232 Anna Maurizio 



phenomena in the hfe of a bee colony, namely, overwintering, 

 or the bridging of an unfavourable season during which the 

 bees cannot forage for food. 



More primitive social insects like bumble-bees and wasps 

 solve this problem by dispersing the colony in the autumn, 

 leaving only the inseminated females to overwinter. In the 

 case of the honey-bee, however, the entire colony overwinters 

 with the queen, and the rearing of the first spring brood 

 takes place before the active season begins. The difficulties of 

 overwintering are overcome by producing in the autumn a 

 long-lived generation with big body reserves; the colony is 

 thus enabled to live through the winter and rear the first 

 spring generation. 



To understand this, one has to consider in greater detail the 

 characteristic habits of the summer and winter bees, and the 

 ageing and seasonal changes which certain organs undergo. 

 In particular, the pharyngeal glands and the fat body are 

 affected; the wax, mandibular, and salivary glands, and the 

 ovaries of the working bees, are also affected, though to a 

 lesser extent (Anderson, 1931; Armbruster, 1931; El-Deeb, 

 1952; Evenius, 1937; Farrar, 1936, 1949Z?, 1952; Freudenstein, 

 1924; Gontarski, 1950, 1954; Haydak, 1934, 1937a, h, 1939, 

 1940a, h; Haydak and Tanquary, 1943; Koehler, 1921; 

 Kratky, 1931; Levin and Haydak, 1951; Lotmar, 1939; 

 Mauermayer, 1954; Maurizio, 1946, 1954; Nickel and Arm- 

 bruster, 1937, 1938; Phillips, 1922, 1928; Ribbands, 1953; 

 Rockstein, 1950a; Zander, 1947, 1951). 



Let us begin with the summer bee. In Central Europe it is 

 to be found in the colonies between May and August. Its 

 lifespan varies from a minimum of 25-35 days to a maximum 

 of 60-70 days, and it emerges at the height of full colony 

 development. It will find in the colony large patches of open 

 brood, and very often the number of nurses is scarcely suf- 

 ficient to feed the young larvae. During the first 10-14 days 

 of its life the young bee consumes a large amount of pollen, 

 thus stimulating full development and functioning of the 



