256 Beekeeping 



As the weather becomes warmer the supplies rapidly increase 

 and the bees are greatly stimulated to build up the colony. 

 The old bees that emerged the previous autumn have been 

 called upon, under ordinary winter conditions, to expend 

 considerable energy, and their ability to do the collecting and 

 the inside work in the spring is in general in inverse ratio 

 to the expenditure of energy in the winter. Brood-rearing, 

 however, begins before or as soon as new supplies come to 

 the hive, provided, of course, that the colony is normal, and 

 as the first bees emerge they in turn increase the capacity of 

 the colony for brood-rearing, so that with a good queen and 

 other favorable conditions the brood is rapidly increased. 



Object of spring manipulations. 



The main object of the work in the spring is to insure an 

 abimdance of bees in time for the harvest. In the more 

 northern localities, summer comes on with a rush and often 

 the principal nectar-secreting plants are in bloom so soon 

 after cold weather that the colony is frequently not in condi- 

 tion to obtain the maximum crop, or there may be a period 

 in the spring when, from lack of nectar, the bees are not 

 stimulated to the maximum breeding. If left to themselves 

 and if honey is already present in the hive, bees will naturally 

 rear brood and thereby rapidly increase the size of the 

 colony, and the work of the beekeeper is to provide the most 

 favorable conditions for the manifestation of this instinct. 



Prevention of drifting. 



Colonies which are wintered in the cellar need not be put 

 in the same locations that they occupied the previous year, 

 when they are removed. In setting them out, some care 

 is necessary to prevent mixing. If they can fly as soon as 

 they are set out, they may rush forth and then be unable 

 again to locate the proper hive, in which case they often 

 "drift," that is, bees enter the wrong colonies with the result 

 that some colonies will be increased in size at the expense 

 of others. If bees can be set out at night or on a cloudy or 



