CHAPTER IV 
THE CYCLE OF THE YEAR 
To describe the various activities observed in the bee 
colony in its response to changes in the environment, there 
is perhaps no better arrangement of the facts than to follow 
such a colony through the year, assuming that it is normal 
and unmolested by man. Eor convenience, the cycle is 
begun at the close of winter. It must of course be understood 
that any such arrangement is arbitrary, since the cycle varies 
in different regions with differences in climate and in the 
sources of nectar. 
In discussing the round of action, it is customary among 
American writers chiefly to discuss the phenomena observed in 
the white clover region, and they often fail to make clear that 
elsewhere the course of events may be materially modified. 
The long winter of the North is a striking feature of the year 
and greatly influences the activities of the bees. In this 
region, too, all of the seasonal influences which go to make 
up the year are intensified and the proper control of bees is 
more difficult. In the discussion which follows, the events 
typical of the North must be made rather prominent in 
order to follow the plan of arranging the facts to the yearly 
cycle, but an effort is made to include the differences which, 
in beekeeping literature, are often attributed to the abused 
term “locality.” From the strong contrasts in seasons and 
in bee activities observed near the northern limits of the 
region where bees may be kept, there is a gradual fading of 
the boundaries of the seasons and a corresponding reduction 
in the extremes of bee activity until we reach the tropics, 
where every day to the bees is as the day before, except for 
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