612 bee-keeper's calendak. 



sometimes left in the cellar till May. As a rule, bees are 

 not, and should not be, wintered in cellars, south of the 

 39th degree of latif?ude. 



882. April. — Bees will ordinarily begin to gather much 

 pollen (263), in this month, and sometimes considerable 

 honey. As brood is now very rapidly maturing, there is 

 a largely increased demand for honey, and great care should 

 be taken to prevent the bees from suffering for want of 

 food (607). If the supplies are at all deficient, breeding will 

 be checked, even if much of the brood does not perish, or 

 the whole colony die of starvation. If the weather is pro- 

 pitious, and the bees do not have a liberal supply of stores 

 on hand, feeding to promote a more rapid increase of 

 young may now be commenced (606). Feeble colonies 

 must now be reinforced (480), and should the weather 

 continue cold for several days at a time, the bees ought to 

 be supplied with water (271) in their hives. 



This point is much neglected, by ourselves, as well as by 

 others, in practice, but we are convinced that much of our 

 April loss is due to the bees going in search of water in in- 

 clement weather (662). At this time, if not before, the 

 larvae of the bee-moth will begin to make their appearance, 

 and should be carefully destroyed, not that they are very 

 damaging to bees in a carefully-conducted Apiary, but only 

 that they give annoyance by their presence on the combs 

 or comb-honey, removed from the bees, in the latter 

 part of the season (812). " One stitch in time saves 

 nine." One moth killed in April, prevents several thou- 

 sand in October. 



It is at this time, that the hives should be inspected, to 

 remove all drone comb (228) that can be found, as well 

 as crooked combs and broken pieces, — to be replaced by 

 straight worker comb (676), or strips of foundation 

 (674). At this time, also, the hives that are intended for 

 drone raising (511), should be supplied with sufficient 



