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OUTDOOR WINTERING OF BEES. 9) 
get too strong a colony for winter, the error always being in the oppo- 
site direction. 
Effects of accumulation of feces.—It was first shown by the 
authors that heat-generation causes increased consumption of stores; 
this in turn causes an accumulation of feces within the bees, which 
is more rapid if the stores contain a high percentage of indigestible 
materials, and the presence of feces causes increased activity, often 
resulting in death from excessive heat-generation. Beekeepers call 
this condition dysentery if the accumulation is so excessive that the 
bees are unable to retain the feces. Dysentery causes the death of 
bees in winter, so far as has been seen, solely by undue activity and 
excessive heat-production. This detrimental effect is reduced by 
. good stores, but obviously the proper method is to prevent an un- 
necessary accumulation of feces by preventing a heavy consumption 
of stores, chiefly by providing a sufficiently high surrounding tem- 
perature. Honey-dew honey is especially injurious because of the 
rapidity with which feces accumulate. 
In mild climates, in which there are frequent days when bees can 
fly and rid themselves of feces, the injurious effects of poor stores 
are less noticeable, because the feces do not accumulate sufficiently 
to cause abnormal activity. The accumulation of feces is to be con- 
sidered as an irritant, causing responses similar to disturbance by 
jarring or exposure to light. } 
Influence of the queen.—In discussions of wintering it is usually 
stated that to winter well a colony must have a good queen. Ob- 
viously a good queen will better prepare a colony for winter by 
providing a strong colony of young bees than will a poor one, while 
a colony that is queenless in late summer and fall has little chance 
of living until spring. A good queen will also increase brood-rearing 
rapidly in the spring, if the colony has good stores and has been 
properly protected during the winter. Aside from the important 
influence on the population of the colony, the queen probably plays 
no part in wintering. 
Spring-dwindling.—If the individual bees of a colony are reduced 
in vitality by excessive heat-production, they may live until spring, 
but are unable to do the heavy work then needed to bring the colony 
back to full strength. The adult bees die more rapidly than they are 
replaced by emerging bees, and the population decreases. This con- 
dition, which can be produced experimentally, has long been known 
among beekeepers as “spring-dwindling.” If this condition is ob- 
served, the bees may perhaps be slightly relieved of further unneces- 
sary work by packing to conserve heat and by giving abundant 
stores, but the proper treatment is to prevent the condition by 
proper care in the preceding fall and winter. The term “spring- 
dwindling ” should not be applied to death of bees from other causes. 
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