THE BROOD-REARING CYCLE OP THE HONEYBEE H 



brood rearing, but only during the major period do colonies exhibit 

 such diverse characteristics in brood rearing as to indicate a response 

 during this phase to conditions which serve to counteract a normal 

 seasonal tendency. It therefore follows that during the major period 

 the beekeeper by his manipulations can best modify the behavior of 

 a colony in the direction which he most desires. 



PERIOD OF FINAL CONTRACTION 



The period of final contraction represents a continuous decrease in 

 brood rearing during the end of the active season, until by the begin- 

 ning of the inactive season brood rearing has ceased entirely. A con- 

 traction of brood rearing is a normal occurrence before the winter sus- 

 pension, and is purely a seasonal phenomenon. The decrease may be 

 abrupt, dropping from a high rate of activity to zero in a remarkably 

 short time, as happens in regions characterized by short, active seasons 

 with overlapping honey flows. In regions where there is scarcely 

 any incoming nectar during the latter part of the active season, the 

 final contraction may not be pronounced in its last stages. In short, 

 the rapidity of this decrease is dependent upon the proximity of the 

 last honey flow to the period marked normally by a complete suspen- 

 sion of brood-rearing activities. The greater the quantity of sealed 

 brood in the hive when the seasonal contraction begins and the nearer 

 in time this beginning is to normal seasonal suspension, the greater 

 are the chances for successfully passing through the inactive season, 

 because such a condition in any colony means that it will enter the 

 winter period with far more young bees than will one in which the final 

 seasonal contraction is gradual and covers a relatively long time. 



SEASONAL SUSPENSION 



In the period of seasonal suspension a complete cessation of all 

 brood-rearing activities takes place in a normal colony which is 

 wintering well. Any brood rearing which occurs during this period 

 is out of season, being abnormal and the result of some harmful factor, 

 such as poor stores, an insufficient number of bees, insufficient insula- 

 tion, or some outside disturbance of the colony itself. The length of 

 the period of seasonal suspension varies greatly, according to the 

 length of the winter. To bring his colonies through this period 

 successfully is one of the most important problems of the beekeeper, 

 in warm as well as in cold climates. As a matter of fact the problem 

 is often more acute in regions with short inactive seasons than it is 

 elsewhere, not only because there are more flight days but also because 

 there is a less abrupt break from a high level of brood-rearing activity 

 at the end of the previous season, so that colonies under such condi- 

 tions will have fewer bees at the beginning of the inactive season. 

 Although the large number of flight days is an advantage in connec- 

 tion with the more frequent possession of a poorer grade of honey 

 stores in Budb Localities, it is a disadvantage in view of the fact that 

 useless flights throughout the inactive season rapidly deplete the 

 population of a colony which entered the period of suspension of 

 brood rearing under less favorable circumstances than normally 

 is the case in regions with short active seasons. 



