Oiit-door Wintering of Bees 



WINTERlXf. BEES IX THE OPEN AIR. 



In a warm climate there is no reason for wintering bees elsewhere 

 than in the open air ; and that, too, without special protection. As we 

 come north, sa\- to the latitude of Cincinnati, the open air is still a desir- 

 able place in which to winter bees, but some protection is a decided 

 advantage. .Vs we come further north, sa\- to the south line of ^Michigan, 

 it is about an even thing as to whether to put the bees in the cellar or 

 to protect them upon their summer stands. In Xew York, Ontario, 

 Wisconsin, ^linnesota, \es, and in the Xew England States, the advan- 

 tages are with the cellar. And this is not sa\ing that bees can not be 

 wintered out of doors in these higher latitudes. They can, but it is 

 expensive both in the matter of protection and in the extra stores con- 

 sumed. In spite of this, there are advantages in out-door wintering. 

 If there comes a warm day the bees have an opportunit}- to fly, and out- 

 door-wintered bees usually get to breeding earlier in the spring. The 

 hard, disagreeable work of carrying them into and out of the cellar is 

 avoided. Sometimes the soil and "lay ui the land" are not suitable for 

 the building of a desirable bee cellar, and the wintering of the bees in 

 the open air becomes almost a necessity. 



Some winters are "open," or there are January thaws, allowing the 

 bees to enjoy cleansing flights, while other winters hold them close 

 prisoners for four or five months. It is this element of uncertainty 

 attending the wintering of bees in the open air that has driven so manv 

 bee-keepers to the adoption of cellar wintering. Still, there are some 

 bee-keepers who, from some peculiarity of location or management, are 

 able to winter their bees in the open air with quite uniform success ; 

 others are coinpellcd, for the present at least, to winter the bees out of 

 doors. In short, a large portion of the bees, even in the Xorth, are 

 wintered in the open air, and probably will be for a long time to come ; 

 and while my preference is the cellar, there is much to be said in favor 

 of outdoor wintering. Let me give one or two instances of success : 

 Ira D. Bartlett, of East Jordan, Michigan, which is awa)' in the northern 

 portion of the lower peninsula, began keeping bees when only fourteen 

 years of age — began with only one colony — and when twenty-one years 



