APIARY NOTES FOR MARCH.

Shannon News, 6 March 1928, Page 1

APIARY NOTES FOR MARCH.

(By D. S. Robinson, Apiary Instructor, Dept. Agriculture, Palmerston N.)

The main portion of the surplus honey should now be off the hives, care being taken to leave sufficient honey for the bees’ use during the winter. The amount of honey to be left should not be less than 301bs per colony. HONEY FOE SHOWS. I would again like to remind the beekeepers of the district that at the Palmerston North Winter Show, there are several classes, for beekeepers to compete in. The more competition there is, the better the display of honey; the better the display of honey, the more it attracts the general public; the more the general public are attracted, the better the advertisement for honey. When taking off the honey, the best filled frames should be carefully cleaned from propolis, then wrapped in grease proof paper, and kept for showing at the winter shows. Section honey, the best filled and most even sections, should be stored in a like manner, for showing. ' ROBBING. Entrances of hives may now be contracted - a little, and more so as the colder weather comes on. Care should be taken that no honey is spilt near the apiary, that the bees cannot gain access to . syrup, etc., for if they can there is a big chance of, setting up robbing in the apiary. Should robbing start it is usually the strong colonies robbing the weaker ones, and one method of cheeking it is by changing the position in the yard of the strong and the weak hives if any robbing‘starts. J£eep the entrances of all weak hives small to guard against robbers. DISEASE. When removing the honey each liive should be carefully inspected for the presence of foul brood. If any is located, notice must be sent to the Apiary Inspector for the district within seven days of finding the disease. Treatment should be carried out forthwith, as there is still a slight flow of nectar for the bees to build up on before the winter. Any lioney taken from a diseased hive must be stored in a bee proof place to prevent bees gaining access to it and thus spreading the disease. WEAK COLONIES. Weak colonies should be united to stronger colonies, by placing the weak colony over a stronger one with a sheet of newspaper, between the two colonies, so that the bees in the top hive are only able to leave the hftm by gnaw--1 ing through the paper. In this method one must take care that the supers fit well and that the bees cannot get out between the two supers. APIARIES ACT PROVISION. The following portions of the Apiaries Act, 1927, should be of interest to beekeepers and others:— No beekeeper shall keep after March 31st, 1928, bees except in a registered apiary. i No beekeeper shall keep any bees except in frame hives, the frames of which may be easily removed without cutting the combs, etc. Except with the written consent of an Inspector, no person shall sell, barter, lend, or give away any bees for removal to another location, remove or transfer any bees to other localities more than ten chains from their previous location, take or remove bee combs, etc., from one' apiary to another, for the purpose of extraction of honey or for use for any other purpose on or in connection with such other apiary. ' Every beekeeper in whose apiary foul brood appears, shall take forthwith proper steps to cure the disease, and within seven days of first finding the disease send written notice-thereof to an inspector. No person shall expose any honey, appliances, etc., from infected hives, or will allow bees to gain access to them, until such honey, appliances, etc. have been thoroughly sterilised by approved methods. No person shall sell, barter, lend or give away to any 'other person, any bees or appliances from an apiary infected with disease. The maximum fines for breaches of the Apiaries Act vary from £2O to £SO. A HONEY BEVERAGE. A delicious summer drink may be made from honey. Take 1 lb honey, 1 ounce citric acid, pour over these one; quart of boiling water. When cool, add a few drops of essence of lemon. Use diluted with water.