GLEAJJINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



general statemem. whkh can be made with safety: 

 The majority of beekeepers do not give sufficient in- 

 sulation, aud no beekeeper ever gave a colony too 

 much. For example, in the relatively mild climate of 

 Washinarton, most beekeepers winter their bees in 

 sinsrle-walled hives. The authors have uf-ed a large 

 packing-case holding four hives, two facing east and 

 two west, close together. This case was constructed 

 so as to hold 3 inches of packing below, 5 inches on 

 the ends, 6 inches on the sides, and 8 to 12 inches 

 on top. Colonies wintered in such a case in Phila- 

 delphia in 1913-14, and in the apiary of the Bureau 

 of Entomology at Drummond, Md., near Washing- 

 ton, in 1914-15, were in much better condition than 

 colonies left unprotected, and cases of this general 

 type are being constructed for the entire apiary at 

 Drummond, except for such colonies as are used in 

 other wintering experiments. The dimensions here 

 stated should by no means be accepted as best for 

 other localities, especially those further north, where 

 the protection should be heavier, but in this partic- 

 ular packing-case the temperature of the air within 

 the hive but outside the cluster usually stood at 

 about 55° to 57° P., except for a reduction in tem- 

 perature under one conditiion to be discussed on the 

 next page. Tlie aim of the beekeeper should be to 

 keep the air about the bees at about 57° F., at 

 whi-'h temperature there is no condensation of mois- 

 ture ^vithin the hive, even on the inside of the cover, 

 where it first appears. It might be inferred that if 

 double the amount of packing had been used the 

 temperature cf the air about the bees would have 

 been too high. This is not the case, for bees cease 

 heat generation when the temperature reaches 57° 

 P. (or even sooner when the surrounding tempera- 

 ture is rising), and the temperature will not exceed 

 57° P. unless that of the outer air remains higher 

 than that for a considerable period. 



Bees well protected and with good stores do not 

 fly from the hive because of the warmth within when 

 the outer air is too cold for them to do so' safely. If 

 bees fly at low temperatures (45° to 50° P.), it is 

 an indication that they need a flight because of an 

 accumulation of feces from poor wintering, and does 

 not at all indicate too high an inside temperature 

 because of too much packing. In conclusion, the 

 beekeeper cannot apply too much insulating material 

 to a hive. 



It has been found that, even with abundant insu 

 lation, the temperature within the hive and outside 

 the cluster is greatly reduced if the packing-case is 

 exposed to wind. During the winter of 1914-15 a 

 record was kept of wind velocity directly over a 

 heavily packed case (with entrances % inch by 8 

 inches), and it was found that a wind with a veloc- 

 ity of 20 miles per hour directly on the case reduces 

 the temperature within the hives practically to that 

 observed in an unprotected hive. The beneficial 

 effects of the insulation were therefore nullified, 

 and the proper temperature within the hive was not 

 regained for several days unless the outer tempera- 

 ture rose considerably. Beekeepers have long em- 

 phasized the importance of protection from wind, but 

 the results observed were much more pronounced 

 than was anticipated or than has ever been suspect- 

 ed by practical beekeepers. The ideal t»ward which 

 the beekeeper should work is to keep his colonies 

 during cold weather absolutely protected from wind, 

 for here again the protection can not be too great. 

 It is entirely erroneous to assume, as some have 

 done, that such protection is not essential in well- 

 packed hives. 



There are several types of hives on the market in 

 which the insulation is built in, to be retained 

 throughout the year. There is no objection to the 

 packing in the summer, except that such hives arc 

 not convenient for moving and in some other man- 

 ipulations. Insulation in commercial double-walled 



hives is by means of air spaces or insulation, such 

 as sawdust, chaff, broken cork, or shavings. These 

 hives are better for outside wintering than single- 

 walled hives in any part of the United States, but 

 they do not provide adequate insulation at tempera- 

 lures below about 40° P. Such hives must, of 

 course, be protected from wind, or they are for the 

 time being no better than single-walled hives. 



Wiyil EXPOSURE AND WINDESEAKS. 



We wish to call attention to what the 

 authors say in the foregoing on the subject 

 of wind exposure. On this point they are 

 absolutely right. We would prefer to liave 

 colonies in single-walled hives with ample 

 windbreaks rather than colonies in hives 

 well packed expose'd to a sweep of wind 

 from a mile or more in all directions. We 

 have proved it over and over again, that an 

 apiary on top of a hill, with an exposure on 

 one or more sides, if the winter is severe, 

 will often suffer heavy winter losses when 

 another yard of bees in the same vicinity, 

 well protected from the wind, will come 

 through winter in good condition. But that 

 does not mean that single-walled hives 

 screened from the wind are adequate pro- 

 tection. There should be both windbreaks 

 as well as packing, or, as the authors put it, 

 insulation. 



In the matter of windbreaks, tli" autliois 

 agree with us that a solid windbreak, such 

 as a tight board fence or a house, is not the 

 equal of evergreens or other dense shrub- 

 bery. 



In the way of insulating materials, the 

 authors recommend sawdust, planer-shav- 

 ings, or dry leaves, or whatever is handy. 

 Sav.'dust should not be packed solid; but 

 leaves should Ije crammed down tight. 



BEKS DO VOT SLEEP OR HIBERNATE. 



The authors liave done considerable work 

 daring the last two or three winters. They 

 have shown that bees do not sleep, and that 

 they do not hibernate. Wheu the surround- 

 ing atmosphei'e goes below 57 Fahr., the 

 cluster contracts and activity begins. If the 

 protection is inadequate, the activity will 

 be greater, resulting in more heat genera- 

 tion, a larger consumption of stores, and. 

 finally, dysentei-y. A colonj' with dysentery 

 in -the month of February, or even in March, 

 in the northern states, is as good as dead in 

 our opinion unless there comes a warm day 

 when bees can have a cleansing flight. 



We believe that if the beekeepers of the 

 country ^vill follow the directions given in 

 this bulletin, particularly 5f they fully 

 grasp underlying principles, they will be 

 able to eliminate a large part of their win- 

 ter losses. But We doubt if the time will 

 ever come when they can be reduced to one 

 per cent, taking a series of winters covering 

 a period of 25 years. 



