MillerThousand AnswersBeekeepingQuestions.pdf - BioBees

THOUSAND ANSWERS 25Q. Which is better, to have the bottoms loose on the hives, orhave them nailed on?A. The best way is to have the bottom fastened to the hive bymeansof staples, so that you can remove it at any time you like.I wouldn't have a bottom that could not be fastened on, and abottom that couldn't be taken off readily would be worse still.Q. How would it work to use the same depth of bottomboardunder the frames, seven-eighths in winter, and close theentrance down to three-eighths inch by a strip of wood for outdoorwintering? What size of entrance would you use here?A. It would be all right. Deeper than seven-eighths would bestill better for the bottom-board, but I would not care to havethe entrance more than three-eighths, and perhaps not morethan four inches wide.Bottom-Boards, Dust on.—Q. I have noticed on the alightingboardsof two or three of my colonies a substance resemblingsawdust. What is this? I winter my bees outside in small shedspacked with straw. The sheds face the south.A. That brings vividly to mind the first year I wintered bees,when I was alarmed to find under the bees and at the entrancesomething that looked like a mixture of coffee grounds and sawdust,and I didn't know but what it was "all up" with my bees.An old beekeeper quieted my fears by telling me it was nothingworse than the bits of the cappings that the bees dropped whenunsealing the honey. Your bees have the same "disease."Box Hives.—Q. In June I found a large swarm of bees and putthem in a shoe-box, not having any beehive. I have left them inthe shoe-box, and I think there must be about 100 pounds of honeyin it, as it is all that I can do to lift it. What is the best way toget a portion of this honey without damaging the bees ortheir winter supply? What is the best way to keep bees overwinter? My cellar is rather cold, and slightly damp. Would it doto keep them there? (Illinois.)A. It is very doubtful whether you can take any honey awaywithout badly damaging the chances of the bees for safe wintering.Better leave it until spring, or until next summer, after thebees have swarmed. They will not waste it, and you can get laterwhat honey they can spare. If they were in a movable-comb hiveyou could safely take the honey now.You are in latitude 41 north, or a little more, and in Illinoisthat's nearly the dividing line between outdoor and cellar wintering,with mostly cellaring. But if your cellar is damp and cold,and there is no way to warm it, you may do better outdoors.