74 BEGINNER'S BEE BOOK 



States. When nectar is coming to the hive the 

 queen will be active and will lay large numbers 

 of eggs. Young bees will shortly appear in 

 large numbers, making strong colonies that are 

 absolutely essential to storing profitable honey 

 crops. After the long winters the colonies will 

 be greatly reduced and some time will be re- 

 quired to enable them to reach normal strength. 



When the main honey flow is from white 

 clover, as in most of the Northern States, the 

 beekeeper must lend every aid to get the bees 

 ready for the harvest. Colonies that are weak 

 at the beginning of harvest are seldom profit- 

 able, as the honey flow will be over before they 

 are ready for storing in earnest. Big colonies, 

 with the hives fairly running over with bees, 

 are the ones that pile up honey. 



To begin the season, as soon as frost is out 

 of the ground and the days are warm enough 

 for the bees to fly, the willows and maples fur- 

 nish the first taste of nectar. The elms fur- 



