BEES.

Rangitikei Advocate and Manawatu Argus, Volume XXXIV, Issue 9365, 6 February 1909, Page 5

BEES.

LECTURE AT FEILDING. At the Feilding Technical School yesterday afternoon Mr Gibb gave a lecture on bees. Mr Fossey presided. Mr Gibb commenced by explaining that bees belonged to the insect|order and the family included the most intelligent of the order. He then went on to explain the anatomy of bees, mentioning among other facts that the queen and worker bees have 5 and 6000 eyelets or facets composing the eye, respectively, and the drone no less than 13,000. The wings of the worker bees, he said, were wen out in about six weeks during the honey season, bnt their'life might be six months in the winter season when the workers had not much to do. The wax was a product of the bee from honey. It took 121 b of honey to make one of wax. He advised beginners to commence with three hives of No. 8 size, and purchase the bees from an old bee ", keeper, and thus be likely to them free from foul brood. The bee keeper should make an effort to keep down increase. The lecturer had a large number of illustrations of bees, their parts and parts of the hive to which he referred his audience in a highly technical lecture on the subject. Treating of the disease of foul brood, he said, the only way to deal with it was to get rid of the infected honey. This was a disease of ynung bees. Paralysis was a disease „ that had affected adult bees and hitherto had occurred only in the South Island and could beibest dealt with by removing the old queen and replacing it by a young one. He distinguished sour brood from foul brood. In reply to a question as to how to prevent" swarming:,Mr Gibb said when a swarming took place the swarm should be placed in a box and the latter the old hive, and afthr two days the top story of the hive should; be placed on the box containing the swarm, then the old hive should be removed to a distance and most of the bees in the latter would go to the new hive. He referred to another plan and stated that an effort was being made at the Government apiary to breed bees that would not swarm.