(5 ) 



they could get higher ones at intervals of 

 two or three days. Drones will fly at a 

 lower temperature, and probably have a 

 wider range of flight, than queens. The 

 lowest mating temperature is a degree or 

 two higher than the lowest flying tem- 

 perature. 



I have never known mating to take 

 place on a day with a maximum tempera- 

 ture below 62 deg., and believe that it 

 does not readily occur at 63 deg. or 

 64 deg., unless there are a great many 

 drones and also relatively many queens 

 flying. When many queens are flying, 

 the air near the apiary is full of drones 

 darting about in all directions on their 

 trail. Many of the drones follow one 

 another, and they frequently form little 

 knots or flocks, which break up after a 

 few erratic swoops. If one lies on the 

 ground about fifty yards from the apiary 

 scanning the sky, the little flocks con- 

 stantly appear, but at 200 yards they are 

 seldom seen. The presence of so many 

 ardent drones near the apiary must in- 

 duce many matings to take place there 



Restricted mating weather has un- 

 doubtedly aided the work of breeding bees 

 by selection in Ripple Court Apiary ever 

 since it began. I have found no evidence 

 that fertilisation is not well accomplished 

 when mating takes place in restricting 

 weather. Of course, some queens are lost 

 through adverse weather, but these are 

 no doubt the weaker ones, and this pro- 

 cess, continued for many generations, 

 should result in the development of a 

 very hardy breed of bees. There is every 

 indication that this has been the case in 

 Ripple Court Apiary. For several years 

 past no colonies have been lost in winter, 

 and there has been no spring dwindling. 



1909 RESULTS. 



The summer of 1909, although unfavour- 

 able for bee-keeping in most parts of 

 Britain, proved a better one for the par- 

 ticular work carried on in Ripple Court 

 Apiary than 1907 or 1908, and a larger 

 number of queens were reared and mated 

 than in either of those years. 



Diagram showing how a slightly restricted range of flight may completely 



isolate an apiary for breeding purposes. The dots represent imaginary 



apiaries and the circles ranges of flight. The ranges of flight of 



queens and drones are not shown separately. 



and quickly. I think it likely that many 

 of the matings on "free" days, and all 

 on restricted days, occur within about 

 200 yards of the apiary. . 



In hunting for queens drones naturally 

 select open fields, and specially like rising 

 ground; they avoid shady places. 



There is no doubt that on most "free" 

 days flight is not altogether unrestricted. 

 There is reason to suppose that the range 

 of flight is smaller in August than in 

 July, on account of the lessened honey- 

 flow and activity. 



It was noticed that during a period of 

 restricted mating weather at the end of 

 June, 1908, many queens failed to get 

 mated; but during periods of similar 

 weather in August and September almost 

 all the queens were mated, despite the 

 fact that the honey-flow had ended, which 

 made mating more difficult. This seems 

 to indicate- that the young drones flying 

 at the end of June may not have been 

 mature. 



Although two years' observation had 

 convinced me of the usefulness of re- 

 stricted-mating weather, the 1908 records 

 that were preserved do not make it very 

 plain. The successful matings recorded 

 as occurring in July which seemed at- 

 tributable to restricted-mating weather 

 were very few, and it is not certain that 

 all of them did take place in restricting 

 weather. It is true that many successes 

 resulted from matings in restricting 

 weather after August 4, but there is no 

 evidence to show how far these were due 

 to mating late in the season. I therefore 

 hoped that, with suitable weather in 1909, 

 a larger number of matings might supply 

 some definite evidence as to the value of 

 restricted-mating weather. Fortunately 

 the weather could scarcely have been more 

 suitable, and the results, which are sum- 

 marised below, clearly indicate the im- 

 portance of restricted-mating weather. 

 The figures speak for themselves, but it 

 may be remarked that the strongest evi- 



