BEES AND THE WEATHER 117 



were better than those days of temperature 

 ranging from 55 degrees to 65 degrees and so on 

 down to the lowest readings, the difference in 

 each case being most marked. 



I found that wind exerted a tremendous 

 influence on the honey-storing powers of these 

 two colonies, for the surplus gained when the 

 wind was light was more than four times that 

 secured when strong breezes were blowing. But, 

 above all, the presence or absence of sunshine was 

 the principal factor, for the average gain over the 

 whole period when the day was clear and sunny 

 was more than one pound in each case, whereas, 

 when the sky was overcast, there was an average 

 loss of about two ounces per day. 



These observations were made during the course 

 of an exceptionally fine summer, but it is easy to 

 see that in a long spell of changeable, uncertain 

 weather the bees would suffer very greatly. The 

 period during which honey can be found in 

 sufficient quantity to provide a surplus is com- 

 paratively limited. It commences with the 

 blossoming of the fruit trees. Only very rarely 

 is the weather sufficiently good during that early 

 season to enable colonies to do more than keep 

 brood rearing going steadily. To secure surplus 

 honey from those sources is quite an achievement 

 in even a well-regulated apiary where bees are 

 never allowed to run short of stores. How much 

 more difficult then, when, owing to a shortage in 



