The Relation of Moisture to the Wintering of Bees 



Is it an advantage to have the air of our bee-cellars dry? or do the 

 bees winter more perfectly in a moist atmosphere? or is this an unim- 

 portant factor? If it is important, how shall we determine what degree 

 of moisture is most conducive to the health of the bees? and, having 

 decided this point, what shall we do about it? How can we control the 

 amount of moisture in the air of our bee-cellars? All these c|ueries, 

 and many more, come to the man who is thinking of wintering his bees 

 in a cellar. 



Whether bees can be successfully wintered in a damp cellar, de- 

 pends largely, almost wholly, upon the tcni['cratitrc of the atmosphere. 

 "If the repository be damp, a degree of temperature higher in proportion 

 to the dampness should be maintained." — N. II' McLaiu. Referring to 

 this statement, Mr. Frank Cheshire says : "The reason being that the 

 water has an enormous capacity for heat (specific heat) whether in the 

 liquid or vaporous form, the latter abstracts heat from the bees and 

 intensifies their struggle." Dr. Youmans says, "Air which is already 

 saturated with moisture refuses to receive the perspiration offered it 

 from the skin and lungs, and the sewage of the s_\stem is dammed up." 



A moist air very readily absorbs heat, and more quickl)- robs the 

 bees of that element so essential to life ; hence it w ill be seen why a 

 moist atmosphere must also be a warm one if disastrous results are to 

 be avoided. 



There is also another point in the wintering of bees upon which 

 moisture has a bearing, and that is in regard to its effects upon the 

 exhalations of the bees. If the exhalations are not taken up readily, 

 the "sewage of the system is dammed up." But little moisture is re- 

 quired to saturate cold air ; that is, it will absorb but little moisture, 

 the point where it will receive no more being soon reached. As the 

 temperature rises, the absorbing capacity of the air increases. When 

 air of a high temperature, as that of our bodies, or nearly that, is 

 saturated, or nearly so, with moisture, the exhalations from the lungs 

 and skin are taken up but slowly ; we are oppressed, and say the weather 

 is "muggy." This explains why we feel better on bright clear days. 



