AUSTRALASIAN BEE MANUAL 113 



rounds hitherto I have found it a g-eneral complaint that 

 numbers of colonies have died off in the spring. The 

 owners did not know the cause, and when starvation was 

 suggested they were quite surprised, as they ' had left 

 plenty of food in the hive the previous season,' and it had 

 never occurred to them that the supply might run short. 

 All bee-keepers worthy of the name will take care that their 

 bees never run short of food, be it spring, summer, autumn, 

 or winter. 



Given a fair supply of stores in late autumn, when fixing 

 the bees up for winter, a colony will use comparatively little 

 during the winter months, but as soon as breeding begins 

 in the latter part of July or early August the stores are 

 largely drdwn upon for feeding the brood, and unless nectar 

 can be gathered to help them out, the stores will rapidly 

 diminish. As a rule willows and other spring forage afford 

 a good supply in fine weather, but the weather is frequently 

 far from fine at that time — generally unsettled, and against 

 the bees securing nectar.. Take a case, for example, where 

 the bees have come out of winter quarters with a fair supply 

 of food in the hive, the weather fine, and some nectar is 

 being brought in from the fields. Under these conditions, 

 where there is a good queen, breeding will go ahead very 

 rapidly, and in a short time there will be a big lot of brood 

 to feed, and a large quantity of food needed. If at this 

 time bad weather should set in and last for several days, 

 preventing the bees gathering nectar, probably within a 

 week pretty, nearly all the reserve stores within the hive 

 will be used up, and if the bees are not seen to before they 

 arrive at this . stage they will probably die of starvation. 

 This is not a fancifully drawn case, but a real practical 

 one, and shows just how such large losses occur in spring." 



STIMULATIVE FEEDING. 



This is simply feeding to force brood rearing, as in the 

 example already given in queen rearing vi^here colonies 

 are to be forced on ahead of the others in the apiary, 

 and is quite independent of the quantity of food in the 

 hive. So long as the bees are storing a little more 

 food than they are using, no matter from what source 

 it comes, they will be stimulated into extra brood 

 rearing. 



Sugar syrup made in the following manner is the 

 safest and best food. Mix half a pint of water with 

 each pound of sugar, stir well, and bring to the boil. 

 When cool, it is ready for use. Never feed honey 



