

JAKMERS BULLETIN 1012. 



colony. Furthermore, a poorly packed colony will not be able to 

 carry out the bees as they die, and the death rate will be higher ; and 

 these things combined may result in an accumulation of dead bees at 

 the entrance, which will serve to suffocate the remaining bees. A 

 colony that is well packed, however, is able to remove all dead bees 

 as fast as they die, and there will never be an accumulation on the 

 jSioor of the hive. Furthermore, a well-packed colony does not need 

 so large an entrance for ventilation as does one that is not packed 

 or -which has not enough packing. If snow drifts over the small 

 entrance here described, the beekeeper need have no anxiety, for the 

 bees can still receive adequate ventilation. If a crust of ice closes 

 the entrance it will be well to break it, but usually the escaping heat 

 will melt this ice before any damage is done. 



WINTER SCHEDULE. 



Great confusion has existed among beekeepers as to the right time 



to pack the bees for winter, and especially as to the right time to 

 remove the packing in the spring. It is quite possible to give defi- 

 nite directions for both procedures and to place the recommenda- 

 tions on a firm foundation by basing them on weather phenomena. 

 The maps (figs. 5 and 6), showing the time of the first average kill- 

 ing frost in the fall, serve as a basis for the recommendations for each 



Fig. 5. — Map of the eastern Unitea States indicating average date of first killing 

 frost in autumn. On tMs the zones tor winter packing are based. No packing is 

 recommended in zones A and lEL 



