104 



THE AMERICAN BEE-KEEPER. 



May, 



When the air is still — no wind — ^the 

 temperature is sometimes 2 to 4 de- 

 grees higher than outside o'f the hive, 

 provided the outer air has for some 

 hours kept at a level degree. But if 

 the wind is blowing then the inner 

 temperature is the sam^e as the outer. 

 In single walled, 'unprotected hives the 

 temperature follows Closely that of the 

 outer air and quite as rapidly when the 

 weather is windy. In chafif hives, par- 

 ticularly when well made with protect- 

 ed floors and small entrances, the tem- 

 perature follows the outer temperature 

 slowly. A zero night will give a zero 

 inside the hive by morning, and a few 

 hours oif warm sunshine afterwards 

 will make scarcely any impression on 

 the inside temperature, even though 

 the outer rises 20 degrees to 30 de- 

 grees. 



In single-wa'lled hives pro'tected with 

 black building-paper the temperature 

 during the night or on a cloudy day, 

 pretty closely follows the outer air, 

 but on a sunny day even though windy 

 — ^unless directly into the entrance — the 

 inner air will warm rapidly, reaching 

 many degrees above the outside tem- 

 perature. The altitude of the sun and 

 the direction of the wind have much 

 to do with the variations within such 

 hives. 



Within certain limits the hive tem- 

 peratures have no relation to cluster 

 temperatures. If the bees are in a 

 state of perfect health the hive temper- 

 ature may rise to a level with the 

 cluster temperature without the cluster 

 showing any signs of breaking. But 

 during the time of day when the cluster 

 temperature rises, a high hive tempera- 

 ture induces greater activity. I should 

 , perhaps state here that during the ris- 

 ing and maximum cluster temperature 

 very little movement of the bees is 

 perceptible unless the hive tempera- 

 ture is high, say about 50. With 



healthy bees in a dry hive a tempera- 

 ture within of 60 degrees as a rule 

 does not induce the bees to fly unless 

 the outer air is 40 or more. Some- 

 times a few bees will venture out when 

 the outer air is even as low as 20 de- 

 grees, but they fly only a foot or so 

 and return quickly* 



The foregoing somewhat fragment- 

 ary notes, I think, w'ill shed some light 

 on the complex prohlem of wintering. 

 Incidentally they bear rather heavily 

 on chafif hives. Reports of success 

 with chafif hives and of failure with un- 

 protected ones are plenty. What is the 

 explanation? It is this: In the spring, 

 when brood has begun to increase, the 

 dense cluster becomes less dense and 

 soon "breaks," then the hive tempera- 

 ture is much nearer the cluster tem- 

 perature. It is right here that chafF 

 protection begins to be oi value and 

 not before. Then the small entrance • 

 is a help and not a harm. But a 

 single-walled hive well wrapped in 

 black building paper and with the 'tn- 

 trance contracted to an inch in width 

 will do quite as well as the ch.?fT hive 

 and far better if the 'latter has become 

 damp during the winter, as so many of 

 them do. Furthermore, the paper- 

 covered hive is much less expensive. 

 But the wrapping method is not con- 

 venient in later manipulations and an 

 equally as efifective and more conven- 

 ient way will be found in making a 

 telescope cover of some firm and heavy 

 grade of paper like the "Paroid." 



"Air-spaced" hives are quite as ef- 

 fictive as chafif hives and much less 

 cumbersome and much cheaper. If 

 painted a dark color they then possess 

 much the same advantages of the 

 paper-covered hives. But dark colored 

 hives must be shaded in hot weather. 



The next place in which the protect- 

 ed hive has an advantage is in the pro- 

 duction of comb honey. Some parts 



