THE BROOD-REARING CYCLE OF THE HONEYBEE 31 



The appearance of nectar in quantity in the third hive body is 

 marked by migrations of the queen back and forth between the sec- 

 ond and third hive bodies, her activity in the first dwindling away 

 completely. In both seasons, by the beginning of the tulip-tree 

 nectar flow the queen was at work in the third hive body, undoubt- 

 edly having been^ drawn there by the presence of large numbers of 

 bees and incoming nectar, as well as having found so many cells in 

 the other hive bodies filled either with brood, nectar, or pollen. On 

 each return to the second hive body she found deposited there much 

 pollen and some nectar. Each season these migrations produced 

 three clearly defined peaks of brood rearing in the third hive body. 

 Owing to the fact that between these peaks nectar was being crowded 

 as closely as possible around the brood area, even in the cells from 

 which bees had emerged, the queen was restricted continuously in 

 room for egg laying. As a result, each successive peak in the third 

 hive body became smaller and in the end no eggs were to be found 

 above the second. 



With the advent of the period of lessened brood-rearing activity in 

 July, there was little incentive in either year for the queen to wander 

 out of the second hive body. During the same period much of the 

 honey and pollen in this hive body was consumed, with the result 

 that at the beginning of increased brood-rearing activity during the 

 latter part of the major period, caused by incoming pollen, there was 

 sufficient room for a much larger expansion of the brood nest within 

 this hive body than would be apt to take place at that time of year. 

 This condition continued until the fall nectar flow, when the lateness 

 of the season and possibly the slowness of the honey flow caused all 

 incoming nectar to be deposited in the second hive body, around the 

 outer edge of the brood nest or within it. The brood nest was then 

 rapidly constricted by the moving of honey towards the center of 

 the second hive body from both the first and third. 



Since in none of the other colonies were conditions such as to in- 

 duce vertical migrations to such an extent as in colony No. 4, general 

 conclusions are not in order at this time. When all space in the 

 second hive body became filled with brood or stores, the queen in 

 colony No. 4 went below because there was no other place to go, 

 and the population of the colony was already sufficiently great to be 

 using the lower hive body. As the season progressed and a super 

 was added and occupied the queen went up into the third hive body 

 also, where there were so many bees and so much fresh nectar. At 

 no time did she show signs of deserting the second hive body; and, 

 when forced out of the third hive body by nectar and kept out of the 

 first hive body by pollen and nectar, she confined her activity to the 

 second hive body for the remainder of the season. 



Although vertical migrations in brood-rearing activity were not 

 carried to so extreme a degree by the other colonies as by colony 

 No. 4, migrations did occur hetweon the first and second hive bodies. 

 In the case of the other colonies whose maximum brood-rearing 

 activity came later in the season, consumption of stores had made 

 more room available in the second hive body at the time of the need 

 for the maximum room than was the case with colony No. 4, which 

 needed room early. There was therefore not the need for expanding 

 the brood area into another hive body to such a degree as in colony 

 No. 4. Without exception, however, each colony did maintain more 



