Ai'RiL, 1920 



a T, K A N T N G S IN B K K C U f. T U R E 



OUR bees are 

 \v i n t e r e d 

 in the cel- 

 lar, not because 

 wo consider it 

 the best method 

 of wintering, but 

 because of cir- 

 cumstantial ne- 

 cessity. 



No matter wliat one does, tliere is little 

 use in doiiiu; it, unless it is done well. Cel- 

 lar winterinji- of bees involves many prob- 

 lams that must be solved if the beekeeper 

 is to be successful. Many beekeepers count 

 the number of tiieir colonies in the spring 

 by the number of queens that are alive, in- 

 stead of by comparison with a first-class 

 normal colony well sup2)lied with worker 

 bees. 



There are a great many things deemed 

 necessary for successful cellar winteriiig. 

 Perhaps most of them are necessary. This 

 article deals with just one of these. To go 

 into details on all of these supposed es- 

 sentials for successful wintering would re- 

 quire many more articles like this one. 



Big Problem for Cellar Winterers. 



This one essential is this: When to put 

 your bees in the cellar, and when to take 

 them out. 



Dr. Miller says, ' ' Cellar your bees the day 

 after they take their last flight before win- 

 ter." But the trouble is that the beekeep- 

 er is uncertain as to when this last flight 

 will be. 



Every fall the problem confronts him: 

 "When shall I put the bees in the cellar? 

 Shall I put them in now or shall I wait for 

 another flight?" It certainly is a grave 

 and important question. When bees are 

 subjected to severe freezing weather and 

 enjoy no cleansing flight, the result may be 

 disastrous. Certainly they will not be as 

 quiet in the cellar because of accumulated 

 feces. Dysentery may result, which might 

 not have resulte(l ha<l they enjoyed a cleans- 

 ing flight the day before they were put in 

 the cellar. Again, continued exposure to 

 freezing weather is a drain on the stores 

 of each colony, which means dollars and 

 cents to the beekeeper. 



Solution of Problem. 

 As big as the problem is, and as uncertain 

 as it may seem, there is, however, one 

 agency that the beekeeper can fall back on. 

 This is the U. S. Weather Bureau. How 

 often have we heard people laugh about the 

 "weather man" and jest about his suppos- 

 ed guesses at the weather, and describe him 

 as "way off" when he predicted rain and 

 none fell to (jucnch the thirsty pasture 

 lands! These same individuals do not stoj) 

 to consider that the Weather Bureau is fore- 

 casting for a relatively large area, and while 

 the forecast may be verified in most sec- 

 tions, it did not materialize in certain small 

 sections. Again, forecasts are made for 24 

 hours in a<lvance, and local conditions may 



ARE BEEKEEPERS ASLEEP? 



IVhat the U. S. Weather Bureau 



Can Tell Them About the Cellar 



Wintering of Bees 



By C. W. Aeppler 



affect the fore- 

 cast, whereas 

 the forecast for 

 the area is ex- 

 actly correct. It 

 is not my pur- 

 pose to dwell on 

 the methods used 

 by the Weather 

 Bureau, as that 

 involves several articles as long as this one; 

 the reader can easily determine this for him- 

 self from any bureau in this country. 



While still a student in college I became 

 much interested in weather forecasting in 

 connection with beekeeping, thru a course 

 I took under the direction of one of Uncle 

 Sam's trained forecasters. I began to keep 

 tab on the weather and during the past few 

 years have kept these data mainly for my 

 own observation in order to ascertain how 

 it would affect beekeeping. At first I did 

 not realize, perhaps, what a great thing it 

 is; but the whole matter has worked out so 

 well during the past seven years that I con- 

 sider it safe to let others in on the secret. 



Needless to say, latitude is the determin- 

 ing factor, and anyone farther north or 

 south must slightly 'adjust their dates ac- 

 cordingly. 



Times of Plight in Fall and Spring. 



From the graph accompanying this article, 

 it can be seen that bees had a flight at this 

 latitude, in this part of the country, every 

 year in the past 10 years between the dates 

 of Nov. 10 and 20, except in 1910. In 1910 

 bees did not have a flight after the last 

 week in October. 



In 1911 the temperature was 70 degrees 

 on the 11th of November. In 1912 there 

 were two periods, one on Nov. 11 and again 

 Nov. 19. In 1913 it was similar. In 1914 

 bees flew on the 10th and again on the 14th; 

 in 1915 between the 10th and 12th. In 

 1916 the bees flew well on the 19th, the 

 temperature being only 50 degrees, but very 

 little wind. In 1917 the bees flew on the 

 11th and had a most wonderful flight on 

 the 18th, the temperature being 65 degrees 

 at noon. In 1918 there was a possibility of 

 flight on Nov. 12, but they flew very little 

 because of a brisk west wind. However, on 

 Nov. 16 they had a good flight and were 

 put in the cellar on the 18th. In 1919 tem- 

 peratures remained very low the first half 

 of November. However, on the 17th with 

 a temperature of 50 degrees and 2% hours 

 of sunshine in the middle of the day, the 

 bees had a good cleansing flight. There was 

 scarcely any wind at noon. We recorded a 

 temperature of 49 degrees on Nov. 22nd. 

 It was well that the bees were put in the 

 cellar on the 19th, as a brisk wind would 

 have prevented their flying. 



It is my experience that 50 degrees is the 

 basis to go by. Bees will fly well this late 

 in the year at 48 degrees, provided there is 

 practically no wind, and the day is very 

 clear. Also, bees will fly better at 52 de- 



