. British bee journal & bee-keepers adviser. Bees. April 14, 1921. THE BEITISH BEE JOUENAL. 161. Seasonable Hints. Owing to the abnormal weather con- ditions, bees are, generally speaking, in a forward condition, and the novice is somewhat puzzled as to what steps to take. In those districts where there is an abund- ance of fruit bloom, feeding will not be necessary so long as the weather is favourable for the bees to fly. If not already done, stocks should be examined, ami a note as to their condition made. Iz is advisable to " spring clean " the hives at the same time. A few st
. British bee journal & bee-keepers adviser. Bees. April 14, 1921. THE BEITISH BEE JOUENAL. 161. Seasonable Hints. Owing to the abnormal weather con- ditions, bees are, generally speaking, in a forward condition, and the novice is somewhat puzzled as to what steps to take. In those districts where there is an abund- ance of fruit bloom, feeding will not be necessary so long as the weather is favourable for the bees to fly. If not already done, stocks should be examined, ami a note as to their condition made. Iz is advisable to " spring clean " the hives at the same time. A few stocks will be found with an abundance of food, others with a moderate amount, and others with only freshly-gathered honey in the combs and no reserves. Spring feeding must be done with discretion. So much has been written about spring stimu- lation, that as soon as April is in many novices at once commence to feed every stock, regardless of its condition. Feed- ing in spring serves two purposes—one is, it keeps the bees from perishing from hun- ger, the other, it causes the bees to stimu- late the queen to lay to the utmost limit, and that limit is not the capacity of the queen for producing eggs, but is set by the number of bees available to keep the resultant brood warm. The aim now is not, as in the autumn, to get the combs stored with food, but to produce bees, so that there is a strong working force when the main honey flow comes. A very little reflection will show that a cell full of honey or syrup cannot be used as a cradle for a bee, and if combs are choked up with food the colony can- not increase in. numbers as it should, owing to the limited space available for breeding purposes. Therefore to feed a stock with an already well-stored larder is not only unnecessary, but a disad- vantage. Under those conditions it may be an advantage to remove a comb of stores and give it to a stock needing food: an empty comb should be given in its place. Bruise some of the cappings o
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