144 
BROOD AND BROOD-REARING 
bees in the southern States consume more 
stores during winter than those in the 
Noi’th. 
brood-rearing in the south. 
Bees in the South will have to gather 
from 200 to 250 pounds of honey for col¬ 
ony maintenance before they can get a 
surplus. So much honey is consumed in 
constant brood-rearing and flying every 
day for 11 or 12 months that the beekeeper 
of the Southland should figure on at least 
two or three pounds of honey to maintain 
a colony to every pound he will get for 
surplus. In many instances the ratio 
would stand four to one. In the far south¬ 
ern States some of the best beekeepers ad¬ 
mit that, during the winter, their bees have 
to raise two or three families of brood be¬ 
fore they can get one to gather the honey. 
That means that the hive will have to be 
filled with brood two or three times, each 
generation dying off before the third or 
fourth generation can gather the main 
crop. 
On the other hand, northern bees, during 
winter for five or six months, are in a 
semi-dormant state, during which they 
raise but little brood, consume very few 
stores, and last, but not least, require no 
attention. 
BROOD-REARING DURING MIDWINTER. 
Mention has been made of the fact that 
brood may be found in the hive during 
midwinter, particularly with bees outdoors. 
If the weather is mild, or if bees are 
located in a southern climate, brood may 
be found in the hive every month in the 
year. Ordinarily, in the northern States 
no brood will be found much before Feb¬ 
ruary; but breeding may be started either 
in the cellar or outdoors by giving slabs 
of hard candy laid flat on top of the 
brood-nest with two %-inch cleats to 
hold it up from the top of the frames. 
(See Candy, particularly Hard Candy.) 
Disturbance of the brood-nest in or out of 
the cellar will also often start breeding. 
The average beginner would do well not 
to hasten things before the bees themselves 
commence. If brood-rearing begins too 
early, there is danger-of dysentery setting 
in. In order to maintain brood-rearing, the 
temperature of the colony must be up to 
about blood heat—94. This stimulates the 
activities of the colony, causing a large 
consumption of stores; but if the bees 
are not able to make winter flights, the 
retention of the feces may cause dysentery. 
When this starts in January or February 
it will probably mean the loss of the colony 
before spring. (See Dysentery.) How¬ 
ever, an experienced beekeeper in the 
northern States may start brood-rearing 
sometimes by giving slabs of candy, and 
the result will be that the colony will be 
stronger by spring than in the fall. But 
the average beginner should let the bees 
severely alone, provided he is sure they 
have plenty of stores and are well housed. 
For a further discussion of brood and 
brood-rearing, see Feeding, subhead Feed¬ 
ing to Stimulate; Candy; Spreading 
Brood; Queens and Queen-rearing. For 
a discussion of brood diseases, chilled 
brood, and neglected brood, see Foul 
Brood. 
DRONE BROOD. 
This lias the general characteristics of 
worker brood, except that the cells are 
larger and the cappings more convex. 
While worker brood emerges in from 
20 to 21 days from the laying of the egg, 
drone brood emerges in from 23 to 24 
days. See large half-tone plate. 
A drone-laying queen or a laying worker 
(see Laying Worker) may lay drone 
eggs in worker-cells. In that case the 
brood will be worker size, but the cappings 
will be more convex than ordinary worker. 
Drone brood will often die from neg¬ 
lect. It will smell like foul brood, but 
lack the characteristics of either European 
or American foul brood. Beginners some¬ 
times suppose it to be a disease. But 
dead drone brood usually means nothing 
serious, especially if the worker brood in 
the hive is normally healthy. 
AMOUNT OF HONEY REQUIRED FOR BROOD¬ 
REARING. 
The author estimates the amount of hon¬ 
ey used by a colony of bees for its own 
maintenance at 200 to 250 pounds per year 
in the southern States. This is the amount 
the bees must have before any surplus can 
be secured. While this amount may seem 
excessive to some, it is not so high as simi- 
