THE BROOD-REARING CYCLE OE THE HONEYBEE 11 
brood rearing, but only during the major period do colonies exhibit 
such diverse characteristics in brood rearing as to indicate a response 
during this phase to conditions which serve to counteract a normal 
seasonal tendency. It therefore follows that during the major period 
the beekeeper by his manipulations can best modify the behavior of 
a colony in the direction which he most desires. 
PERIOD OF FINAL CONTRACTION 
The period of final contraction represents a continuous decrease in 
brood rearing during the end of the active season, until by the begin- 
ning of the inactive season brood rearing has ceased entirely. A con- 
traction of brood rearing is a normal occurrence before the winter sus- 
pension, and is purely a seasonal phenomenon. The decrease may be 
abrupt, dropping from a high rate of activity to zero in a remarkably 
short time, as happens in regions characterized by short, active seasons 
with overlapping honey flows. In regions where there is scarcely 
any incoming nectar during the latter part of the active season, the 
final contraction may not be pronounced in its last stages. In short, 
the rapidity of this decrease is dependent upon the proximity of the 
last honey flow to the period marked normally by a complete suspen- 
sion of brood-rearing activities. The greater the quantity of sealed 
brood in the hive when the seasonal contraction begins and the nearer 
in time tjiis beginning is to normal seasonal suspension, the greater 
are the chances for successfully passing through the inactive season, 
because such a condition in any colony means that it will enter the 
winter period with far more young bees than will one in which the final 
seasonal contraction is gradual and covers a relatively long time. 
SEASONAL SUSPENSION 
In the period of seasonal suspension a complete cessation of all 
brood-rearing activities takes place in a normal colony which is 
wintering well. Any brood rearing which occurs during this period 
is out of season, being abnormal and the result of some harmful factor, 
such as poor stores, an insufficient number of bees, insufficient insula- 
tion, or some outside disturbance of the colony itself. The length of 
the period of seasonal suspension varies greatly, according to the 
length of the winter. To bring his colonies through this period 
successfully is one of the most important problems of the beekeeper, 
in warm as well as in cold climates. As a matter of fact the problem 
is often more acute in regions with short inactive seasons than it is 
elsewhere, not only because there are more flight days but also because 
there is a less abrupt break from a high level of brood-rearing activity 
at the end of the previous season, so that colonies under such condi- 
tions will have fewer bees at the beginning of the inactive season. 
Although the large number of flight days is an advantage in connec- 
tion with the more frequent possession of a poorer grade of honey 
stores in such localities, it is a disadvantage in view of the fact that 
useless flights throughout the inactive season rapidly deplete the 
population of a colony which entered the period of suspension of 
brood rearing under less favorable circumstances than normally 
is the case in regions with short active seasons. 
