S^If^ pm ll^^ijers' JRmeitt* 



B-stablished in 1S88 by the late 

 W. Z. Hutchinson. 



OFFICIAL ORGAN OF THE 



NATIONAL BEEKEEPERS' ASSOCIATION 



AND ITS AFFILIATED ASSOCIATIONS 



E. D. TOWNSEND, Managing Editor, Northstar, Mich. 



ASSOCIATE EDITORS 



WESLEY FOSTER, Boulder, Colo. PROF. EDWIN G. BALDWIN, Deland, Fla. 



Entered as second-class matter, December 9, 1913, at the postoffice at 

 Northstar, Michigan, under the Act of March 3, 1879. 



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VOL. XXVII 



NORTHSTAR, MICHIGAN, JUNE 1, 1914 



No. 6 



The Temperature of the Honey-Bee Cluster in Winter 



By E. F. PHILLIPS, Ph. D., 



In Charge of Bee Culture Iniestiga- 

 tions, and GEORGE S. DEMUTH, 

 Apicultiiral Assistant 



The care of bees in winter is one 

 of the most perplexing problems 

 confronting the bee-keeper, espec- 

 ially in the North. This appears to 

 be due chiefly to the fact that it is 

 difficult to determine by direct ob- 

 servation the normal activities of 

 the bee colony in winter, and 

 consequently it is well-nigh impos- 

 sible to determine what external 

 conditions are most favorable except 

 by the gross results of experience. 

 Nor can we by a study of our win- 

 tering successes and failures deter- 

 mine definitely whether the same 

 conditions of temperature and hu- 

 midity are desirable throughout 

 the entire winter. On account, there- 

 fore, of the lack of accurate know- 

 ledge of the activities of bees in 



the winter season this problem has 

 been taken up with the aid of cer- 

 tain special apparatus and equip- 

 ment. This preliminary report is 

 not to be considered as giving de- 

 finite recommendations as to the 

 care cf bees in winter, but rather 

 is issued to make known to bee- 

 keepers some of the interesting re- 

 sults obtained in the first season's 

 work on the behavior of the bees 

 during the winter season. 



American bee-keepers lose thous- 

 ands of dollars annually in winter 

 from the actual death of colonies 

 and even still more from those col- 

 onies that do not die, but which 

 are reduced in numbers and vital- 

 ity. The wintering problem is there- 

 fore a vitally important one. The 

 factors influencing the welfare of 

 the colony and behavior of the bees 

 are numerous and closely interre- 

 lated. Of the chief ones may be 



