304 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1945 



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 more on the credit side of the 

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

 temperature, sunshine, 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 

 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 fruit trees of your neighbors bear more bounti- 

 fully and that as the busy bees wing their way to surrounding pas- 

 tures, gardens, fields, and orchards they are enriching the entire coun- 

 tryside. They provide a function for which there is no substitute and 

 give their keeper a food which man with all his skill has not been able 

 to duplicate. 



