6 BtTLLETIX 1328, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGBICULTITEE 
arrangement i^rovecl satisfactory until some time in June, when a 
change was necessitated by the peculiar behavior of the bees during 
hot weather. Several changes were tried, but the plan that ap- 
peared to give the greatest satisfaction was to close this lower venti- 
lator and to remove one of the ingoing gates, the remaining 14: gates 
being spaced more widely, thus allowing more of the hive odor to 
escape between the gates. Ventilation at the top of the hive was 
also provided during the hottest weather. 
A weatherproof telephone cable led the wires from the contact de- 
vices to the recording counters attached to a table in the laboratory, 
about 50 feet from the hive. Two storage batteries furnished the 
current, these being recharged periodically by means of a rectifier. 
During the portion of each day when the bees were flying, the 
following observations were recorded without interruption at exactly 
15-minute intervals: Records of outgoing and incoming bees; weight 
of the entire hive with attached apparatus ; temperature in the shade 
adjacent to the hive; anemometer record of the wind which had 
passed since last reading; and notes on the weather conditions, includ- 
ing the degree of cloudiness. These readings usually began at about 
5.30 a. m. and continued until about 8 p. m., depending somewhat on 
the season. 
PROBLEMS ON WHICH INFORMATION MAY BE OBTAINED BY A 
DEVICE FOR COUNTING FLIGHTS 
If an accurate count could be obtained of the exits from and en- 
trances to a hive without interfering unduly with the normal flight 
activities of the bees, the data obtained would throw some light on 
the following problems : 
1. Perhaps the most important would be the responses of bees to 
various honey flows, especially to those that are not heavy enough to 
be reflected very markedly in the weight of the hive. Information 
regarding this problem would undoubted!}^ assist in a study of nec- 
tar secretion, especially with reference to the time of day and the rel- 
ative amount of secretion. 
2. The responses of bees to various meteorological conditions, 
such as intensity of light, temperature, wind, rain, and electrical 
disturbances. 
3. "Average duration of the flight, its variation with the honey 
flows and the general atmospheric, conditions. 
4. The daily average number of trips per bee to the field, ascer- 
tained by manipulating the hive so as to get a census of the field bees 
on any particular day. 
5. The possible responses of bees to sounds, odors, and other 
stimuli. 
6. The death rate of the colony, the comparative numbers which 
die in the field and in the hive, and the factors which contribute to 
an increased death rate. 
7. The effect on bees of the time of application of certain poisonous 
insecticides in horticultural practice. 
8. The relative economic impoi'tance of predatory wasps, other 
enemies, and adult bee diseases, information regarding which might 
be obtained by correlating flight data with the normal death rate. 
