EX?HRI1$;ENT STAT i LEE}? $2571‘! r ' BUILDING. TEXAS111i111£Kl1l1l1»11Al{EXPERIMENT STATIIIN B. YOUNGBLOOD, DIRECTOR COLLEGE STATION. BRAZOS COUNTY. TEXAS BULLETIN NO. 361 " AUGUST, 1927 DIVISION OF EN TOMOLOGY THE WORK OF THE STATE AP1CUL- TURAL RESEARCH LABORATORY _ 1919-1926 Q)» Q“ €~ Qé/ AGRICULTURAL AND MECHANICAL COLLEG§OF TEXAS T. O. WALTON, President STATION STAFFT ADMINISTRATION : ‘B. YOUNGBLOOD, M. S., Ph. D., Director . B._CoNNER, M. S., Acting Director . E. KARPEB, B. S., Acting Vice-Director . SCHAEDEL, Secretary . K. > HOLLEMAbL-JIL, Chief Clerk FRANCKLOW, Assistant Chief Clerk HESTER IIIGGS, Executive Assistant . B. NEBLErrE, Technical Assistant ISTRY: _ . S. FRAPs, Ph. D., Chief; State Chemist . C. CARLYLE, B. S., Chemist _ . E. AsBuRv, M. S., Assistant Chemist WALDO H. WALKER, Assistant Chemist VELMA GRAHAM, Assistant Chemist _ AnAii P. STURGIS, B. S., Assistant Chemist R. O. BRQQRE, M. S., Assistant Chemist T. L OGIER, B. S., Assistant_Chemist J. G. EvANs, Assistant Chemist HORTICULTURE: ,Chief H. N ESS, M. S., Berry Breeder RANGE ANIMAL HUSBANDRY: J. M. JoNEs, A. M., Chief; Sheep and Goat Investigations J. L. Lusii, Ph. D., Animal Ilusbandman; Breeding Investigations W. H. DAMERQN. B. S., Wool Grader ENTOMOLOGY: _ ‘ F. L. THOMAS, Ph. D., Chief; State Entomologist _ . J. REINRARD, B. S., Entomologist . K. FLETCHER, M. A., Entomologist . L. OwEN, JR., M. S., Entomologist . C. GAiNEs, JR., M. S., Entomologist _ RANKLIN SHERMAN, III, M. S., Entomologist . F. BIBBY, B. S., Entomologist . B. COFFIN, B. S., Entomologist _ . R. ADKINS, B. S., Assistant Entomologist . A. CUNYus, B. S., Assistant Entomologist . O. McCov, B. S., Assistant Entomologist . J. TODD, B. S., Assistant Entomolvglsl . E. McGREGoR, JR., Acting Chief Foulbrood Ins ector Orro ACKENSEN, Foulbrood Inspector GiLLis GRAHAM, Foulbrood Inspector AGRONOMY: _ E. B. REYNoLns, M. S., Chief _ _ A. B. CoNNER, M. S., Agronomist; Grain Sorghum Research _ _ R. E. KARPBR, B. S., Agronamist; Small Grain Research ’ _ P. C. IVIANGELSDOBF, Sc. D., Agroncmwt: in charge of Corn and Small Grain Investi- a ions D. . KiLLoucn, M. S., Agronomist; Cotton Breeding _ E. C. CUSHING, B. S., Assistant in Crops P. R. JonNsoN, B.S., Assistant in Soils O mmggpnuguw 3 wn- 0 ¢ A I a n , v n n A I n; \ o , - - z u < 4 n v n n s - i : - n ; Q u I - I . : v L c v0 cccc 0v o p | ~ 1 J Q ¢ w | u. [ll 1| inhtur Mull ‘ ‘ll || || llll ll ‘Ill ‘a’! is ll l/l l I ll l‘ ill Mil ll will will l l Figure ‘ZN-Honey Plant Divisions 0f the State of Texas 1. Legume-Horsemint Association 7. Yaupon-Swamp Plants Association 2. Composite-Legumes Association 8. Mesquite-Horsemint Association 3. Sumac—Broom Weed Association 9. Tropical Plant Association 4. Cotton-Horsemint Association 10. Catclaw-Whitebrush Association 5. Sweet Clover-Fruit Association 11. Catclaw-Desert Flora Association 6. Rattan-Hardwood Association 12. Alfalfa-Sweet Clover Association somewhat with the soil divisions, but more nearly with the geological outcrops. It is difficult to give names to any of these divisions that are entirely satisfactory to the various students interested. To make these locations known to the greatest number, the following tentative list of dual names is given. Where there is such a thing as an out- WORK OF~ STATE APICULTURAL RESEARCH LABORATORY, 1919-1926 9» standing honey plant in a division, the name of this plant becomes the name of the division. a a Table 2.—H0ney Plant Divisions of the State of Texas. Common Name Honey Plants 1. High Plains (Llano Estacado), Panhandle. . LegumeTHorsemint Association 2. Ro ling Plains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Composite-Legumes Association 3. Limestone Hills and Prairies . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sumac-Broom Weed Association 4. Black Waxy Prairie Belt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cotton-Horsemint Association 5. East Texas Rolling Timber Belt . . . . . . . . . . Sweet Clover-Fruit Association 6. Flat Woods Belt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . rlattan-Hardwood Association 7. Gulf Coast Prairie . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yaupon-Swamp Plants Association 8. Rio Grande Plain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . VIesquite-Horsemint Association 9. The Lower Rio Grande Valley . . . . . . . . . . . . Fropical Plant Association 10. Western Limestone Hills and Prairie. . . . . . Zatsclaw-Whitebrush Association 11. Trans Pecos Region Mountains a11d Plains. Ilatsclaw-Desert Flora Association 12. Irrigated Sections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Alfalfa-Sweet Clover Association Heavy honey crops coming from a single species of plants are rare“ occurrences. Even in the cotton district Where few other plants occur, there are still native honey plants which contribute to the crop. The; honey is named after the plant which furnishes the characteristic flavor... The honey listed for sale by the Texas Honey Producers’ Association is marked as to source. A compilation of the data gathered by the~ Honey Producers’ Associationlshows the following list of honey plants in the order of the amount of honey produced: cotton 20 per cent ;. Yhorsemint 19 per cent; mesquite 13 per cent; guajillo 4 per cent; catsclaw; cactus; broomweed; sumac; Mexican persimmon; yaupon ;. A rattan; and whitebrush. Cotton and horesemint vie with each other for place in production. Some years mesquite ranks first, but it is an- erratic producer. The cultivated plants,.-cotton, alfalfa, and sweet clover,——are increasing in importance, owing to the ever-increasing acreage. No figures are available for the amount of honey produced from alfalfa or sweet clover in Texas. The wild plants, with the ex- ception of mesquite and horsemint, are becoming of-less importance’ because of the encroachment of cultivation upon their habitat. This i; encroachment has become so great that if beekeeping is to keep its present place among the Texas industries, nectar-yielding plants must be introduced or aided. There is no known honey plant that will pay for its cultivation for- honey alone. To meet the need for information as to the improve- 1 ment of pasturage, the Laboratory has numerous tests on both native and foreign plants in operation. It will have a publication on the- sweet clovers and crimson clover ready for distribution in a short time- The Winter Care for Bees Included under this division of the work are all of the experiments giving data on the relation and reaction of honey bees to all environ- ~ mental factors. As the preparation for a successful wintering begins the first of August and the results of a successful wintering extends t to that time, the solution of the wintering problem is but a perfect 10 TEXASVAGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION understanding of the relationship of the bee to its surroundings. To obtain-this information the Laboratory maintains a complete set of weather instruments. In addition to these and in order to keep an accurate .check on the activity of -bees, every change of Weight that occurs in a colony is recorded by a time-weight machine. In addition, seven colonies on scales are weighed twice a day. Recording thermo- graphs and hygrographs are used inside the hives. Much that is of value has already come to light. One of the most important things is the fact that the yearly life of a colony is divided into four periods of food consumption; namely, a fall-brood rearing period, a Winter static period, a spring-brood rearing period, and a summer static period. The amount of food necessary to carry a normal average colony through these periods has been determined, and suggestions as to how to take advantage of this knowledge in caring for bees will be the subject of a publication. r The following interesting results also have been obtained. Bees stop all activities in the field when the temperature reaches 94 degrees F, the sky being clear, and the moisture in the air being less than 50 per cent. The lethal "temperature for confined bees is near 120 de- ' grees F. The temperature 6 inches under the ground-at the Labora- tory never goes below 60 degrees F. This makes the burying of col- onies of bees for winter protection impractical, as the constant tem- perature of 60 degrees outside of the hive allows the bees to maintain a temperature within the hive sufficiently high to keep up brood rear- ing. This causes either the consumption of all the stores long before the first spring honey flow of the swarming of the colony while the above-ground temperature is too low "for the bees to establish a new colony. Either condition generally results in the death of the colony. In all of south and southwest Texas, winter packing is not neces- sary until spring-brood rearing is well advanced. When heavy pack- ing is used no winter cluster is formed, with the result that stores are exhausted long before the spring honey flow or that swarming’ occurs before warm weather. I Light packing or a good windbreak is necessary in early spring. This is to prevent the chilling of the brood in the rapidly expanding _ brood nest. Entrance-guards with a five bee-way opening should be put on all hives by November 20 as a prevention against mice and wind. To pass the winter in the best shape, a Z-story, 10-frame standard hive should weigh, complete with bees an.d stores, not less than 85 pounds. ~ ' Improvement of Stock Rearingqueens for improving the stock was the first work started. i At present the yard has a capacity of about 50 queens every 21 days. The primary object of the yard is to obtain data on thedevelopment of queens and on the improvement of stock by selection, cross breed- ing, or line breeding. The surplus queens from this work have been sold to the beekeepers of the State. The map, Figure 3, shows how extensive this distribution has been. The high quality of the strain WORK OF, STATE APICULTURAL RESEARCH LABORATORY, 1919-1926 11 of these queens developed at the Laboratory is best shown by the de- mand coming from honey producers and the queen breeders of the State. The queen yard is not operated for the purpose of selling queens for profit, but if it had been so operated to full capacity, it could not have filled one-half the orders received, which shows the demand for better queens which this distribution has developed. In this Work it was found that all queens used, whether of foreign or American breeding, showed a mixed ancestry. Pure-line in-breed- ing gives a fixed strain. The. selection of the best individuals in a line from a strain, for breeders, gives a slow but constant increase in the characteristics for which selection is made. . As a result of the work in queen rearing and the use of many meth- ods, a system was developed which ha.s been used to advantage. In- formation on the operation of this system is given in Circular 35 en- titled “Suggestions on Queen Rearing.” Fig. 3.—Map of Texas,_ each dot indicating that an improved queen has been supplied to a beekeeper 1n the county _by the Apicultural Research Laboratory of the Texas Agricultural. Experiment Station. 12 TEXAS AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION Table 3.—The number of queens distributed to Texas beekeepers, 1920-1926, shown by counties and the number of purchasers. No. County 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 Pur- Total chasers Anderson . . . . . . . . . . . . 1O 1 . . . . . . 1 . . . . . . 1 . . . . . . 7 l3 Angelina . . . . . . . . . . . L . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 . . . . . . l 2 Aransas . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . .. 11 1 . . . . . . . . . . .. _ 2 12 Atascosa . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 5 4 7 6 7 . . . . . . 1O 32 Austin . . . . . . L . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 . . . . . . 1O l 3 14 Bandera . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 2 Bastrop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 . . . . . . 1 2 Baylor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 1 5 Bee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 5 . . . . . . 5 . . . . . . 1 2 9 17 Bell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 8 . . . . . . 1 l0 5 . . . . . . 12 28 Bexar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 11 7 8 32 27 69 39 157 Blanro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 . . . . . . 11 . . . . . . 3 14 Bosque . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 4 Brazoria . . . . . . .> . . . . . . 2 1 3'} 29 . . . . . . 8 67 Brazos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 19 Brown... ._ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 12 17 6 29 Burleson . . . . . . . . . . . . , 3 . . . . . . 2 . . . . . . 2 5 Burnet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 1 1 Caldwell . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . J . . . . . 2 6 Calhoun . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . , . . . . . . 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 2 3 9 Callahan . . . . . . . . . . . . l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 1 1 Cameron............ . . . . . , . . . . . . l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 12 . . . . .. 1 12 Cass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 2 Childress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 . . . . . . 1 2 C l1n . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 6 28 Comal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 1 4 3 . . . . . . 7 4 9 22 Concho . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 . . . . . . . . . . . . l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 6 Cooke . . . . . . . . . . . . , . . . . . . . . 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 1 Cor ell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 . . . . . . l . . . . . 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 4 Dal as . . . . . . . . . . . _ . .. 3 1 . . . . .. 6 19 . . . . .4 42 12 71 Deaf Smith . . . . . . . , . O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 . . . . . . 1 3 Delta . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 . . . . . 1 2 Denton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . l . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 27 35 7 20 76 DeWitt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 . . . . . . 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 4 8 Dlmmit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 3 Duval . . . . . . . _ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 , . . . . . . . . . . . 7 4 11 Eastland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 1 1 Edwards . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 3 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 . . . . . . 9 17 ElllS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 1 . . . . . . 6 14 7 1 15 41 Erath . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 1 2 Falls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 3 . . . . . . 2 5 . . . . . . 7 9 24 .Fannin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 . . . . . . 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 4 10 25 Fayette . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 5 6 5 13 Fisher . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 3 Floyd . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 1 Franklin . . . . . , . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . , . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 1 6 Freestone . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 2 Frio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 33 33 39 18 115 Gillespie . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . l 3 Goliad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 5 Gonzales . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 12 29 5 10 52 .Grayson . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 . . . . . . 3 9 Grimes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 6 Guadalupe . . . . . . . . _ . . 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 . . . . . . 5 . . . . . . 5 14 Hamilton . . . . . . . . . _. . . . . . . 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 4 Hardeman . . . . . . . . , . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1O . . . . . . 1 2 5 13 Harris . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 3 4 12 Haskell . . . . . . . . . . . , . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . l . . 4 1O 3 6 17 Hays . . . . . . . . . . . . . _ . . 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 6 20 Henderson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 . . . . . . 1 4 idalgo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 . . . . . . 6 13 . . . . . . 9 2 17 33 Hill . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 . . . . . . 2 3 Hood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 . . . . . . 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 3 Hopkins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 . . . . . . . . . _ . . . . . . . . 3 . . . . . . 3 8 Houston . . . . . . . . . . _ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 2 4 Hunt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 8 . . . . . . 18 6 10 7 23 57 Jefferson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 1 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 5 Jim Hogg . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 . . . . . . 2 2 Johnson . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 3 . . . . . . 6 . . . . . .. 5 6 6 26 Jim Wells . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 2 Karnes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 6 . . . . . . 2 6 . . . . . . 8 22 Kaufman.....- . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 1 . . . . .. 7 . . . . .. 3 8 Kent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 6 . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 11 _ ,1.-»;--< i - WORK OF STATE APICULTURAL RESEARCH LABORATORY, 1919-1926 .Table 3.—Thenumber of queens distrihu counties and the number of purchasers—C0ntinue . 13 ted to Texas beekeepers, 1320-1926, shown by Limestone . . . . . . . . . . . Live Oak . . . . . . . . . . . . Llano . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lubbock . . . . . . . . . . . . . McCulloch . . . . . . . . . . . McLennan . . . . . . . . . . . Mason . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Matagorda . . . . . . . . . . . Maverick . . . . . . . . . . . . Medina . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Menard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Milam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Montague............ Morris.............. Nacogdoches . . i . . . . . . Navarro . . . . . . . . . . . . . olan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Nueces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Palo Pinto . . . . . . . . . . 4 Parker.,............. Pecos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Raines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Real . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Red River . . . . . . . . . . . Reeves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Refugio.............. Robertson . . . . . . . . . . . Rockwall . . . . . . . . . . . . Runnels . . . . . ‘ . . . . . . . Rusk . . . . . ._ . . . . . . . . . . San Augustine . . . . . . . . San Patricio... . . . . . . . Scurry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Shelby............... Smit Throckmorton . . . . . . . . Tom_Green . . . . . . . . . . Travis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Washington . . . . . . . . . . Webb . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Wharton . . . . . . . . . . . . . Williamson . . . . . . . . . . . ilson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Wise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Wood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Young . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Zavalla . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Totals . . . . . . 139 1920 1921 1922 No. 1923 1924 1925 1926 Pur- Total chasers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 1 1 . . . . . . . . . . .. 2 1 2 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 1 1 . . . . .. 32 16 13 56 . . . . . . . . . . .. 3 1 3 3 . . . . .. 1 . . . . .. 5 13 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 3 9 12 . . . . .. 3 5 23 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. l 3 . . . . . . . . . . .. 5 6 17 1 . . . . .. 7 . . . . .. 17 36 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 1 3 . . . . . . . . . . .. 5 1 5 . . . . . . . . . . .. 4 2 4 5 . . . . .. 6 . . . . .. 4 11 . . . . . . . . . . .. 12 2 12 . . . . . . . . . . .. 7 3 9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 15 1 15 10 15 19 . . . . .. 16 48 . . . . .. 2 2 2 4 . . . . .. 6 1 5 11 . . . . . . . . . . .. 1 1 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 1 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 1 4 . . . . . . . . . . .. 2O 7 26 3 3 9 36 15 71 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 6 3 8 17 . . . . .. 6 . . . . .. 9 25 . . . . . . . . . . .. 4 1 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 1 2 . . . . . . . . . . .. 9 2 9 3 . . . . .. 4 2 7 9 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 3 7 . . . . . . . . . _ . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 1 2 . . . . .. 5 15 3 23 1 . . . . .. 8 . . . . .. 3 9 . . . . . . . . . . .. 11 4 15 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 2 6 2 1 . . . . .. 3 4 6 . . . . . . . . . . .. 2 18 3 20 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 1 12 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 6 16 . . . . . . . . . . .. 6 3 6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 12 1 12 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 6 1O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 1 1 1 . . . . . . . . . . .. 3 1 3 2 15 . . . . .. 1 9 25 10 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 2 10 1 i . . . . . . . . . .. 1 3 3 3 2 . . . . .. 1 16 38 1 . . . . .9 7 1 8 1O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 2 4 9 12 7 . . . . .. 16 42 . . . . . . . . . . .. 5 2 8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 2 8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 1 1 5 . . . . .. 5 5 4 15 3 . . . . .. 21 . . . . .. 6 25 L . . . . . . . . . .. 1 4 1O 12 . . . . .. 6 7 7 31 13 . . . . .. 2 1 5 16 . . . . . . . . . . .. 8 4 4 13 1 1 . . . . . . . . . . .. 2 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . _ , . . . . . .. 1 3 7 . . . . .. 9 . . . . .. 9 28 311 313 586 437 672 2171 Total queens sent out, 2,171. Total counties receiving queens, 139. Total purchasers receiving queens, 672. V one locality to another to take advantage of local honey flows. The __ 14 TEXAS AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION Regional Investigation NO- 1, Dilley Yard! This yard- represents the conditions found in ref, Chaparral district and is located at the south edge of the city of Dillej The original yard was a gift from the Frio County Beekeepers’ Ass,‘ ciation. The yard now contains 50 colonies and is a representativ commercial outyard in size and equipment. This yard was first uf: to obtain honey flow dates. Winter management and queen introducf tion experiments were carried on later. At present bee activity >5 are being taken; 3 colonies on scales in the same yard provide infor mation of changes occurring within the hive. j In this yard it was found that a Z-story, 10-frame hive could outa 7-pound swarm. This swarm built 14 new combs and gave 7 . pounds of surplus honey. The parent colony did not make the leasfii gain in weight for 56 days and made no surplus honey. Colonies requeened in August showed little tendency toward swarmi ing. Such colonies produced one-third more surplus honey than col-‘v onies having 2-year-old queens. Y A greater yield of honey can be made by taking the combs as soon as sealed rather than by waiting and taking the crop at the end of the honey flow. . ’ Grease brush or Guayucan (Porlieria angustifolia) is a far better s and more dependable honey plant than is generally supposed. In connection with this yard, two commercial yards not belonging ‘ to the State are under observation in a beekeeping economics experi-. g ment. T NO- 2, ROXtOII Yard= This yard is of commercial size and is located at i Boxton in the sweet-clover-cotton section of northeastern Texas. a; This yard was established in 1923 with the aid of the Lamar County Beekeepers’ Association. ‘ ' Experiments conducted here show the value of moving bees from A value of August requeening also showed itself in this yard. Segllin Yard! This yard was put into operation in 1924 and a dual _ queen system put under test. This yard is to be used for the testing = of bee behavior. v Sllbstatiollsi A few colonies of bees are kep-t on several of the Experi- ment Station Substations. The data taken by the men of the Substations give much information as tovregional variations in honey crops and practice methods. The work done at the Substations at Chillicothe, Spur, and Lubbock shows that bees may be kept with profit in that. region, which is as yet not counted as a beekeeping section. PUBLICATIONS q The first p-ublication of this Laboratory, Bulletin No. 255, Texas f Agricultural Experiment Station, Agricultural and Mechanical Col- lege of Texas, entitled “Beekeeping for Beginners,” was issued in De- cember, 1919. The~_demand for this was such that the edition of 15,- ‘ recording instruments. i5. é i“. F; WORK OF STATE APICULTURAL RESEARCH LABORATORY, 1919-1926 15- 000 copies was distributed in eight months. As the demand did not abate, the bulletin was revised and reprinted in 1924. Circular No. 35, Texas Agricultural Experiment Station, Agricul- tural and Mechanical College, “Suggestions on Queen Rearing” was distributed in February, 1925. Many short popular articles from the Laboratory have been published: in beekeeping and farm journals. WHAT THE STATE APICULTURAL RESEARCH LABORATORY HAS ACCOMPLISHED 1. In four years’ time, a piece of bare farm land and dense chap- arral has been changed into a Well-equipped, agricultural field laboratory. 2. Two thousand well-bred queens have been distributed. 3. A honey plant survey of the State has been made. 4. Forty thousand eight hundred pounds of honey have been pro- duced. 5. One thousand eight hundred and thirty-six queens have been sold. The proceeds from the sale of the two above articles have been expended upon equipment for the Laboratory. i 6. An outline of work for beginners in beekeeping has been per- fected, Bulletin No. 255, Texas Agricultural Experiment Station, p Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas. '7. “Suggestions on Queen Rearing” has been published, Circular No. 35, Texas Agricultural Experiment Station, Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas. 8. Thirty-five regular contributions of economic value have been made to bee journals. 9. Sixty articles relative to the care of bees have been published in farm papers. SUMMARY After selecting the site for the location of the State Apicultural Re- search Laboratory near San Antonio, four years ago, the Work of clear- ing the land, constructing buildings, and assembling equipment has been carried on with the least possible interruption to the progress of the investigations. A mass of notes and data has been gathered on the honey plants of Texas and this information is now being prepared for publication. If apiaries are located where only one 0r two surplus honey plants abound, it will pay to practice migratory beekeeping. The best loca- tions for apiaries are along the boundaries of the floral divisions. Information of the effect of temperature and humidity on the activ- ity of bees has been gathered by weighing colonies with the aid of self‘- A study of this information shows that in all south and southwest Texas, winter packing is not necessary until spring brood rearing is well advanced. To pass the winter in the best shape, a a two-story, ten-frame standard hive, complete with bees and stores, should weigh not less than 85 pounds. The production of pedigreed queens, which have been selected and ‘l6 TEXAS AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION bred with the object of improving the disposition and honey-gathering ability of the bees, hasresulted in a slow but constant improvement along the lines for which selection was made. Experiments on the manipulation of colonies show that When re- queened in late summer, they seldom swarm the following spring. Such colonies on an average produce more honey than those having older queens. c; V Xg g 40a or R040 a A Fnavv _ E 57.3475 AP/Cl/ZWML RL-JHFCH ZJBURITO/W "-1 rm?“ 0F THE ( 75x45 Al-‘R/(‘l/LTI/ML zxrzmz/vr-smnav TESM “m5 g AER/CULTURAL afiffCl/AN/(AL 60£L£6£ m... g, ‘ Q‘ E s s‘ I ‘é s e ° "t _ s 3.3 miles--> .45 ~ * s .1 l “é, o? .8./milr_s _ “ l’ ifm. "a . W mm wbm ‘Ra. ' a ~22 rnilfs l“; a 5m17els+ l Grin! 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