Originally published in The Vidette-Messenger of Porter County on December 1, 1930.
F. W. SIEVERT OF PORTER GIVES INTERESTING FACTS ON BEE HIVE “BEESNESS”
(BY JEROME KENNY)
PORTER, Dec. 1.ーF.W. Sievert , local confectionary and cigar store owner, has a unique recordーhe has eaten honey every day for the last sixty-two years. M. Sievert is a beekeeper and he certainly believes in his honey as a healthful and excellent food.
Since he was a youth of fourteen and living on a farm a mile west of here the local man has followed his hobby of keeping bees. Mr. Sievert now has 100 hives which he keeps on a hillside farm near the site of Port Williams.
“When we were kids,” says Mr. Sievert, “we used to open the hives regularly and look in, but we never knew what we were looking for. Beekeeping has changed much since that time. At least we know what to look for now.”
In following his hobby for a great many years, the experience has taught him much, Mr. Sievert has become an authority on all phases of bee culture. He is well known at meetings of apiarists and his advice is sought by many beginners in the business.
A few days ago Mr. Sievert began packing his bees for the winter. This winter he is trying out a theory that is radically different from the usual practice in beekeeping. The bees will be left outside this year instead of putting them in a sheltered place such as a basement. This will allow them to adjust themselves to the changing temperatures better, explained Mr. Sievert.
At this time of the year the bees are getting ready to survive until spring and warm weather on the honey that they stored up this summer. The bees this year, Mr. Sievert explained, went into winter quarters with a good many young bees.
“The breeding of bees depends largely upon the amount of nectar available to make money, and this year there was little or no food for the bees until fall,” he says.
Most of the honey was obtained from the fall flowers. The yield this year averaged slightly more than fifty pounds per hive. Yield sometimes goes to over 200 pounds per hive, if the weather is favorable.
Although fall honey is considered the better in food value the American public prefers the summer honey which is lighter in color. The summer honey is gathered from clover or basswood while the later product is a combination of the nectar of all the fall flowers.
During the winter only the queen bee and the workers exist. All the drones, or male bees are killed off by the workers so that the food supply will hold out. The bee colony is not a socialistic community.
Even though the workers are not as large as the male bee they are able to kill him off by using strategy. When the drone tries to eat the workers annoy him and he doesn’t get enough to eat. Eventually he is so weakened by starvation that the worker is able to sting him to death. He is then carried outside of the hive.
There is a great amount of justifiable “beeicide.” a colony with 200,000 members during the summer will have only 80,000 left during the winter. This number is greatly augmented during the advent of warm weather.
On March 15 or 20 the breeding season begins. The queen lays about 150 eggs a day. In April she increases her output to 5 to 6 hundred per day and by June she is in the height of production with 3,000 eggs per day. She continues at this rate until about Nov. 1.
According to Mr. Sievert the egg quantity is dependent upon the honey supply and a good keeper will provide his bees with all they can eat. Likewise it is essential that the swarming should be controlled scientifically. There should be plenty of room to swarm.
