BEEKEEPING IN OOLORADO 5 



least nearly full of brood almost until frost. Alany beekeepers, especi- 

 ally comb honey ])roducers, make the mistake when they take off the 

 supers before the end of the honey flow by not putting on hive bodies in 

 place of the super. Their aim is to obtain plenty of honey in the brood 

 chamber for winter stores, which is important, but no more than htiy- 

 ing a large force of young bees. 



Young queens introduced in the fall greatly reduce the number of 

 failing queens in the spring, when a good queen is needed most. 



Provide Adequate Stores: While rearing brood heavily in the 

 apiary a colony will consume honey very rapidly. It is estimated that 

 a colony of bees that has an equivalent of 12 Longstroth frames of 

 brood in the hive by June 15th, will consume at least ninety pounds 

 of honey from the time of the first killing frost in the fall to June 15th 

 of the next j'ear. 



The weather during the spring Is frequently unfavorable for bee 

 flights for long periods of time, and also for nectar secretion. To 

 make the bees independent of the weather, let's meet nature half -way 

 and provide an extra hive body (about 45 pounds of honey) full of 

 honey, to be placed on top of the brood chamber the previous fall. 



In order to conserve the energy of the bees, we should provide pro- 

 tection in the fall at the time of the first killing frost. jVll honej- 

 coming into the hive stops, causing the colony to cease l)rood rearing. 

 At this time the bees are the quietest of any period of the year. The 

 disturbance incident to putting on insulation does not do them any 

 harm. After this the beekeeper should have no occasion to open th€ 

 hive until spring. 



If packing is delayed until late, it may do far more damage than to 

 leave the bees unpacked. A colony of bees that is generating heat 

 in response to low temperature is considerably disturbed by the miin- 

 ipulations during packing and the temperature of the inside of the 

 cluster is promptly raised. Frequently, if bees are packed too late 

 the cluster temperature is raised to brood-rearing temperature, the 

 queen begins to lay eggs, and brood rearing is usually continued 

 through the winter unless it results in the death of the colony. Many 

 beekeepers pack their colonies in December with most harmful results. 



Time for Unpacking: If the bees have been properly prepared tlie 

 previous fall, with a young queen, plenty of stores and well packed, 

 the beekeeper rarely has any reason for opening the hive until spring 

 is well advanced. It is best to leave the insulation on until the,' bees 

 need more room, which will probably be about June 1st, on the weaker 

 colonies somewhat longer. 



Methods of Packing: The exact matter of packing is not especially 



