BEEKEEPING BY E.F. PHILLIPS The Rural Science Series L.H. Bailoy Editor ALBERT R. MANN LIBRARY EVERETT FRANKLIN PHILLIPS BEEKEEPING LIBRARY f DATE DUE PRINT ID IN U.S.A. GAYLORD Cornell University Library SF 523.P555 1916 1 t ( / \ - ' ‘ -- / ‘ Ube IRural Science Series Edited by L. H. BAILEY /3> BEEKEEPING Eijc Hural Sctcnec Series Edited by L. II. Bailey The Soil. King. Tiie Spraying of Plants. Lodeman. Milk and its Products. Wing. Enlarged and Revised. The Fertility of tiie Land. Roberts. The Principles of Fruit-growing. Bailey. 20th Edition, Revised. Bush-fruits. Card. Fertilizers. Voorhees. The Principles of Agriculture. Bailey. 15th Edition, Revised. Irrigation and Drainage. King. The Farmstead. Roberts. Rural Wealth and Welfare. Fairchild. The Principles of Vegetable-gardening. Bailey. Farm Poultry. Watson. Enlarged and Revised. The Feeding of Animals. Jordan. The Farmer’s Business Handbook. Roberts. The Diseases of Animals. Mayo. The Horse, Roberts. I low to Choose a Farm. Hunt. Forage Crops. Voorhees. Bacteria in Relation to Country Life. Lipman. The Nursery-book. Bailey. Plant-breeding. Bailey and Gilbert. Revised. The Forcing-book. Bailey. The Pruning-book. Bailey. Fruit-growing in Arid Regions. Paddock and Whipple. Rural Hygiene. Ogden. Dry-farming. Widtsoe. Law for the American Farmer. Green. Farm Boys and Girls. McKeever. The Training and Breaking of Horses. Harper. Sheep-farming in North America. Craig. Cooperation in Agriculture. Powell. The Farm Woodi.ot. Cheyney and Wentling. Household Insects. Herrick. Citrus Fruits. Coit. Principles of Rural Credits. Mormon. Beekeeping. Phillips. Frontispiece. — The apiary of the Bureau of Entomology, Drummond, Maryland. BEEKEEPING A DISCUSSION OF THE LIFE OF THE HONEYBEE AND OF THE PRODUCTION OF HONEY BY EVERETT FRANKLIN PHILLIPS, Ph.D. IN CHARGE OF BEE CULTURE INVESTIGATIONS, BUREAU OF ENTOMOLOGY, UNITED STATES DEPART¬ MENT OF AGRICULTURE Neto garfc THE MACMILLAN COMPANY LONDON: MACMILLAN & CO., Ltd. 1916 All rights reserved Copyright, 1915, By THE MACMILLAN COMPANY. Set up and clectrotyped. Published August, 1915. Reprinted July, 1916. SF 1 1 ‘iiip c.Y Nottooob J. S. Cushing Co. — Berwick <fe Smith Co. Norwood, Mass., U.S.A. JLo M. H. G. P. PREFACE The present book is the result of an effort to present a logical discussion of the various phases of the complex sub¬ ject of beekeeping. It was not planned as a book of rules to which one may go for directions for each day’s work, for beekeeping cannot be treated correctly in such a way. The activities of bees vary during the seasons and no two localities present to the bees and their owners exactly the same environ¬ mental conditions, so that the successful beekeeper is one who has a knowledge of the activities of bees, whereby he can in¬ terpret what he sees in the hives from day to day, and who can mold the instincts of the bees to his convenience and profit. It has seemed desirable in the early chapters to discuss bees as they exist without man’s interference, thus giving the foun¬ dation on which the practice of beekeeping rests. The bee¬ keeper is not especially interested in the anatomy of the bee and, while it is necessary to use illustrations of various organs and to describe them briefly, an effort has been made to treat the bee as a living animal and to have the discussion deal with physiology and especially with activities, in so far as investi¬ gations have thrown light on these processes. In the prepara¬ tion of the chapters devoted to the management of the apiary, an effort has been made to present the various systems of manipulations in such a way that the underlying principles shall be evident, rather than to attempt to describe each sys¬ tem as if it were separate. _ The author has been helped by the facilities of the office of the Bureau of Entomology with which he is connected and is vii viii Preface under obligations to Dr. Jas. A. Nelson and George S. Demuth for friendly advice and assistance. To F. V. Coville, of the Bureau of Plant Industry, thanks are due for assistance on the chapter on the sources of honey and to Dr. C. C. Miller for counsel on spring management and comb honey, on which sub¬ jects he is the highest authority. Especially to his wife, the author would express his gratitude for most valuable help. The illustrations with a few exceptions were either drawn for this book from material gathered from many sources or have been borrowed from publications prepared in the office of bee culture investigations of the Bureau of Entomology. The new drawings are by J. F. Strauss. A few illustrations copied directly from other sources are credited individually. In presenting a book to American beekeepers, the author would express the hope that it may be as helpful to them as the cordial assistance and cooperation of many of them have been to him in his work. E. E. PHILLIPS. Washington, D.C., March, 1915. CONTENTS CHAPTER I BEEKEEPING AS AN OCCUPATION Two classes of beekeepers — Extent of beekeeping in the rAG1” United States and Canada — The relation of apparatus to the development of beekeeping—Who should be a bee¬ keeper ? — Beekeeping for women — Advantages in exten¬ sive beekeeping—Where bees may be kept—Results to be expected.l_2i CHAPTER II APPARATUS Relative importance of equipment and skill — Apiary house — Hive stands — Hives and hive parts — Equipment for handling bees — Other equipment.22-33 CHAPTER III THE COLONY AND ITS ORGANIZATION The point of view — Danger from poor work — Advan¬ tage of experience in behavior investigation — Zoological position of the honeybee — Bees not domestic animals — Necessity of colonial life —Size of the colony —Types of individuals in a colony — Queen — Workers — Drones — Brood — Natural nest — Contents of the cells — Arrange¬ ment of the nest — Color of the combs — Protection of the nest — Comparison with stingless bees .... 34-53 IX X Contents CHAPTER IV THE CYCLE OF THE YEAR PAGES Brood-rearing — Brood-rearing during the season — Tem¬ perature of the hive — Swarming — Preparation for swarm¬ ing— Issuing of the swarm — Stimulus to leave the hive — Behavior of issuing swarm — Clustering — Supposed aids to clustering — Scouts — Entering the new home — Parent col¬ ony— Mating flight — After-swarms — Activity of swarms — Swarming conditions induced artificially — Peculiarities of bees in swarming—Causes of swarming — Swarming- out — Gathering of nectar and storing of honey — Collec¬ tion of other materials — Killing of the drones — End of brood-rearing — Winter cluster — Movements in winter — Responses to outside temperature — Conservation of heat — Source of heat—Effect of accumulation of feces . 64-92 CHAPTER V THE LIFE OF THE INDIVIDUAL IN RELATION TO THE COLONY Developmental stages — Cellular structure of tissues — Egg — Early embryonic development — Later embryonic development — Segmentation — Fate of parts of the embryo — Larval development — Metamorphosis — Length of devel¬ opmental stages — Cycle of duties of the adult worker bee — Division of labor — The labor within the-hive — Comb building — Feeding of lame—Composition of larval food — Feeding of queen and drones — Other inside work — The guarding of the colony — The labor outside the hive — Divi- sionof labor in gathering—Pollen gathering — Propolis col¬ lection — The collection of water — Duration of life — Work determines length of life — Practical applications — Possible determining factors.93-131 CHAPTER VI THE LIFE PROCESSES OF THE INDIVIDUAL General plan of the body of the bee — Head — Thorax — Abdomen — Digestion — Circulation — Metabolism — Res¬ piration — Excretion — Locomotion — Protective apparatus 132-101 Contents xi CHAPTER VII THE NERVOUS SYSTEM AND THE SENSES PAGES Nervous system — Sense organs — Sight — Smell — An¬ tennal sense organs — Taste — Touch — Hearing — Temper¬ ature sense — Finding of the flowers — Finding of the hive — Memory — Nature of bee activities. 102-180 CHAPTER VIII THE REPRODUCTIVE PROCESSES AND PAR¬ THENOGENESIS Origin of the eggs — Origin of the male sex cells — Par¬ thenogenesis— Sex determination — Practical applications — Hermaphrodite bees — Eggs which fail to hatch 181-191 CHAPTER IX RACES OF BEES Types of social bees — Species of the genus Apis — Vari¬ eties of the species mellifica — Egyptian — Syrian — Cyprian — Grecian — Caucasian — Italian — German — Carniolan — African races — Asiatic races — Chinese-Japanese — Best race of bees . 192-204 CHAPTER X REGIONAL DIFFERENCES WITHIN THE UNITED STATES Variation in intensity of honey-flows — Variation in the value of plants — Beekeeping regions—General regions — The white clover region—The alfalfa region — The south¬ eastern region — The semi-arid region of the southwest — The sage region — Restricted regions — Buckwheat — Su¬ mac — Spanish needle — Willowherb — Sweet clover — Blue thistle — Raspberry — Beans — Heartsease — Variation within a region — Distribution of bees in the United States — Migratory beekeeping — Overstocking — Dadant out- apiaries . 205-221 xii Contents CHAPTER XI THE FIRST STEPS IN BEEKEEPING PAGES Purchase of colonies—Purchase of bees to be shipped from a distance — Requirements in purchased colonies — How to learn beekeeping — Value of reading—Merits of beekeeping courses — Beginner’s outfit . 222-227 CHAPTER XII THE APIARY SITE Apiary grounds — Exposure to the sun — Care of the api¬ ary grounds — Arrangement of hives — Number of colonies in one apiary — Out-apiaries—Conveniences less essential in out-apiaries. 228-233 CHAPTER XIII THE MANIPULATION OF BEES Disturbance to be reduced to a minimum — Equipment for manipulation — When to handle bees — Opening a hive — Remedies for stings — Removing frames — Handling frames — Desirability of straight combs in manipulations — Closing the hive — Occasional manipulations — Feeding — What to feed — Feeders — Uniting—Influence of hive odor — Learning the new location — Transferring — The best time to transfer colonies — Methods — Transferring from walls of houses — Transferring from hollow trees — Prevent¬ ing robbing in the apiary — Moving bees — Elimination of non-essential manipulations — Two essentials — Increase in efficiency through system.