48 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



But as it has been ordained tliat trees 

 shall not touch the sky, so it has also 

 been wisely arranged that the number 

 of bees in a colony, and the number of 

 colonies in a country, shall not increase 

 excessively ; for quickly as bees make 

 their appearance, they die off just as 

 rapidly. 



It is well known, when and how the 

 largest number of bees and colonies 

 originate, but it is not so generally 

 known (because it does not strike us so 

 forcibly) when and in what manner most 

 bees die. A discussion of this subject 

 might not therefore be without interest 

 to bee-keepers. 



BUT FEW DIE A NATURAL DEATH. 



Very few bees, indeed, die a natural 

 death, from the infirmities of old age, 

 unless we regard as natural, that kind 

 of death which finally overtakes them, 

 through the inability of their wasted 

 wings to carry the weight of the body 

 any longer, when (especially during 

 high winds) they fall fatigued to the 

 ground at some distance from the hive, 

 and perish. 



When incessantly at work, in the Sum- 

 mer, the life of most bees does not ex- 

 ceed six weeks ; but during the period of 

 rest, in Autumn and Winter, and in 

 queenless colonies, there is little or no 

 change in their appearance, and they 

 may then live for 9, or even 12 months; 

 of this any one may convince himself by 

 allowing a colony to remain without a 

 queen. 



MOST BEES DIE PREMATURELY. 



The largest number of bees are de- 

 stroyed by their greatest enemy, the 

 cold, partly inside the hive, and partly 

 in the open air. 



We all know that many bees die on 

 the snow, especially when loose, and of 

 a dazzling, white appearance. They fall 

 to the ground and remain there, not only 

 near their hives, but frequently at a 

 considerable distance from it, as many a 

 bee arriving half-chilled will rise again 

 and be borne away by the wind as long 

 as it is able to move its wings. In the 

 direction in which the wind blows, the 

 greatest number of bees may therefore 

 be discovered, lying on the snow. 



Large numbers of bees perish in 

 March, and even in April, at which time 

 they show an extraordinary desire for 

 fresh pollen, which induces them to rush 

 out of the hive every time the sun ap- 

 pears, and to venture on long excursions, 

 during which they get chilled and fall to 

 the ground, when the sun is hidden be- 



hind the clouds, or when the wind is 

 getting cold. 



In spite of breeding, the loss of work- 

 ers at this time of the year is frequently 

 so large as to make the colony appear 

 weaker at the beginning of May, than 

 at the beginning of March. 



In May and June, however, the popu- 

 lation of every liealthy colony increases 

 from day to day, because the air has 

 now become so warm that bees do not 

 easily get chilled. When the sun rises 

 to the highest point in the sky, our colo- 

 nies, as a rule, have the largest popula- 

 tion ; so large indeed do they become 

 that in many hives there is scarcely 

 room enough for all the bees, and a part 

 of them arc obliged to remain outside the 

 hive day and night. 



But when the days begin to shorten, 

 and the honey sources become scarce, the 

 bees of the colonies which have remained 

 undivided, decrease at the same rate at 

 which they increased previously. 



Now, how is this visible loss in popu- 

 lation to be accounted for, as on account 

 of the still high temperature, but few 

 bees get chilled, and being less active 

 now, they do not get worn out so 

 quickly ? 



Most of the bees which perish at this 

 time, doubtless, become a prey to their 

 numerous enemies. The number of bees 

 snapped up by birds, is exceedingly small 

 compared to the number destroyed by 

 their small, but more numerous enemies, 

 the field spiders, hornets and wasps. 

 The latter, which increase enormously if 

 favored by warmth and dry weather, 

 destroys an incredibly large number of 

 bees, especially in August. 



A good many bees, especially old ones, 

 in their anxiety to collect as much honey 

 as possible, no doubt venture upon long 

 excursions to distant moors, when no 

 longer any pasture is to be found near 

 the apiary, and overtaken by contrary 

 winds, or rain, are unable to return to 

 their hives. 



SOME ARE CHILLED IN THE HIVES. 



We know that some bees, and often a 

 great number die inside the hive, the 

 cause in most cases being their not fol- 

 lowing the gradual contraction of the 

 cluster of bees when the temperature is 

 falling ; but especially when, as often 

 happens, cold weather sets in suddenly ; 

 they get chilled and die, unless restored 

 to vitality by the application of heat 

 within 2-± hours. 



Baron von Ehrenfels, who had an inti- 

 mate knov/ledge of bees, was in the habit 

 of placing his straw hives in rows be- 

 tween boards in Winter, and to fill up 



