Factors Influencing the Lifespan of Bees 241 



The continuity of life in a bee colony depends upon an 

 unbroken succession of generations. This succession is main- 

 tained by the fluctuations between nutrition, brood-rearing, 

 physiological condition and lifespan, giving the colony 

 adaptability to the prevailing external conditions. 



The greater the brood nest is in proportion to the number 

 of nursing bees, the larger is the new batch of young bees, but 

 the shorter the lifespan of the individual insect. Restricted 

 brood areas resulting in small numbers of young bees, on the 

 other hand, mean long-lived bees. Both types of colony are 

 well known to the practising bee-keeper. These types are 

 partly genetically conditioned, it being probably less the 

 longevity of the bees which is hereditary than the tendency 

 to the laying down of large or small brood nests. 



[The editors would like to thank Mrs. M. Silverman for her work in 

 translating this paper, and Mr. H. K. Airy Shaw for his expert advice.] 



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