298 



September, 1916 



American Vae Journal 



get in among the hives, disturbing the 

 bees and causing loss. These causes 

 of winter loss may not be worth while 

 mentioning in an article on wintering, 

 but they are the things that cause the 

 bulk of our losses. 



We lose something every winter 

 from thieves stealing honey from colo- 

 nies until they either starve or die from 

 exposure caused by lack of combs in 

 the cluster. 



There is one condition where the 

 advocate of more protection might 

 score a point, and thatis when we have 

 a month of zero weather and some of 

 our normal colonies perish. We should 

 have some accurate data on the losses 

 from this cause in the Rocky Mountain 

 region. If the expense of more pro- 

 tection will not be more than the losses 

 suffered we should know it. The ma- 

 jority of beekeepers here think that 

 the losses are less than the e.xpense 

 of more protection would come to. 

 Are they right ? 



Some of our most successful beemen 

 have even given up trying to winter 

 bees in their locations and fill their 

 hives with bees from the South shipped 

 in one and two pound packages. If 

 this is cheaper than solving the win- 

 tering question, we would like to 

 see the matter handled by men who 

 know. Bees from the South received 

 at the time of fruit bloom in the 

 North gather honey more rapidly than 

 do those that have wintered here in 

 the North. With cheaper express rates 

 and a lessening of the losses in ship- 

 ment we may find the wintering ques- 

 tion vanishing for there will be none 

 if we quit trying to winter our bees. 



Boulder, Colo. 



Wintering Bees in California 



BY J. E. PLEASANTS. 



WHILE there is no wintering prob- 

 lem in California as in colder cli- 

 mates, there is a certain amount 

 of preparation necessary to meet the 

 condition of partial rest, which occurs 

 during the cessation of the honey flow 

 and the rainy season. There is never 

 any time of the year when there is not 

 something in bloom from which bees 

 gather some nectar. This is especially 

 to be noticed in the irrigated valleys 

 and along streams. The eucalyptus, 

 where planted in sufficient numbers, 

 furnishes much nectar, and many spe- 

 cies are winter bloomers. Even in the 

 mountains and on arid plains there are 

 several species of "drouth" plants that 

 furnish nectar to some extent in late 

 summer and autumn. This is, however, 

 only relatively speaking. There are 

 not sufficient suppliesfrom such sources 

 to justify any beekeeper in stinting his 

 bees at the last extracting, expecting 

 them to fill up in the fall enough to go 

 through the rainy season safely. Every 

 colony should be left at least 25 pounds 

 of honey, or more. 



From Sept. 1 until the middle of 

 January (or Feb. 1, if in the mountains) 

 there is very little for the bees to work 

 on. Rain may be expected any time 

 during this period, though it is un- 

 usual to have much before the latter 

 part of November, cool nights, and oc- 

 casionally high winds. 



Bees fly almost any time here when 



the sun shines. To prepare bees for 

 the winter season here they should be 

 confined to the brood-chamber or not 

 more than one super left on. That is 

 sometimes best to take care of full 

 combs. Of course, all bees are win- 

 tered in the open here. The hives 

 should be carefully examined to see 

 that the covers are all thoroughly 

 water-proof, and a weight should be put 



Fig. 0.— Putting on the Outside Packing 



Fig. 10— The Hive Snug kue Winter 



on the cover. The common practice 

 here is to weight them with stones. 

 These are always handy in the moun- 

 tains, and one finds them used in sizes 

 varying from 5 to 20 pounds in weight. 

 They hold the cover in place and pre- 

 vent the hive from being blown over 

 if hard winds occur. Sometimes these 

 stones do not appeal to an inspector 

 who has to go through an apiary of 

 several hundred colonies alone, but as 

 he is sure to use them at home there is 

 nothing to be said. Of course during 

 the honey flow, and especially in out- 

 apiaries, supers are used up to three. 

 and even four, stories. 



In fixing up for winter these surplus 

 combs must be taken care of so they 



may be returned to the bees in good 

 condition the next spring. They should 

 be fumigated and stored away in moth- 

 proof quarters, ii possible. Where one 

 super is left on the hive, most of the 

 full combs can be taken care of here 

 and used as a surplus for the bees. The 

 hives should be looked through care- 

 fully to be sure all have good queens. 

 The hives should be raised from the 

 ground a little on a frame stand a few 

 inches high to keep them from damp- 

 ness, where cement slabs are not used 

 as foundations for the hive. This, the 

 cement slab, is the very best I have 

 seen, as it is permanent and where ex- 

 tended a few inches in front of the hive 

 obviates the necessity of hoeing away 

 weeds close to the entrance. 



As the fall here is the dangerous sea- 

 son for forest fires, an apiary should 

 be well cleaned from grass, and where 

 it is possible a fire-break should be 

 made around it. By Nov. 1 the entrance 

 of the hive should be slightly con- 

 tracted, and those who use ventilators 

 should close them, or the bees will. 



Skunks are a menace to bees here at 

 this season, and outapiaries should not 

 be neglected in allowing them as they 

 will soon weaken a colony. Poison is 

 the best method for getting them, as 

 outapiaries are not visited frequently 

 enough to use traps. A little poison 

 put in an egg slightly open at one end, 

 and set up in some receptacle near the 

 hive, will almost always get the skunks, 

 as they are very fond of eggs. 



After an apiary is prepared for win- 

 ter, the less the bees are disturbed the 

 better. The best way to tell if feeding 

 is necessary is to "heft" the hive, as 

 opening it may cause robbing. 



With these few precautions, or rather 

 preparations, our bees winter comfort- 

 ably here in the apiary and unless the 

 beekeeper has other occupation this is 

 the time for his vacation. Most bee- 

 keepers here though, even those who 

 have large apiaries, have some other 

 side line. 



Orange, Calif. 



Winter Warmth in the Colony 



BY DR. K BRUNNICH. 



FOR rational beekeeping, especially 

 for outdoor wintering, it is impor- 

 tant to be well informed concern- 

 ing the economy of warmth in the hive. 

 Everybody knows h iw much the bees 

 depend upon the outside temperature. 

 Ordinarily they do not fly below 48 to 

 50 degrees. Still higher temperatures 

 are needed for queens or drones to 

 leave the hive. At about 56 degrees a 

 single bee is soon paralyzed. The 

 brood needs a uniform warmth of 98 

 degrees; if the temperature sinks un- 

 der that point, the growing insect may 

 be injured. 



An important question is: How does 

 the quiescent bee produce warmth ? 

 How does it proceed to keep its tem- 

 perature higher than that of the sur- 

 rounding air ? I cannot agree with Dr. 

 Phillips' theory that they produce heat 

 by motion, especially of their wings, 

 for two reasons. First, I think it is 

 impossible on account of lack of room. 

 We know that in the coldest weather 

 the bees are crowded together in the 

 narrow lanes of their wax town, many 



