> 1940 is the salient bit...so much less bee mobility driving spread.
I think this is a myth, migratory beekeeping was well underway 100 years ago.
IN the San Joaquin Valley it is the usual practice to move bees to, new pastures five or six times a year. Thus, hauling bees is one of our major tasks. It appears that it is still the custom in most states of the Union to use screens, either entrance or top, or both, when moving bees. We learned in 1926 that screens of any sort were a nuisance; that they smothered the bees, and made a big job out of bee hauling. Bees can be moved almost any distance, under practically any conditions, without the use of any sort of screen, cleat, or nail. We stumbled upon the method accidentally thirteen years ago, The practice has gradually increased until now almost all of the beekeepers in California move bees without screens. We discarded top screens in 1922, :finding that the entrance screen was much more convenient and just as safe.
snip
There are many beekeepers who will say that bees cannot be safely moved without screens. We ran into this objection from the very start, some beekeepers even thinking that we were trying to spoof them. Even when we showed them loads of bees on the truck that were open, they still clung to the old method of killing bees, It was a good method, too, for it was always the 'best hives that were smothered, Only after they smothered an extra choice load did some of the beekeepers throw away their screens. It appears to be a human trait to learn the hard way. Many times, simply because a thing is new, we are afraid of it. Some beekeepers also claimed that a large number of the bees would fly off the moving truck and be lost. It does not work this way, for as soon as the truck starts to move the bees settle down and apparently enjoy the ride which is certainly not the case when they are screened in. Try a couple of loads open and will throw away your screens.
Moving Bees Without Screens
By LEE H. WATKINS, California.
ABJ Nov. 1939
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