(i i, K A N I N (4 S IN B K K C l L T I K K 



October. 192] 



c 



a 



TALKS TO 



Geo. S. 



have follow- 

 ed these 

 talks and who 

 have acted on 

 the advice given 

 in August and 

 September in re- 

 gard to leaving 

 plenty of honey 



in the hives after the middle of August (not 

 less than 15 or 20 pounds) and having a 

 good queen, preferably young, should now 

 have their colonies in good condition for 

 winter so far as young bees are concerned. 

 But if on account of a poor queen, queen- 

 lessness, not enough bees, or a lack of stores, 

 any colonies have failed to rear young bees 

 during the past six weeks, these colonies 

 are in a poor condition for winter and it is 

 now too late to retrieve the situation. Even 

 if several such colonies were united they 

 would still be made up largely of old bees, 

 most of which would probably die of old 

 age before midwinter. 



Thruout a large portion of the country, 

 especially in the northeastern part, there 

 has been a fair fall honey flow. This has 

 stimulated brood-rearing in September, so 

 that there are plenty of young bees now, 

 even in colonies having old queens or hav- 

 ing but little honey. In some localities late 

 brood-rearing has been excessive, many col- 

 onies having seven or eight frames of brood, 

 the rearing of which caused them to use :\ 

 large amount of stores. In such cases the 

 colonies are in excellent condition so far as 

 young bees are concerned, but they may 

 have used up so much of their honey that it 

 will be necessary to feed them for winter. 



In some localities where the fall honey 

 flow was abundant many colonies swarmed 

 late in August or early in September, thus 

 complicating the problems of the beginner 

 and lessening the chances of good winter- 

 ing. In the case of colonies which swarmed 

 in Aiigust and were prevented from send- 

 ing out after-swarms, both the swarm and 

 the parent colony, especially the latter, may 

 build up strong enough for winter if condi- 

 tions are favorable. But in this case there 

 are two queens laying eggs instead of one, 

 and two large families of young bees being 

 reared as well as two colonies to be supplied 

 with stores for winter and spring, so that 

 unless the fall honey flow has been heavy 

 such colonies may need to be fed for win- 

 ter. If after-swarming was not prevented 

 and the original colony divided itself up 

 into three or four small colonies late in 

 August or during September, these should 

 be reunited to form one good colony, as de- 

 scribed last month. 



Suspension of Brood-Rearing During 

 Winter. 



Thruout the North tlie bees usually cease 

 rearing brood entirely early in October and 

 begin their long winter rest. If all goes 



BEGINNERS 



Demuth 



1 



tU 



K 



well during the 

 winter they will 

 not begin brood- 

 rearing again un- 

 til March; but, 

 if the winter is 

 severe and the 

 bees age rapidly 

 because of poor 

 stores, lack of 

 protection, or lack of numbers to keep up 

 the warmth of the hive, they may begin to 

 rear brood again in February or even in 

 January. In the South brood-rearing is 

 continued until later in the fall and is be- 

 gun earlier in the spring, thus making the 

 period of rest shorter. Other things being 

 equal, the better the bees are wintering, the 

 longer they will refrain from brood-rearing. 

 If the bees lived only as long in winter, 

 as they do when quite active in summer (six 

 to eight weeks), it would not be possible 

 for the colony to survive. But by remain- 

 ing quiet they are able to prolong their 

 lives four or five times as long, thus en- 

 abling the colony to survive until brood- 

 rearing can safely be resumed in the spring. 

 Bees do not hibernate in winter, as do many 

 otlier insects, but when conditions are fa- 

 vorable they remain almost motionless for 

 long periods, living so slowly that they do 

 not age materially until they become more 

 nctive in the spring. 



Formation of Winter Cluster. 



On cool mornings when the temperature 

 outside is near freezing, the bees will leave 

 the remote parts of the hive and form a 

 cluster. If the hive is single-walled this 

 tendency to form a cluster is more marked 

 than if the hive is double-walled. The size 

 of the winter cluster depends upon the tem- 

 perature of the hive as well as upon the 

 number of bees which form it, the cluster 

 being smaller when the temperature is 

 lower. 



The winter cluster should occupy at least 

 five or six of the spaces between the combs 

 when the temperature outside is near freez- 

 ing, tho it must be remembered that a small 

 cluster of young bees may be better able to 

 withstand the winter than a large cluster 

 of old bees. When the bees have worked 

 late in the season on late-blooming flowers, 

 almost all the older bees may have worn 

 themselves out and have disappeared from 

 the hives, leaving chiefly the 3'oung bees 

 at this time, while if they have been idle 

 many of the old bees may still be present. 



When the hive becomes so cold that a 

 compact cluster is formed, it is located on 

 that portion of the comb having empty 

 cells, this being where the last of the brood 

 emerged. If the colony has plenty of honey 

 the cluster will be formed toward the front 

 of tlu> hive near the entrance, since the 

 honey was stored above and back of the 

 brood; while, if there is less honey, the clus- 

 ter will be locnted higher and farther back 



