822 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL* 



How JLong Can Bees Live on 

 Only Bee-Bread ? 



Query 850. — 1. How long can bees live in 

 winter quarters on bee-bread, without honey? 

 2. Or can't they do it ?— Michigan. 



2. They can't do it. — G. M. Doolittle. 



1. Until they die. 2. Yes ! ! !— A. B. 

 Mason. 



1. Don't know. 2. Not long. — E. 

 Fbance. 



1. But a very few days, at most. — J. 

 M. Hambaugh. 



1. I don't know. Not long, I think. — 

 Eugene Secob. 



1. They cannot live on bee-bread 

 alone. — Mrs. L. Harbison. 



Not long enough for any practical 

 purpose, at any rate. — James A. Gbeen. 



1. Until the honey in their honey-sacs 

 is exhausted, and a very few days longer. 

 — M. Mahin. 



1. A few days, until the bee-bread 

 makes them sick with bee-diarrhea. — 

 James Heddon. 



I can answer this Yankee fashion, by 

 asking, What would they be good for if 

 they did live ? — H. D. Cutting. 



1. Only so long as the bee-bread con- 

 tains any honey. 2. They can't subsist 

 on bee-bread alone. — J. E. Pond. 



1. They can't do it. At any rate, we 

 would not want to try it, for we feel sure 

 we would lose them. — Dadant & Son. 



1. Bee-bread would add very little, if 

 anything, to the length of their lives in 

 ordinary winter quarters. — R. L. Tay- 



LOB. 



1. I never experimented in that line, 

 and if there is any such thing on record 

 I am not aware of it. — Mbs. J. N. 

 Heateb. 



1. No longer than as though they had 

 no food. Honey is the food for quies- 



cence, and pollen is not needed. Breed- 

 ing and activity call for pollen. — A. J. 

 Cook. 



1. When the honey is all gone it will 

 be but a question of a very few days 

 how long the colony will live. — C. H. 

 Dibbebn. 



I've had them starve with plenty of 

 bee-bread, but I don't know how long 

 they lived (if at all) after the honey was 

 gone. — C. C. Milleb. 



1. Probably for a short time ; but look 

 out for "spring dwindling." I would 

 not care to have my bees in this condi- 

 tion. — W. M. Babnum. 



1. I have not kept an account to the 

 hour, but I have observed that they can 

 survive only for a short time. Without 

 the honey, the pollen rapidly produces a 

 disease of the intestines, and death. — J. 

 P. H. Brown. 



1. I have had them starve on plenty 

 of bee-bread in winter. It may be known 

 that they are starving by the great num- 

 ber that may be found running out of 

 the hive to die. 2. They cannot live long 

 without honey. — G. L. Tinkeb. 



1. They will live just about long 

 enough to starve to death. 2. Not much, 

 1 have had colonies starve just as quick 

 after the honey was all gone, with combs 

 quite heavy with pollen. But we get 

 some pollen here sometimes that is very 

 sweet, or moist with honey, and the bees 

 can live on that a little while. But, as 

 you ask without honey, I say No. — Mbs. 

 Jennie Atchley. 



1. I don't think that adult bees can 

 live at all on bee-bread. In numerous 

 cases I have had bees die from starva- 

 tion when several combs were full of 

 good, sweet pollen. When bees consume 

 pollen, they must have honey and water, 

 too, to soften and mix the pollen into a 

 sort of paste, so that they can take it 

 into their stomachs. Bees can only take 

 food when in a liquid state.— G. W. Dem- 



ABEE. 



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