NOVEMBKR. 1918 



G L R A N T N G S T N BEE C V I. T V 



057 



WHEN TO PUT BEES IN CELLAR 



// is After That Final Cleansing 

 Flight Taken on One of Those Sum- 

 mer-Ike Days in Nouemher 



By Belva M. Demuth 



TO the bee- 

 keepers who 

 winter their 

 bees in cellars, 

 the month of 

 November brings 

 some anxious 

 moments, for 

 usually one of 

 its 30 days is 

 the right one for putting the bees into th? 

 winter repository. I find occasional records 

 in the bee journals of bees having been put 

 into cellars the latter part of October, and 

 <iuite a number for early December; but, 

 thruont the region in which cellar Avintering 

 is practiced, the great majority of bees ap- 

 ]iarently are put in during this month — 

 November. 



Our own experience in cellar wintering is 

 confined to a region considerably south of 

 the imaginary line forming the present 

 southern boundary of cellar wintering in 

 this country; yet, even here, the right day 

 for putting the bees in for best results in 

 wintering usually occurs before Thanksgiv- 

 ing Day. In case of the few exceptions to 

 this, when the expected flight day did not 

 oom(* \intil the last of November or early in 

 December, there was always room for some 

 doubt as to its being the right day after 

 all, the probability being for those years 

 that the early part of the month, or even 

 late October, had offered a better day. Ee- 

 ports from regions far north of this would 

 indicate that there is less difference in the 

 date for cellaring resulting from latitude 

 than one would expect. 



The literature on this subject seems to 

 attach less imptortance than our own ex- 

 perience would indicate, to a selection of a 

 certain day as preeminently better for this 

 jiurpose than any other day in the month. 

 We think this is because most beekeepers 

 who winter in the cellar have better winter 

 ; tores than ours have been. During a num- 

 ber of years our colonies that were wintered 

 in the cellar were put in in two installments, 

 with sometimes an interval of several weeks 

 between times. A part of the colonies in 

 each installment had been given granulated 

 ?ugar syrup for winter stores, while the re- 

 mainder were wintered on natural stores. 

 We soon learned that when we failed to 

 select the best day for cellaring, the after 

 effects were much less destructive when the 

 stores were good than when they were poor. 

 Here, as elsewhere, the presence of inferior 

 winter stores so magnifies the results that 

 differences which might otherwise escape at- 

 tention are easily detected. 



Very Early Cellaring Not Desirable. 



The colonies are not in condition for their 

 winter confinement until some time after 

 the beginning of the broodless period. It 

 frequently has been noticed that after a 

 week of confinement to their hives by bad 

 \veather at the close of brood-rearing, there 

 may be an accumulation of feces and an 

 eagerness for flight, equal to that resulting 



from several 

 months of con- 

 finement at simi- 

 lar temperatures 

 and with similar 

 food some time 

 later. Evident- 

 ly, some little 

 time is required 

 for the bees to 

 change their mode of life from summer ac- 

 tivities to the quiescence of autumn; and 

 cleansing flights, after such activities have 

 ceased, are necessary for their comfort and 

 subsequent quiescence. Furthermore, the 

 last of the young bees that emerge at the 

 close of brood-rearing must have a cleansing 

 flight to prevent discomfort and restlessness 

 on their part. It is, therefore, several weeks 

 after brood-rearing ceases before the colo- 

 ny reaches the greatest degree of comfort 

 and repose so noticeable during the mild 

 weather of autumn. 



A^er once having reached this condition, 

 the instinct for repose is so strong that it 

 continues in temperatures that ait other 

 times would cause extreme activity. For 

 this reason the flights at this time are 

 meager or partial at best, even on warm 

 days. Under such conditions we cannot ex- 

 pect a definite and thoro cleansing flight, in 

 which all the workers, take part, until some 

 time later after a period of bad weather. 

 We usually have this condition during the 

 latter half of October, and sometimes early 

 in November. Since it is highly desirable 

 that all the bees of each colony have a flight 

 not more than a day or two before being put 

 into the cellar, beekeepers usually wait until 

 the bees have been confined to their hives 

 long enough to desire a flight. 



Date For Cellaring Determined by 

 Character of Flight. 

 Fortunately, such a day usually occurs 

 sometime during November — a Veritable 

 summer day set in like a jewel among the 

 sombre days of this season. The clusters 

 then unfold completely, and probably every 

 bee except the queen of each colony goes 

 forth into the sunshine before the" flight 

 ceases. This is the day that determines 

 when the bees should be put into the cellar. 

 Sometimes there are two or three such days, 

 but one is enough for the bees. If the next 

 day is cool and cloudy, the bees should be 

 put in at once, whether it be the first week 

 or the last week of November. 



Carrying the Bees In. 

 The first cool day after such a flight the 

 bees are so quiet that they can be carried 

 into the cellar with but little disturbance. 

 If the day is cloudy scarcely a bee will fly 

 out of the hives, if they are handled care- 

 fully, at temperatures even up to 50 de- 

 grees F. ; but it is less trouble to carry them 

 in, if the temperature is 10 or 15 degrees 

 lower than this. We prefer that the hives 

 be carried, (not wheeled) into the cellar and 

 piled in separate piles, five hives in each 

 pile. The bottom-boards are left on, and 



