STOCKS MORE LIABLE TO BE DESTROYED LAST OF SUMMER.
But in July and August it is different in this respect; a single moth may enter the hive when exposed, and deposit her whole burden of several hundred eggs, as in the other case, but the heat from the bees is now unnecessary to hatch them. The weather at this season will make any part of the hive warm enough to set her whole brood at work at once, and in three weeks all may be destroyed! This, and the fact that more moths exist now than before, may account for the greater number of stocks being destroyed at this season. Yet it is considered extremely bad management to allow honey or combs to be devoured by this disgusting creature. A little care to know the condition of the stocks _is necessary_ to prevent their getting the start. These duties should be fully considered before we take the responsibility of the care of bees.
The only condition when we can rest and feel safe is when _we know all our stocks are full of bees_. Even the "moth-proof" hive containing combs will be scented out by the moth, when there are no bees to guard it. An argument to show that a moth can enter where a bee can go is unnecessary, and a little observation, I think, will prove that her eggs sometimes go where she is not allowed.
At this season, (July and August), it is a good plan to put a few pieces of old dry combs near the hives, in a box, or other place, as a decoy, where the moth may have access. She will deposit a great many of her eggs here, instead of the hive, and can be easily destroyed. As we cannot always have our bees in a situation to feel safe, it will be well to adopt some of the means recommended to diminish the number of moths. First destroy all the worms that can be found at any time, particularly in spring; second, all cocoons that can be got at. A great many worms can be enticed to web up, under a trap of elder, &c., when it is an easy matter to dispatch them. Thirdly, destroy all the moths possible that can be seen about the hive. They are very much like the flea, "when you put your finger on him he is not there;" a careful move is necessary to crush him at once, otherwise he darts away at the least disturbance. Probably the most expeditious mode is to make them drunk.