128 
Beekeeping 
others; if there is but little honey in the field the death rate 
often is greater than if there were no nectar available or 
than is the case when there is plenty of nectar. The work 
necessary to get the nectar costs more than the nectar is 
worth. Beekeepers often observe at the close of a severe 
winter what is known as “spring dwindling.” This is, to 
the best of our knowledge, due to the fact that during cold 
weather the bees have had to work vigorously to generate 
heat and that, when the spring comes with its increased 
activities incident to brood-rearing, the bees are worn out 
and die rapidly. 
Work determines length of life. 
All of these facts and many others observed in the apiary 
indicate a peculiar condition found in bees which may be 
figuratively expressed in the following terms: a bee is born 
with a definite supply of energy and when this energy is 
exhausted the bee dies. It may be likened to a storage 
battery that continues to give out its stored energy until 
it is exhausted, but unlike the storage battery the bee seem¬ 
ingly cannot be “recharged.” In our own experience, we 
find that after exhausting exercise, rest and food enable us 
to recover completely from the exhaustion, and we are prob¬ 
ably better for the exercise. It must not be concluded 
from what has been said that bees have no recuperative 
power, but it is obvious from the various facts observed 
that in some fundamental way their term of life is limited 
by the amount of work they do. 
Practical applications. 
Success in practical beekeeping rests in a recognition of 
this phenomenon of the wearing out of bees, but nowhere 
is this more evident than in wintering. In order that the 
bees may live over winter and still have energy to do the 
work required of them, under the trying conditions of spring, 
the bees should be kept under conditions which will require 
of them the minimum exertion. This the northern beekeeper 
