming fever. It should be remembered that the production of comb honey encourages swarming more than the production of extracted honey. Under present conditions, when it is so urgent that more honey be produced to relieve the sugar shortage, small as well as commercial beekeepers are urged to produce more extracted or chunk honey and less of the fancy section honey. Bees work more readily in frames thanetn pound sections; and where the honey is extracted and the empty combs returned for refilling much more honey will be obtained. This in itself will materially hylp to regulate swarming.