WINTERING 151 



bears and other animals which curl up 

 under an old stump and lose both con- 

 sciousness and sense of activity until the 

 winds of spring stir them into wakeful- 

 ness. As a matter of fact bees do not be- 

 come dormant in the winter. Quite the 

 contrary. At all times they are active in 

 the hive and strange as it may seem, the 

 colder the weather the more active they 

 become. 



In all things heat is required to main- 

 tain life. In the case of bears, which have 

 always been used as the type when we 

 think of hibernation, this heat is provided 

 by the excess stores of fat which are ac- 

 cumulated during the summer and fall. 

 As the winter wears on the fat wears off, 

 being consumed by the animal in generat- 

 ing heat. If bees hibernated they would 

 have to be provided with some means of 

 storing a reserve food supply in their 

 bodies which would serve the purpose of 

 the bear's fat — and a fat bee is still un- 

 known to the fraternity. 



