CHAPTER XX 
THE CARE OF BEES IN WINTER 
For honeybees to survive the winter season in cold cli¬ 
mates it is necessary that they be able to generate consider¬ 
able heat. They cannot hibernate as do solitary insects 
and they cannot migrate to warmer climates. The only 
method open to them is, therefore, the storage of food and 
the production and conservation of heat when the outer 
temperature falls below the critical temperature, 57° F. 
The behavior of the cluster during the winter season has 
been discussed in an earlier chapter (p. 88). 
Losses in winter. 
That the winter problem warrants considerable investi¬ 
gation and study is shown by the fact that American bee¬ 
keepers annually experience an average loss of probably 
ten per cent of their colonies. The value of these amounts 
to several million dollars and this loss and the weakening 
of colonies serve further to discourage the beekeeper and to 
reduce his income the following year. In certain years 
the losses have been excessive. The season of 1884-85 
stands out in the history of American beekeeping as one of 
terrible devastation. During the winter of 1903-04 prob¬ 
ably seventy per cent of the bees in New England died while 
in 1909-10 the loss was probably fifty per cent in the north¬ 
eastern United States. The winter of 1911-12 was also 
one of heavy mortality, the actual death of colonies costing 
the beekeepers in the eastern United States millions of dol¬ 
lars. The problem is therefore one of vital interest to the 
beekeeper and is one of the most important in the develop¬ 
ment of the industry. 
343 
