MillerThousand AnswersBeekeepingQuestions.pdf - BioBees

THOUSAND ANSWERS 145clined to put in an appearance whenever laying is not normal.You speak a little as if there were only one laying worker present.The probability is that there was quite a large number.Q. You say a colony of laying workers should be broken upand the combs distributed among other colonies, and that the beesare old and of little value. In what way would it be doing anygood to give a good colony one of those combs of worthless beesand drone-brood?A. While these old bees are of little value, they still havesome value, and that value may as well be utilized. We are toldthat a worker in the busy season lives to be about six weeks old.Now suppose we have some bees that are four or five weeks old.They have yet a week or two to live, and they are good as fieldbees for that length of time; so if given to other colonies theywill finish up their lives in a useful way, doing more good thanif you try to tinker up the colony with a young queen. To besure, you might give a queen, together with brood, and enoughyoung bees to make a fair colony, but these old bees are exceedinglyloth to accept a queen, and you'll be likely to lose her. Betterbreak up the colony, and then start a new one elsewhere.Lazy Colonies.—Q. Last season I had lazy colonies that didnot do anything but rear bees. They were running over withbees but did not swarm nor store any surplus honey. Would itbe best to give them another queen?A. It is possible that there may have been some excuse for thebees doing nothing, but if other colonies were doing well at thesame time the likelihood is that the bees were at fault, in whichcase it would be well to give a queen of better stock. They mayhave been late in breeding, owing to spring weakness, and insuch case the hatched bees, coming too late for the crop, wouldonly help consume the honey harvested.Q. Do bees "lay off" for a week before swarming and do nothingbut eat honey?A. They take no such vacation as you suggest. There may bea let-up for some hours, and you may see bees laden with pollen,among the swarming bees.Q. Is there any way to get backward bees to work in thesuper besides baiting them, and then maybe wait until they areforced to? That was always my luck.A. Yes, get them so strong early that they'll be glad to rushinto the sections without any bait; only they will enter the superssooner with baits. If you mean a way to make a weak