THE FLIGHT ACTIVITIES OP THE HONEYBEE 33 
Table 4. — Record of exits and returns, total and per quarter hour, etc. — Con. 
Bees 
Exits 
Returns 
Bees 
in 
Exits 
Returns 
Time 
Total 
Total 
in one- 
in one- 
Time 
Total 
Total 
in one- 
in one- 
exits 
returns 
in 
field 
fourth 
fourth 
exits 
returns 
field 
fourth 
fourth 
hour 
hour 
hour 
hour 
Number 
Number 
Number 
Number 
Number 
Number 
3.00 
13, 357 
9,816 
3,541 
529 
450 
5.45 
16, 861 
15, 538 
1,323 
252 
594 
3.15 
13, 831 
10,354 
3,477 
474 
538 
6.00 
17,040 
16,022 
1,018 
179 
484 
3.30 
14, 378 
11,265 
3,113 
547 
911 
6.15 
17, 225 
16, 451 
774 
185 
429 
3.45 
14, 820 
12, 051 
2,769 
442 
786 
6.30 
17, 298 
16, 654 
644 
73 
203 
4.00 
15. 082 
12, 570 
2,512 
262 
519 
6.45 
17, 350 
16, 788 
562 
52 
134 
4.15 
15, 334 
13,007 
2,327 
252 
437 
7.00 
17, 394 
16, 907 
487 
44 
119 
4.30 
15,688 
13,370 
2.318 
354 
363 
7.15 
17, 463 
17, 056 
407 
69 
149 
4.45 
15, 986 
13,812 
2,174 
298 
442 
7.30 
17, 533 
17, 191 
342 
70 
135 
5.00 
16.212 
14, 149 
2,063 
226 
337 
7.45 
17, 584 
17, 266 
318 
51 
75 
5.15 
16, 508 
14, 574 
1,934 
296 
425 
8.00 
17, 619 
17, 305 
314 
35 
39 
5.30 
16,609 
14, 944 
1,665 
101 
370 
On any day when the conditions governing flight are fairly uni- 
form throughout the course of the day, it has been found, as has 
been previously explained (p. 26), that sooner or later the flights 
approach a state of equilibrium (Tables 3 and 4), the group of bees 
in the field remaining almost constant, the flow of bees to this gro'up 
being balanced by the flow from it. The magnitude of the group 
of bees participating in flight, but remaining in the hive, and which 
Avill eventually reissue therefrom, must therefore also remain ap- 
proximately constant. Then, again, just as there is a direct ratio 
between the number of bees in the field and the time they are spend- 
ing in the field, so must there also be a direct ratio between the 
number of bees in the hive taking part in the flight and the time they 
spend in the hive between the trips during the period of equilibrium. 
If we assume that on May 15 there were as many bees in the hive 
participating in the flight as there were bees in the field, the bees 
were spending as much time in the hive as out of it. The inferior 
limit to the number of bees participating in the flight on this day 
would then be 3,134 bees, and the maxim'um limit to the number of 
trips would be 10.27. This figure 3,134 seems to be a relatively small 
fraction of the total colony, Avhich at this time must have consisted 
of some 5 pounds of bees (about 25,000). These figures seem to 
suggest, therefore, that even in a strong honey flow the bees spend 
more time in the hive between the voyages than they do on the 
voyage itself. 
THE DEATH RATE OF THE COLONY 
Since the mechanism of the gates prevented the bees from carrying 
out their dead, these collected behind the incoming gates, where they 
were counted and removed every time the gates were detached for 
cleaning. This meant that at certain periods they were counted 
every day and at others once in four or five days, depending upon 
the condition of the instruments. On only one occasion did the 
count ever exceed 100 bees. The total number of bees which died 
in the hive while the instruments were attached Avas 1,060. This is 
1.63 per cent of the total number of bees (65,178) recorded lost from 
all ca'uses. In handling the apparatus the writer has gained the 
rather indefinite impression that as a rule there is a greater error 
on the outgoing gates than on the incoming. If this is true, the 
actual percentage of deaths in the hive is slightly above this figure. 
