It has been shown by Phillips and Demuth in their work pre- 
viously referred to that the quality of the winter stores has much 
bearing on the way a colony will pass the winter. When the stores 
are of such quality that there is a large proportion of indigestible 
matter in them, there is a corresponding accumulation of feces in 
the bees which causes them to be uneasy, and this uneasiness and 
activity causes them to consume more of the stores resulting in in- 
creased activity. There are localities in New Jersey where the winter 
stores are usually from some source, principally golden rod, which 
contains a large percentage of waste matter. In such localities it 
is good practice to feed each colony after all gathering has ceased 
five pounds of sugar syrup, made of two parts sugar to one of water. 
This will be stored near the cluster, where it will be used during 
the coldest part of the year, and as it is practically all digestible 
the accumulation of feces will be very small. 
Bees do not hibernate. There is a much reduced activity during 
the winter season, but the cluster temperature of a colony of brood- 
less bees does not go below 57°F. no matter how low the outdoor 
temperature may be. The only way the bees have of maintaining 
this temperature is by muscular activity. It is readily seen that to 
maintain the temperature when the outdoor temperature is low the 
bees must use considerable muscular activity. To maintain this 
activity the bees must consume food. This activity not only causes 
the bees to consume more food, but it uses up their energy so that 
they are largely worn out when spring arrives and are not able to 
do efficient work. 
To provide that the bees shall come to the spring work with energy 
unimpaired their winter activities should be slowed down to the lowest 
possible point. This is accomplished by giving abundant insula- 
tion to the colony. The studies of Phillips & Demuth have shown 
that bees in New Jersey need four inches of packing beneath the 
hive, six inches on the sides and eight or more inches on top. 
The insulating material used will depend largely upon what 
the beekeeper can conveniently get locally, bearing in mind that 
the finer materials have a higher insulating value than the coarser 
ones. Leaves and chaff are good insulators and one or the other 
is within the reach of every beekeeper. Planer shavings and dry 
sawdust are also good but present difficulties in keeping them in 
the proper place. Hay, straw and like coarse long material, are 
not good for this purpose. 
The manner of holding the packing material in place is also 
largely a matter of individual preference or convenience. Some good 
beekeepers make a substantial case of 7/8 material large enough 
to house four colonies placed back to back and allow sufficient room 
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