1911 



GLEANINGS IN BEK CULTURE 



65 



General Correspondence 



THE WINTERING PROBLEM IN ONTARIO, 

 CANADA. 



A Good Depth of Sealed Honey above the Clus- 

 ter a Necessity; the Winter Nest Not as 

 Important as Plenty of Honey in the 

 Upper Part of the Combs. 



BY J. L. BYEK. 



Notwithstanding the fact that many writ- 

 ers haveclaimed that the wintering problem 

 has ceased to be a problem, yet every once in 

 a while (perhaps our own experience) we 

 hear of heavy losses both in outdoor and 

 cellar methods, proving conclusively that 

 the matter of wintering of bees in the north- 

 ern sections of the country is still an im- 

 portant subject. That there are still widely 

 different opinions on this very important 

 phase of bee-keeping was brought forcibly to 

 the mind of the writer as he read with much 

 interest that article by the editor, p. 19, Jan. 

 1, entitled, "The Winter Nest of a Colony." 



Now, while I do not profess to be an au- 

 thority by any means on the matter of win- 

 tering bees, yet some hard knocks in the 

 way of winter losses when they could be ill 

 afforded have taught me a few essentials of 

 successful wintering outdoors in "our local- 

 ity," and it may seem a bit strange on my 

 part to have to confess that, when I saw 

 that engraving entitled "An Ideal Comb to 

 Form a Winter Nest," I involuntarily re- 

 marked to myself, "Why, that is the very 

 picture I would desire if I wanted an illus- 

 tration to show what constitutes a death- 

 trap in the way of outdoor wintering in a 

 country with cold winters like ours." 



Before going any further I wish to say 

 most emphatically that, if we found a colo- 

 ny of bees in a Langstroth hive with the 

 center combs like the one illustrated, hav- 

 ing a depth of only about two inches of 

 honey under the top-bars in the middle, we 

 would put on a feeder about the first of Oc- 

 tober, or earlier, and give the colony at least 

 15 lbs. of syrup made on a two-to-one basis. 

 Then we would feel that the colony was in 

 an ideal condition for wintering, and quite 

 likely the matter of an "ideal winter nest " 

 would never be given a thought. 



Please let it be understood that what I 

 have said and may say further is for condi- 

 tions as we have them here in Central On- 

 tario, about fifteen miles north of Lake On- 

 tario, where the bees frequently go for four 

 rnonths, and sometimes five, without a 

 flight, the thermometer dropping for a day 

 or two at a time to 20 below zero. However, 

 I can not see how a warmer climate would 

 make any difference in this matter; and, in- 

 deed, from the nature of the arguments of 

 the editor the very opposite should be the 

 case. 



I have already called that comb a "death- 



trap," so now it is either my duty to retract 

 or prove that I have reasons for using such 

 an expressive term when in an argument 

 with so well posted and able a debater. 



In the first place, I wish to iBake it un- 

 derstood that I have not the slightest doubt 

 but that thousands of colonies are wintered 

 each year on combs much in the same con- 

 dition as the one illustrated, simply because 

 that is the natural condition the combs will 

 be in, provided there has been no late fall 

 flow of honey nor artificial feeding. On the 

 other hand, that same condition of combs 

 here in Ontario is responsible for at least 50 

 per cent of the winter losses, with the possi- 

 ble exception of winters when honey-dew or 

 other poor stores are present in the hives. 

 Last winter was mild, and the bees had an 

 opportunity to have quite an early flight in 

 the spring; consequently, losses from any 

 causes were almost nit so long as there was 

 enough honey in ani/ place in the hives to 

 keep the bees from starving. Other winters 

 in the past have told a different story, and 

 from all indications the present winter is 

 going to be an "old-fashioned" one, and I 

 look for heavy losses wherever the bees 

 were not well prepared in the fall, and al- 

 lowed more than two or three inches of hon- 

 ey below the top-bars in the center combs 

 of the hives. 



The statement is made that colonies often 

 starve right in the brood-nest when honey 

 is only a few inches from the cluster. That 

 is quite true. I have seen dozens of cases 

 where the honey was all gone over the clus- 

 ter, and the bees dead while there was hon- 

 ey at the far ends of the combs; yet I have 

 never once seen a colony dead with honey 

 above the cluster. I have very serious 

 doubts that a strong colony of bees ever per- 

 ished in such a condition, as the very na- 

 ture of the problem suggests to my mind 

 that it would be an almost impossible oc- 

 currence. 



This past fall and winter up to the pres- 

 ent (.Tan. 7) has been very cold, and the 

 bees have not had a real good flight since 

 the latter part of October. Assuming that 

 colonies have gone into winter quarters with 

 the center combs having but two or three 

 inches of honey beneath the top-bars, what 

 will happen toward spring or even in Feb- 

 ruary in some colonies if the present cold 

 weather continues? The honey will be con- 

 sumed from both sides and above the clus- 

 ters, but much faster from alwve than from 

 the sides, for the colder the weather the 

 more rapid the consumption of stores above 

 the cluster. By the time mentioned, many 

 colonies will be right at the top of the combs 

 with all the honey above them consumed, 

 so that they will have to depend on drawing 

 from the sides for future maintenance. 

 With a real cold snap comes the contracting 

 of the cluster away from the honey, and 

 then the colony starves. Very often the 

 bees thus stranded gorge themselves on pol- 

 len ; and even if some of them survive star- 

 vation till the weather moderates, dysentery 

 later on claims them as victims. This is a 



