FIFTEENTH ANNUAL YEAR BOOK — PART VIII. 513 



of pollen were to be found. After the second storing the honeydew honey 

 was clear, well ripened, and did not granulate. This colony was also in 

 a six-frame hive, as previously described, and contained five thermometers 

 (Nos. 14-18) among the combs. It is of course well known to beekeepers 

 that honeydew honey is not a good food for winter. 



When this colony was first put into the constant temperature room it 

 behaved much as did Colony No. 1, except that the temperature varied 

 between 69° and 78.7° F. for the first week, being slightly higher and 

 more variable than that of Colony No. 1. The second week it remained 

 much the same, the temperature, however, varying between 69° and 80° 

 F. From this time on the temperature of the center of the cluster rose 

 rapidly, never dropping below 79° F. From October 29 almost to the close 

 of the readings. After November 4 the temperature remained above 86° 

 F., and after November 11 it dropped below 89° F., only twice until the 

 end. Thermometer 17 at first read about 4° below therm'ometer 14, but 

 after November 11 they were close together until November 25, when ther- 

 mometer 17 began to cool rapidly, due to loss of bees, and after November 

 30 thermometer 14 cooled rapidly until, on December 9, it showed that no 

 more bees remained alive. From December 2 to 7, inclusive, there was 

 little heat generated, due to the scarcity of bees. It is of interest to observe 

 the records of thermometer 16, near the cluster, but usually outside of it. 

 It at first showed a temperature but little higher than the two thermom- 

 eters away from the cluster, but on October 31 it began to rise until, on 

 November 12, it reached 80.5° F., when it was doubtless covered by the 

 bees. Even the two thermometers (15 and 18) clear to the back of the 

 hive rose until, on November 13, they recorded 61.5° P. These thermom- 

 eters showed about the same temperature for about ten days, and then 

 these two and thermometer 16 showed a cooling, since the bees were dying 

 so fast that there were no longer enough to warm up these thermometers 

 away from the center of activity. It was to be expected that this colony 

 would die, and the experiment was performed to learn the phenomena 

 incident to the loss. 



Before summing up the results of these two colonies, Nos. 1 and 3, it 

 may be stated that, so far as the evidence here presented is concerned, 

 the results as far as here discussed are confirmed by records from ten other 

 colonies kept in the constant temperature room, but fed other foods and 

 otherwise different. There is in all of the records no evidence which we 

 can interpret as at all contrary to the views here stated. 



It is evident from the behavior of Colony No. 1 that at least one factor 

 entered which gradually caused the bees in the cluster to generate more 

 and more heat until at the beginning of the special series, March 7, the 

 cluster temperature was about 20° warmer than it was at the same room 

 temperature at the beginning of the confinement. It is also seen that 

 during the special series, March 7-24, the cluster temperature always re- 

 mained at least 20° above the room temperature, whereas from the dis- 

 cussion of bees unconfined (Colony A) we might expect them to cease 

 heat generation when above the lower critical temperature (57° F.) In 

 the case of colony 3, fed on honeydew honey stores, the factor which caused 

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