Dkcember, 191i2 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



761 



low tlie blotting paper is the same; but the 

 \ apor pressure in the tumbler being much 

 greater than the vapor pressure outside, wa- 

 ter vapor will pass through the blotting 

 paper until the vapor pressure within the 

 tumbler balances that outside. lu a similar 

 manner moisture can escape from a beehive 

 through a porous covering or even through 

 the walls of the hive without the necessity 

 of changing the air in the hive. 



Much has been said about upward ventila- 

 tion in the beehive during winter to carry 

 out the moisture. Some have even advo- 

 cated providing openings in the top of the 

 hive to permit moisture to escape. When 

 such openings are provided not only does 

 the moisture escape but the warm air es- 

 capes also, since a current is set up through 

 the hive because of the difference in the 

 temperature of the air within the hive and 

 that outside. Except possibly in the ex- 

 treme north well-packed colonies of bees 

 that are wintering well do not need any 

 other avenue for the escape of moisture than 

 that of the entrance. Where it gets so 

 cold that the inner walls of a well-packed 

 hive become chilled below the dew-point, 

 thus causing condensation on the walls of 

 the hive, a porous covering may be advis- 

 able. The great danger here is in having the 

 porous covering so loose that currents of 

 air take place through it. The covering 

 should be sufficiently compact so that there 

 can be no upward ventilation. ■ Some bee- 

 keepers put a quilt over the frames and 

 cover this with a sheet of newspaper to 

 prevent air currents. Such an arrangement 

 with an abundance of packing above should 

 retain the warm air, and at the same time 

 permit the diffusion of moisture sufficient to 

 keep the hive dry. 



Q(= 



IX a damp cellar the difference between 

 the vapor pressure inside the hive and 

 ^^ within the cellar is 



/^^\ Moisture in the 

 fe • > : ■! Bee Cellar. 



m u c h less than 

 that in a dry cel- 

 lar. The escape of 

 moisture from the hive will therefore be 

 much slower in a damp cellar than in a 

 dry one. In this issue, on page 779, Walter 

 Harmer describes conditions sometimes 

 found in damp cellars and tells how this 

 may be overcome by upward ventilation in 

 the hive. This trouble can also be over- 

 come to a large extent by keeping a higher 

 temperature in the cellar or by better ven- 

 tilation of the cellar. It should be noted 

 that raising the cellar temperature a few 

 degrees not only greatly increases the ca- 

 pacity of the air within the cellar to take 

 up moisture, but also causes the bees to gen- 

 erate less heat, which means that they con- 

 sume less stores and therefore give off less 

 moisture. In this way the escape of mois- 

 ture from the hive is hastened, and at the 

 same time the generation of moisture with- 

 in the hive is decreased. Of course, if the 



temperatuie is raised too higii, the bees 

 i.iuy bLvo.ne laoie active because of the 

 higher temperature than they were before 

 when they were compelled to generate 

 sufficient heat to keep the cluster warm. The 

 proper adjustment of the cellar temperature 

 is one which must be worked out for each 

 individual cellar not only according to the 

 cellar itself but according to the number 

 and activity of the bees which it contains. 



BEEKEEPEKS have learned to associate 

 wet and mouldy combs witli poor winter- 

 ing, and have 

 Is Moisture Within 

 the Hives Detri- 

 mental to the Bees? 



thus been led 

 to consider 

 moisture with- 

 in the hive as 

 exceedingly detrimental to the bees during 

 winter, it may be well to raise the question 

 as to whether moisture is the cause of poor 

 wintering or the effect of poor wintering. 

 Good wintering demands tliat the bees be 

 quiet during the winter period. If condi- 

 tions are such that they can pass the win- 

 ter in the greatest possible degree of quies- 

 cence they of course consume the smallest 

 amount of stores, and therefore give off the 

 smallest amount of moisture. Another col- 

 ony in the same apiary and arranged in the 

 same way, because of poor stores or some 

 other cause, may be much more active, 

 which means that they must consume morQ 

 stores and therefore give off more moisture. 

 In the one case the moisture may escape 

 from the hive as fast as it is given off, thus 

 leaving the hive and combs dry; while in 

 the other case the moisture may be gen- 

 erated faster than it can escape from the 

 hive, resulting in wet and mouldy combs. 

 Anything that causes the bees to become 

 more active and consume more stores, of 

 course, increases the amount of moisture 

 they give off. Bees in a cold cellar, being 

 compelled to generate more heat to keep up 

 the temperature of the cluster, .will there- 

 fore give off more moisture than if the 

 cellar temperature is more nearly correct. In 

 the same way, colonies that are exposed 

 outside are compelled to generate more 

 heat and thus give off more moisture than 

 those well protected from prevailing winds 

 and well packed. Poor stores, coupled Avith 

 a lack of opportunity for cleansing flights 

 during the winter, always result in greater 

 activity and therefore an increase in the 

 amount of moisture given off. It may be 

 that in his effort to keep the interior of the 

 hive dry during the winter the beekeeper 

 is simply removing a symptom of poor win- 

 tering and is not removing the cause. There 

 can be no doubt that moisture condensed 

 witliin the hive and running down over the 

 combs is detrimental, but if the cause of the 

 excess of activity is removed, there should 

 be no condensation within the hive and 

 moisture in the form of vapor probably does 

 no harm. 



