SPEING DWINDLING. 369 



"Bees, like men, have their different dispositions, so that 

 even their loyalty will sometimes fail them. An instance not 

 ]ong ago came to our knowledge, which probably few bee- 

 keepers will credit. It is that of a hive which, having early 

 exhausted its store, was found, on being examined one morning, 

 to be utterly deserted. The comb was empty, and the only 

 symptom of life was the poor queen herself, 'unfriended, 

 melancholy, slow,' crawling over the honeyless cells, a sad 

 spectacle of the fall of bee-greatness. Marius among the ruins 

 of Carthage — Napoleon at Fontainebleau — was nothing to this. ' ' 



Several such instances, caused by Spring dwindling, with 

 subsequent robbing of the honey, were observed by us. Colo- 

 nies are thus destroyed as late as April and May. 



660. In some instances, the enlarged abdomen of the bees 

 will show that they are suffering from constipation— (785) — 

 or inability to discharge their faeces, even though they may 

 have voided their abdomen since their long confinement. Prob- 

 ably their intestines are in an unhealthy condition. In the 

 worst cases of Spring dwindling, sometimes, even the queens 

 show signs of failing, and eventually disappear. This may 

 occur also with colonies that were wintered in the cellar, if 

 they have suffered from diarrhoea, or have been removed too 

 early. 



There is another sort of Spring dwindling caused by the 

 loss of working bees in cold Springs, while in search of water 

 (271), or pollen (263), for the brood. 



661. To avoid losses or to check them as far as possible, 

 after a hard Winter, it is indispensable that the following be 

 observed : 



1st. The hives should be located in a warm, sunny, well- 

 sheltered place. All Apiaries that are placed in exposed 

 windy situations, or facing North, suffer most from Spring 

 dwindling. 



2d. The number of combs in the hive should be reduced 

 in early Spring, with the division-board or contractor, to suit 

 the size of the cluster (349). This helps the bees to keep 



