14 CONSTRUCTIVE BEEKEEPING 



VENTILATION 



One of the axioms of beekeeping is ventilate . No matter 

 what other manipulations the beekeeper recommends to prevent 

 swarming, he always adds "VENTILATE". Why do the bees 

 require so much fresh air in May and June when they have double 

 the capacity of air space, within the hive, that they have in 

 October and November 



The air in the hive serves a two-fold purpose. It supplies 

 the bees with oxygen and influences the amount of water vapor 

 the hive can contain. This water vapor is given off in the 

 ripening of honey and the breathing of the bees. It is either 

 removed from the hive by ventilation or carried to the walls and 

 ceiling, where it is condensed and used by the bees for domestic 

 purposes. 



Ventilation is constructive in principle when the nights are 

 warm and the atmosphere comparatively dry, but is destructive 

 when the nights are cold and the atmosphere nearly saturated 

 with moisture. Only the best beekeepers can, by ventilation, 

 maintain that nice balance that accords with temperature and 

 strength of the colony. 



During the season when the bees are most likely to acquire 

 the urge the nights are colder and the humidity of the air greater 

 than later in the season. At such times a cold current of air 

 throught the hive interferes with the rearing of brood and does 

 not help much in the ripening of honey. Each day of good 

 honey gathering bringing the colony nearer to a crowded 

 condition. 



No beekeeper finds it practicable to change the ventilation 

 as the temperature changes, but must rely on his judgment of 

 the amount that gives best results. 



The manipulations of divisible brood chambers can be con- 

 sidered under the head of ventilation. When the two sections 

 of the brood chamber have been broken apart or exchanged, the 

 percentage of colonies that acquire the urge has been reduced. 

 This can readily be explained by showing how it makes for ven- 

 tilation. If it is done prior to the urge it will have a tendency to 



