74 



FOURTEENTH ANNUAL, REPORT OF THE 



an increase due to the warming up 

 while out of doors and to the activi- 

 ties of a good flight. The points out- 

 side the cluster dropped rapidly, but 

 it was midnight, March 25 (31 hours), 

 before the curves of temperature again 

 appeared normal. The room was 

 slowly warmed to 63.2 oR at 6.30 p. m., 

 March 26, and then slightly cooled to 

 540F. at 6 a. m., March 27, and again 

 warmed to oS.S^F. at the close of the 

 series, 4 p. ip., March 28. After the 

 flight the temperature of the cluster 

 never dropped below 89.5 °F., and the 

 highest temperature reached was over 

 950F. (soon after the flight). Ther- 

 mometer 6 remained high,- but ther- 

 mometer 2, which had previously been 

 hfgh, now approached the other ther- 

 mometers, probably due to a rapid loss 

 of bees and to a decrease in the num- 

 ber of bees during the flight. It must 

 be recalled that these bees had been 

 confined for an abnormally long time 

 and were subjected to treatment which 

 is at least unusual. After this colony 

 was taken from the room for the last 

 time it was found that thermometer 

 6 was over a patch of larvae, and, esti- 

 mating as accurately as possible, the 

 eggs from which these hatched must 

 have been laid at the time when the 

 room was coldest (March 20-21) and 

 when the cluster temperature was at 

 its highest point. There had been no 

 brood previously, according to the 

 temperature records, as compared with 

 those of this colony earlier and with 

 those of other colonies, nor was there 

 much evidence of increased heat pro- 

 duction due to the presence of brood 

 until after the flight. Probably no 

 extra heat was produced for the eggs, 

 and possibly the hatching of the eggs 

 was somewhat delayed by the low 

 outer temperature. The effects on the 

 cluster temperature which might be 

 expected from a flight, in relieving the 

 accumulation of feces, were not ob- 

 served, because brood rearing had been 

 begun. 



Colony No. 3 was placed in the con- 

 stant-temperature room October 12, 

 1912, after a good flight, and readings 

 were begun on Monday, the 14th. In 

 all, 2,165 temperature records were 

 made on Colony 3. The stores pro- 

 vided this colony consisted of honey- 

 dew honey, which was gathered in the 

 department apiary and which, since it 

 granulated almost at once, had been 

 removed by melting up the combs 



which contained it. After this opera- 

 tion it remained liquid. During the 

 summer of 1912 some of this honeydevv 

 honey was fed to a colony in the open, 

 during a dearth of nectar, and was 

 stored in new combs above the brood 

 chamber, in which no cells 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 6 frame 

 hive, as previously described, and con- 

 tained five thermometers (Nos. 14-18) 

 among the combs. It is of course well 

 known to bee-keepers that honeydew 

 honey is not a good food for winter. 

 When this colony was first put into 

 the constant-temperature room, it be- 

 haved much as did Colony No. l, ex- 

 cept that the temperature varied 

 between 69° and TS.T^F. for the first 

 week, being slightly higher and more 

 variable than that of Colony No. 1. 

 The second week it reiAained much the ■ 

 same, the temperature, however, vary- 

 ing between 69° and SO°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 re- 

 mained above 86° F., and after Novem- 

 ber 11 it dropped below 89 °F., only 

 twice until the end. Thermometer 17 

 ac first read about 4° below thermome- 

 ter 14, but after November 11 they 

 were close together until November 

 25, when thermometer 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, inclus- 

 ive, there was little heat generated, 

 due to the scarcity of bees. It is of 

 interest to observe the records of ther- 

 mometer 16, near the cluster, but 

 usually outside of it. It at 'first 

 showed a temperature but little higher 

 than the two thermometers away from 

 the cluster, but on October 31 it began 

 to rise until, on November i'2, 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 Novem- 

 ber 13, they recorded 61.5°F. These 

 thermometers showed about the same 

 temperatures for about 10 days, and 

 then these two and thermometer 16' 

 showed a cooling, since the bees were 

 dying so fast that there were no longer 



