MillerThousand AnswersBeekeepingQuestions.pdf - BioBees

THOUSAND ANSWERS 207Royal Jelly.—Q. How long will royal jelly, taken from aqueen-cell, keep and still be fit to use in grafting cells?A. Much depends upon the thickness of the jelly and howopen it is kept. If very thick, in a warm place, with air stirringso as to encourage evaporation, it might be unfit to use in lessthan an hour. Not very thick, in a' cool place, with little chancefor evaporation, I guess it might keep two or three days.Sage.—Q. Where does the sage honey come from?A. California. It is one of the principal honey-plants of thatstate. Sage honey is of very fine flavor and finds ready sale inany market. There are several varieties of sage growing wild inCalifornia, all of them yielding more or less honey.Salt.—Q. How is salt fed to bees?A. It is not often that salt is fed to bees. Some have thoughtit desirable, because in the spring bees are found where saltymoisture is to be obtained. Others think the bees care only for themoisture, and prefer a place not because the water is salty, butbcause it is warmer than in other places. The easiest way to givesalt to bees is to give it in their drinking wate--Sap.—Q. Is sap from rock maple good feed for bees? If so,should it be boiled down or fed as it comes from the tree? Ifboiled down, how far should eight quarts be reduced to make thebest feed?A. Yes, the bees will take it without boiling down. But lookout not to feed it on days too cool for bees to fly freely.Scent in Bees.—Q. Do bees have a sense of scent? If so,where is it located?A. Yes, bees have a sense of smell. Until lately this sense hasbeen believed to be located in the antennae. Now Dr. James A.Nelson locates it in different parts of the body.Sealed Covers.—Q. I am a young beekeeper. I had seven colonieslast fall, and put all of them under cover on the south sideof a shop. I thought they would be good and strong in the spring,but when I set them out I found only two alive. These were goodand strong. I had sealed covers on them, but they looked as ifthey had been pretty damp. They all had plenty of stores exceptone. Do you think the dampness killed them? What plan wouldyou suggest for me to take next winter?A. Likely the dampness had much to do with it. With only asingle thickness of board for a covering, it would get quite cold.