CHAPTER IV 

 THE CYCLE OF THE YEAR 



To describe the various activities observed in the bee 

 colony in its response to changes in the environment, there 

 is perhaps no better arrangement of the facts than to follow 

 such a colony through the year, assuming that it is normal 

 and unmolested by man. For convenience, the cycle is 

 begun at the close of winter. It must of course be understood 

 that any such arrangement is arbitrary, since the cycle varies 

 in different regions with differences in climate and in the 

 sources of nectar. 



In discussing the round of action, it is customary among 

 American writers chiefly to discuss the phenomena observed in 

 the white clover region, and they often fail to make clear that 

 elsewhere the course of events may be materially modified. 

 The long winter of the North is a striking feature of the year 

 and greatly influences the activities of the bees. In this 

 region, too, all of the seasonal influences which go to make 

 up the year are intensified and the proper control of bees is 

 more difficult. In the discussion which follows, the events 

 typical of the North must be made rather prominent in 

 order to follow the plan of arranging the facts to the yearly 

 cycle, but an effort is made to include the differences which, 

 in beekeeping literature, are often attributed to the abused 

 term "locality." 'From the strong contrasts in seasons and 

 in bee activities observed near the northern limits of the 

 region where bees may be kept, there is a gradual fading of 

 the boundaries of the seasons and a corresponding reduction 

 in the extremes of bee activity until we reach the tropics, 

 where every day to the bees is as the day before, except for 



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