18 BULLETIN 96, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



As further evidence that the colony is not torpid in cold weather, 

 some of the other activities observed will be of interest. During the 

 day, particularly, the bees wore seen groo mi ng and combing one 

 another, feeding, and fanning at the outside of the cluster; and when 

 the light was admitted to the top, they sometimes flew up as if to 

 sting. It should also be stated that on nights of the most severe 

 weather the bees in both this check colony and in the experimental 

 colony were heard faintly and intermittently buzzing. This buzzing 

 was even more noticeable on cold nights than on warmer ones. A 

 peculiar trembling of the bee such as is seen in summer w T as not 

 infrequently noticed. All of these activities are commonly observed 

 in summer, but heretofore have not been thought to occur in winter 

 and spring before the colony is able to fly forth. 



It is probable that the heat of the sun has no slight influence on 

 the cluster. At least in the check colony under observation it was 

 evident that the cluster sought the sunny side of the hive, the front 

 above the entrance, where from 10 or 11 o'clock in the morning until 

 sundown the sun shone on the hive. 



TEMPERATURE ACCOMPANYING THE LAYING OF THE FIRST EGGS. 



With the laying of the first eggs in the spring, which marks the 

 beginning of summer activity, striking changes occur in the behavior 

 and temperature of the cluster. The central thermometers b and c 

 were particularly affected. Upon opening the hive March 12 eggs 

 less than three days old were discovered. Up to March 9 c had 

 usually continued its winter course inversely to o, as is described and 

 illustrated above by figure 8. But after March 9, when the first 

 eggs were seen, the course of c changed and the inverse relationship 

 was no longer apparent. 



In order to explain the change in the course of c in relation to o, 

 the behavior of the bees at egg-laying time must be considered. 

 During the winter, while fresh air is necessary, there is no such need 

 of it as when the eggs, or more particularly the brood, appear. 

 Moreover, for incubation and for brood rearing a much higher and 

 more constant temperature is needed. The effects of drops in the 

 temperature of the outside air must be overcome. In preparing 

 room for the laying of the queen, the zone for the brood nest is 

 established, which is an important factor in the change in the course 

 of curve c. All of these things appear immediately in the curve 

 at the time of incubation. Formerly, when the bees went forth on a 

 warm day there was a drop in c: now the trend of c is slightly upward 

 during the warmth of the day corresponding somewhat with the 

 warmth outside. Flight occurs nearly every day. 



It is the belief of many beekeepers who winter their bees in cellars 

 that too high a temperature is likely to cause uneasiness and brood 



