478 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1961 



essential teamwork is destroyed. For best honey production every 

 effort should be made to control swarming. 



There are other pitfalls in beekeeping beside diseases and swarm- 

 ing. A weakened colony of bees, like a weakened animal, is preyed 

 on by enemies. A colony that is not strong enough to keep its house 

 clean becomes infested with wax moths which, if not tended to, will 

 destroy the combs. A colony too weak effectively to guard its entrance 

 to the hive is subject to attack by bees from stronger colonies. Not 

 only will the robbers carry away the honey, but they will leave in their 

 wake many bees killed in the last defense of their home. Colonies 

 are often weak because they lack sufficient food. Honey bees do not 

 hibernate as do most other insects. They are in a semiactive state 

 within the hive throughout the long winter, and food in the form of 

 honey must be available to them at all times. 



In spite of these drawbacks, there is much on the credit side of the 

 ledger. It is not necessary to give bees daily attention. There are 

 periods of weeks or months at a time when they require no looking 

 after. Three or four hours to a colony throughout the year is ample 

 to do all the work necessary. In the spring, and when the honey crop 

 is in the making, a few minutes at the right time does more good than 

 working with the colony for hours at the wrong time. This applies 

 especially to heading off preparations for swarming. 



Beekeeping is a challenge to one's ingenuity as well as nerve. Col- 

 onies are individualistic, and this has to be taken into consideration in 

 managing them. A person who keeps bees always has an eye to the 

 weather, knowing how sensitive these creatures are to changes in tem- 

 perature, smishine, and wind velocity. One's interest in the plant 

 world is immediately stimulated by watching the blossoms upon which 

 bees work. 



Taking honey from the hive is not the least joy of working with the 

 bees. No honey tastes so good as that produced by one's own effort. 

 There is also the satisfaction in knowing that through your efforts and 

 patience the fniit trees of your neighbors bear more bountifully and 

 that as the busy bees wing their way to surrounding pastures, gardens, 

 fields, and orchards they are enriching the entire countryside. They 

 provide a function for which there is no substitute and give their 

 keeper a food which man with all his skills has not been able to 

 duplicate. 



