The Bee As a Pollenizer, Beekeeping vs. Fruit Growing

The honey bee is one of nature's greatest pollenizing agents. Without the bees and kindred nectar gathering insects many varieties of plants would become extinct for lack of fertilization . The bee is specially active as a pollenizer due to the fact that pollen forms an important part of its food supply and is eagerly sought after during the brooding season, which by the way is always when the flowers bloom the most. Greenhouse men and orchardists fully realize the necessity of having a good supply of bees present during the blooming season. I have in mind a customer who tells me that were it not for the bees he keeps in his greenhouse he would not get any cucumbers. Bees have been accused of spreading fruit tree diseases in this way as well as pollen. Tests along this line have demonstrated that they were no more to blame than other insects. Disease still spread after the bees were banished, but the setting of fruit was light. Trees that were enclosed with wire screen were in same cases free from disease, but also without fruit. The value of the bee as a pollenizer makes a good talking point for the apiarist who Is endeavoring to induce a fruit grower to lease him a bee location. In Northern California it is a common practice for deciduous fruit growers to pay beekeepers several dollars per colony rental as an inducement to them to move their bees into the fruit grower's orchard for the sole purpose of promoting satisfactory pollination . Experiments conducted by the University of California have demonstrated that in many instances the presence of bees in the orchards in blooming time has more than doubled the yield of fruit.

Natural Enemies of Bees

ANTS: If your colonies are bothered by ants, we suggest that you control the ants with a few applications of arsenic ant syrup which may be purchased at drug stores under various trade names. It may be placed in special ant syrup containers or in shallow dishes beneath the hives where the bees cannot get it. It is poisonous to bees. Another way is to place the hives on a four-legged bench, each leg of which rests in a dish of crank case oil.

SPIDERS: Spiders are among the bee's worst natural enemies. Their mischief takes place far afield and is therefore difficult to check on or combat. Their webs can be destroyed when found close to the hives. Black widow spiders are frequently found in or under beehives. Be on the lookout for them.

SKUNKS: Skunks are not especially fond of bees but in the fall of the year when other food is scarce they are occasionally troublesome. Their trick is to tap on the hive to induce the bees to come out on the lighting board. Then Mr. Skunk makes a square meal. They do considerable scratching and digging in front of the hives and so make their work very easy to detect. Skunks are extremely easy to trap with an ordinary steel trap. A very light dose of strychnine in a piece of bacon or an egg is sure death to a skunk but it is also bad medicine for a dog. As soon as the winter rains bring on a crop of grubs and worms the skunks are glad enough to lay off the bees.

BIRDS: The bee martin is the chief offender among birds. They have a way of perching on fence posts and trees about the apiary. It takes about twenty-five bees to make a meal for one. Fortunately they are seldom very numerous. A box of shells and a shot gun is the best antidote for bee martins.

BEE MOTHS: A natural enemy of bees, in some countries they make great havoc. In our Southwestern States they do little damage except where gross neglect on the part of the beekeeper gives them the right of way. They lay their eggs in combs that are not occupied by the bees. When weather gets warm in the spring these eggs hatch into tiny worms. They riddle the combs increasing in size as they advance always leaving a trail of web behind. Strong colonies are the best safeguard against moths. Italian bees seem to protect their hive against moths much better than do other races.

Combs that are stored in supers indoors should be kept moth tight and inspected occasionally. Carbon bisulphide or sulphur fumes will kill moths. Disinfection does not harm the combs and it is a good plan to disinfect all combs that have been exposed to moths whether their presence can be detected or not.

Fumigation does not always kill the moth eggs. So to kill the young worms before they do too much damage it is advisable to fumigate three times, a week apart, covering a period of two weeks time. Supers of dry combs when stood on end under a tree will remain moth free. Moth larvae cannot live where daylight penetrates.