HIVE ENTRANCE. 25 



vinced of this by laying some folds of linen on the top of 

 the hive and then passing the hand between them, ana 

 there will be a degree of warmth felt, and therefore a loss 

 of heat, which never happens when the hives are thick 

 enough. Thev mav be a little more costly, but the expense 

 is more than repaid by the prosperity of your bees. 



HIVE ENTRANCE. 



It is of great importance to widen or contract the en- 

 trance according to the season or to the strength of the stock. 

 Hives are weak in spring because the bees are occupied in 

 the interior, keeping warm and taking care of the young, 

 and the guard at the door is not strong enough to prevent 

 intruders. Contract the door, therefore, and four bees will 

 defend it better tlian thirty would if it were more spacious, 

 and again enlarge it by degrees, according to the increase 

 of the population. The workers must have room enough 

 to go out and in without hindrance. When they begin to 

 crowd together in groups at the entrance it is a sign of the 

 interior being filled, and they should then have free access, 

 as they will be strong enough to resist pillage. When the 

 cluster becomes very large, vthich it will do as the drones 

 increase, enlarge the entrance as much as possible. It is 

 even desirable sometimes to op2n the hive a little at the top 

 in order to moderate, by a current of air, the excessive heat 

 that forces the bees to the outside. After the destruction of 

 the drones the population diminishes, and the bees no longer 

 cluster outside, and then is the time to begin again to con- 

 tract the entrance in order to prevent plunder. 



For this purpose we use little wooden wedges, which 

 cost nothing, as anyone may make them with a knife and 

 bit of stick. They help to protect the bees from the 

 moths, which make sad havoc when once they gain access 



