22 BULLETIN 1349, IT. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
this pollen yield, and continued until the fall nectar flow. Increased 
brood-rearing activity under this new stimulus was slight in com- 
parison with that under stimuli earlier in the season. Notwith- 
standing the fine example of an optimum initial expansion repre- 
sented by this colony, brood rearing was a little too active in pro- 
portion in May, and especially so in June, and exhausted uselessly 
what little nectar had been gathered in May. 
Colony No. 12 had a queen which attained her maximum capacity 
during the initial expansion. This colony was unpacked March 8, 
had a 1920 queen and stores just sufficient, leaving plenty of room 
available for brood rearing. The April decline, characteristic of so 
many of the other colonies, appears to have been for the most part 
avoided in this colony, probably because of the presence of a large 
number of bees. Although April weather may have prematurely 
ended the initial expansion, the fact that, excepting one sporadic 
occasion, the quantity of sealed brood did not at any time equal the 
quantity found at the height of the initial expansion, tends to show 
that the queen was laying throughout at about her maximum 
capacity. The curve of sealed brood (fig. 12 and Table 12) shows a 
decrease in early May, followed by an increase later in the month 
which may be correlated with the tuliptree nectar flow. The in- 
crease, however, did not bring brood rearing up to the maximum 
attained during the period of initial expansion. A decrease followed 
the May increase; but it was checked in part by the incoming honey- 
dew and pollen, after which there was a sporadic upshoot at the very 
end of this period. From that time on there was a marked, rapicl 
decrease in brood rearing until the queen was superseded in August. 
The new queen was laying on August 16 and quickly attained a 
relatively High rank in September, but unfortunately was lost in that 
month. A new queen emerged and mated but did not begin to lay 
until October 4, too late to make much of a showing. The two peaks 
in the curve, following the maximum of the initial expansion, disturb 
the proportions of an ideal curve; but the bees reared during these 
two increases in the brood-rearing rate doubtless enabled the first 
new queen to establish the good record to her credit. 
Colony No. 13 (fig. 13 and Table 13) was unpacked on May 5 and 
had a 1920 queen and more than sufficient stores. At the time of the 
bad weather in April practically all available cells were in use either 
for stores or for brood, the lack of available brood cells accounting 
largely for the April decline shown. A super was added on April 29 
which, with three frames placed in the lower hive body instead of 
the packed division boards, provided plenty of room. Brood rearing 
then so increased that the maximum of sealed brood was reached 
the second week in June. In May incoming nectar interfered 
slightly with brood rearing just prior to the maximum, and honey- 
dew caused a further restriction just after the maximum. The rate 
then became stable for a few weeks until the queen disappeared. A 
virgin was reared naturally which mated and began to lay on August 
19. Brood-rearing activity was carried on at a fairly rapid rate, but 
suffered a slight check just prior to the September nectar flow, 
incoming pollen causing a restriction in room. The peak attained 
in September was sufficiently high to insure plenty of bees for winter. 
As the maximum brood-rearing activity came in the major period 
after the main honey flow was over, there was no occasion to expect 
a Large honey crop in 1921. 
