The Care of Bees in Winter 
357 
reach a point where brood-rearing may begin, and this with 
the increased activity causes excessive feeding and still 
greater accumulation of feces. It is therefore quite plain 
that a good food free from gums is of primary importance 
Fig. 145. — Diagram showing the effects of an accumulation of feces. The 
heavy line represents the temperature of the cellar, the lighter ones 
those inside the clusters. The colony which died in December was on 
honey-dew stores and the one which lived through the winter was on 
honey stores. Brood-rearing occurred in the honey-dew colony during 
November and it also suffered from dysentery. 
in successful wintering. If the bees are free to fly at fre¬ 
quent intervals the inferior food will do less harm and bees 
may even winter on honey-dew honey if there are no long 
periods of confinement. It is, however, doubtful whether 
they are as vigorous later on if the food is inferior. 
