22- BULLETIN 1349, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



this pollen yield, and continued until the fall nectar now. Increased 

 brood-rearing activity under this new stimulus was slight in com- 

 parison with that under stimuli earlier in the season. Notwith- 

 standing the fine example of an optimum initial expansion repre- 

 sented by this colony, brood rearing was a little too active in pro- 

 portion in May, and especially so in June, and exhausted uselessly 

 what little nectar had been gathered in May. 



Colony No. 12 had a queen which attained her maximum capacity 

 during the initial expansion. This colony was unpacked March 8, 

 had a 1920 queen and stores just sufficient, leaving plenty of room 

 available for brood rearing. The April decline, characteristic of so 

 many of the other colonies, appears to have been for the most part 

 avoided in this colony, probably because of the presence of a large 

 number of bees. Although April weather may have prematurely 

 ended the initial expansion, the fact that, excepting one sporadic 

 occasion, the quantity of sealed brood did not at any time equal the 

 quantity found at the height of the initial expansion, tends to show 

 that the queen was laying throughout at about her maximum 

 capacity. The curve of sealed brood (fig. 12 and Table 12) shows a 

 decrease in early May, followed by an increase later in the month 

 which may be correlated with the tuliptree nectar flow. The in- 

 crease, however, did not bring brood rearing up to the maximum 

 attained during the period of initial expansion. A decrease followed 

 the May increase; but it was checked in part by the incoming honey- 

 dew and pollen, after which there was a sporadic upshoot at the very 

 end of this period. From that time on there was a marked, rapid 

 decrease in brood rearing until the queen was superseded in August. 

 The new queen was laying on August 16 and quickly attained a 

 relatively high rank in September, but unfortunately was lost in that 

 month. A new queen emerged and mated but did not begin to lay 

 until October 4, too late to make much of a showing. The two peaks 

 in the curve, following the maximum of the initial expansion, disturb 

 the proportions of an ideal curve; but the bees reared during these 

 two increases in the brood-rearing rate doubtless enabled the first 

 new queen to establish the good record to her credit. 



Colony No. 13 (fig. 13 and Table 13) was unpacked on May 5 and 

 had a 1920 queen and more than sufficient stores. At the time of the 

 bad weather in April practically all available cells were in use either 

 for stores or for brood, the lack of available brood cells accounting 

 largely for the April decline shown. A super was added on April 29 

 which, with three frames placed in the lower hive body instead of 

 the packed division boards, provided plenty of room. Brood rearing 

 then so increased that the maximum of sealed brood was reached 

 the second week in June. In May incoming nectar interfered 

 slightly with brood rearing just prior to the maximum, and honey- 

 dew caused a further restriction just after the maximum. The rate 

 then became stable for a few weeks until the queen disappeared. A 

 virgin was reared naturally which mated and began to lay on August 

 19. Brood-rearing activity was carried on at a fairly rapid rate, but 

 suffered a slight check just prior to the September nectar flow, 

 incoming pollen causing a restriction in room. The peak attained 

 in September was sufficiently high to insure plenty of bees for winter. 

 As the maximum brood-rearing activity came in the major period 

 after the main honey flow was over, there was no occasion to expect 

 a large honey crop in 1921. 



