92 Beekeeping 



in the cellar, provided conditions within the cellar are 

 correct. 



Bees wintering in the open fly out whenever the outside 

 temperature will permit, and after a considerable period of 

 confinement many will fly out when it is so cold that they 

 are unable to return. On these winter flights the feces 

 are voided, consequently they are of the highest value to a 

 colony wintered out of doors. 



While numerous other points concerning the activities 

 of bees in winter are left to be discussed in the chapter on 

 wintering, it is evident from what has been said that bees 

 are highly sensitive to changes in temperature, and that 

 they have a wonderful ability to overcome the adverse 

 conditions of winter by the generation of heat. It is to be 

 noticed especially that they usually do not warm the whole 

 hive or cavity but confine heat production to the cluster. 

 It might therefore be concluded that a hive is actually little 

 protection for them in winter but it should be remembered 

 that this protects them from wind, rain and snow. They 

 further seal the hive with propolis to make the top water- 

 and even air-tight and some races contract the entrance 

 with propolis. The practical bearing of these facts forms 

 one of the most vital problems of the northern beekeeper 

 and the discussion of this subject from the standpoint of 

 practice forms a later chapter. 



