the Honey Bee. 229 



In 1855 .... 1442 



1856 .... 235 



1857 .... 375 



These numbers bear a remarkably small projjortion to 

 the number of bees produced^ and if we suppose all the 

 others to have been killed, in one way or another, out- 

 side the hive, it is a proof of the great dangers to which 

 the worker-bee is exposed in pursuit of the ordinary 

 work of life. The proceedings of the hive, since the' 

 publication of the last paper, were little more than a 

 repetition of the former years, and I see no reason to 

 doubt the conclusion therein drawn, that the duration of 

 life in the. worker-bee is eight months. 



I stocked my Observatory hive on the 22nd June, 

 1867, with a portion of a swarm, and as the hive had a 

 considerable quantity of comb therein, made in the 

 previous year by a stock which had died, breeding was 

 most rapidly carried on ; and as the latter part of the 

 season was very favourable for honey gathering, the hive 

 was well stored with honey sealed over. The hive is 

 still in the old situation, and as the winter of 1867-1868 

 continued favourable, and the hive showed no appearance 

 of damp or mould, I resolved to let it alone, carefully 

 watching it, to adopt any course which might be found 

 needful under the circumstances. However, I have 

 never once intei-fered with the hive, and it has passed 

 through the winter without any assistance from me. A 

 few dead bees were occasionally seen at the bottom of 

 the hive, but they were always removed by the bees 

 themselves on the first sunny day. 



During the five winters, from 1852 to 1857, the seasons 

 were all so different to the one just past, that, in the one 

 case, the bees could not possibly have lived through 

 December without artificial means being resorted to for 

 their preservation; in the other, they have survived, 

 and have been at all corresponding periods of the year 

 more healthy, and the hive in a much better state. It 

 is impossible, therefore, to lay down any rule for the 

 management of bees in an Observatory hive through 

 the winter ; all must depend upon the season, for whilst 

 one course of management may be the means of preserv- 

 ing them during a cold, wet, and severe winter, the 

 same course in a mild and genial winter would be much 

 too exciting, and would lead to their destruction rather 

 than their preservation. 



