BEE-spoke-data/bees-v0 huggingface dataset:
**642.** But we highly recommend the use of these hives, to the bee-keepers who do not wish to go to the trouble of sheltering their bees every Winter. With the chaff-hive, it is a matter of only a few minutes to put into Winter-quarters a colony that has sufficient stores and bees, As to the advantage, claimed for these hives, of keeping weak colonies warm, in the Spring, we found it counterbalanced by the loss of the sun's heat during the first warm days, and we found that bees bred as fast, in our ordinary hives (double only on the windward sides) owing to the quick absorption of the sun's rays by the boards.
**643.** To obtain the advantages of the chaff-hive without any of its disadvantages and at the same time retain in use the single-wall Langstroh or dovetailed hives, some bee-keepers have devised outer-boxes to be placed over the colonies during Winter, and removed in Spring. These can be filledwith absorbents, and make the best and safest out-door shelters (Fig. 135). They are only hooked together by nails partly driven, and are taken off in pieces, in the Spring and put away, under shelter. The roofs may be used over the hives all Sunnner, if desirable. The only disadvantage of outer-boxes is that they may harbor miee or insects. Some use then, without any packing, and we know by experience, that even in this way, very small colonies may be wintered safely. If the hive has a portico, the front of the box is made to fit around it. In any case, the portioe itself can be closed, during the coldest weather, by a door fitting over it, but it must be opened on warm days. In the extraordinary Winter of 1S84-5, several bee-keepers of McDonough County, Illinois, among whom, we will cite Mr. J. G. Norton, of Maccomb, safely wintered their Simplicity hives with this method, while their neighbors lost all, or nearly all, their bees.
**6.1.**_If the colonies are strong in numbers and stores, have upper moisture absorbents, easy communication from comb to comb, good ripe honey, shelter from piercing winds, and can have a cleansing flight once a month, they have all the conditions essential to wintering successfully in the open air._
In-door Wintering.
**6.15.** In some parts of Europe, it is customary to winter all the bees of a village in a common vault or cellar. Dzierzon says:
"A dry cellar is very well adapted for wintering bees, even though it is not wholly secure from frost; the temperature will be much milder, and more uniform than in the open air; the bees will be more secure from disturbance, and will be protected from the piercing cold winds, which cause more injury than the greatest degree of cold when the air is calm.
"Universal experience teaches that the more effectually bees are protected from disturbance and from the variations of temperature, the better will they pass the Winter, the less will they consume of their stores, and the more vigorous and numerous will they be in the Spring. I have, therefore, constructed a special Winter repository for my bees, near my apiary. It is weather-boarded both outside and within, and the intervening space is filled with hay or tan, etc.; the ground and plat enclosed is dug out to the depth of three or four feet, so as to secure a more moderate and equitable temperature. When my hives are placed in this depository, and the door locked, the darkness, uniform temperature, and entire repose the bees enjoy, enable them to pass the Winter securely. I usually place here my weaker colonies, and those whose hives are not made of the warmest materials, and they always do well. If such a structure is to be partly underground, a very dry site must be selected for it."
In Russia, bee-keepers dig a well from twenty to twenty-five feet deep, and six or eight feet wide. The hives, which _there,_ are hollow trees, are then piled horizontally upon one another, _like cord-wood,_ with one end open. The well is filled to within six feet of the top, and a shed, made of straw, is built above. The bees are left there during the five or six months of Winter. But Russia is fast adopting the methods of advanced countries and they are beginning to use our hives and winter bees much on our plan.
In some other countries, they are kept in caves, abandoned mines, or any under-ground place near at hand.
**646**. In the North of the United States, and in Canada, they are generally wintered in eellars, and remain there in quiet from November till Mareh or April, sometimes till May.
In all localities, where the bees cannot fly at least once a month, in the Winter, it is best to follow this method of wintering.
As Dzierzon says, a _dry_ eellar is the best, although bees can be wintered in a _damp cellar,_ but with more danger of loss, especially if the food is not of the best.
**647**. In the first place, the bees should be moved to the cellular, just after they have had a day's flight, at the opening of cold weather. It is better to put them in a little early than run the risk of putting them away after they have been exposed to a long cold spell.
Dr. C. C. Miller, who is one of the best authorities, because he is much experienced and a very good observer, says this on the proper time to take them in :
"It is a thing impossible to know beforehand just what is the best time to take bees into the cellar. At best it can only be a guess. Living in a region where winters are severe, there are some years in which there will be no chance for bees to have a flight after the middle of November and I think there was one year without a flight after the first of November (Northern Illinois). One feels badly to put his bees into the cellar the first week in November and then two or three weeks later have a beautiful day. But he feels a good deal worse after a good flight-day the first week in November to wait for a later flight, then have it turn very cold, and after waiting through two or three weeks of such weather, to give up hope of any later flight and put his bees in after two or three weeks' endurance of severe freezing. So it is better to err on the side of getting bees in too early,"--(Forty Years Among the Bees, page 39\({}^{\circ}\).)
We take only the brood-apartment leaving the cap, and sometimes the bottom-board, on the Summer stand, being careful to mark the number of each hive inside of its cap" so as to return it to the same location in Spring (**32-33**).** Not all bee-keepers do this but we know that it helps. In the cellar, the hives are piled one upon another. An empty hive or a box is put at the bottom of each pile, so that the bees will be as high up from the damp ground as possible. If the bottom-board is brought in with the hive, the entrance should be left open. It is well to raise the lower tier of hives from their bottoms with entrance-bleoks, unless they have good lower ventilation without this. Some upper ventilation hiveh better be given also, for the escape of moisture. If the eellar is damp, the combs will mould more or less; if it is dry, they will keep in perfect order.
**6.18.** After the bees are put in, they should be left in darkness, at the temperature that will keep them the quietest. We find that from \(42^{\circ}\) to \(45^{\circ}\) is the best. Every Apirast should have a thermometer, and use it. The cost is insignificant, and it will pay for itself many times.
Fig. 136.
cellar Blind, TO GIVE AIR WITHOUT LIGHT.
But thermometers vary, especially the cheap ones. Try to find at what temperature, with _your_ thermometer in _your_ cellar, they are the quietest, and then aim to keep it at that.
The fact that bees, in Russia (**6.15**), are confined in deep wells, for six months, shows that a total deprivation of light cannot be injurious. It prevents them from flying out of their hives, to which they would be unable to return, after flying to the windows, allured by the light, when the temperature of the cellar rises occasionally and unexpectedly to 50 or 60 degrees.
As bees, wintered on their Summer stands, begin to fly out when the temperature in the shade reaches about 50 degrees, and are in full flight at about 55, one can imagine how restless they become' when the temperature of the cellar rises to 55 or 60 degrees. They wait impatiently for the dawn of the day which will afford them the opportunity for flying out. But as the days pass and darkness continues they are uneasy and tired.
Fig. 137.
cellular BLIND IN PLACE.
The warmth incites then also to breed, and as they need water for their broad (**271**), some leave the live in quest of it and are lost. This happens more or less every Winter. To call the air of the cellar, ice may be brought in and allowed to melt slowly over a tub.
The.Apiarist must guard against cold, also, but in wintering a large number of colonies, the heat which they generate will usually keep the cellar quite warm in the coldest weather. In our experience, we have had to keep the cellar windows open, often, in cold weather.
**619**. To allow cold air to enter without giving light, we have devised cellar blinds (figs. 136-137). When the window, inside, is raised, a wire-cloth frame is put in its place to keep mice out, and there is a slide on the inside of the shutter which can be used to give more or less air as the case requires. Besides, the windows of our bee-cellar are made with double panes, to exclude cold or heat more efficiently, when they are shut. A slight quantity of pure air is needed at all times.
As we have said above, when the warmer days of Spring come, with alternates of cold, the bees will breed a little, and if this is not begun too early, it will be a help to them rather than an injury, for they will become strong, all the sooner, after being taken out.
**650**. A small number of colonies can be wintered in any ordinary cellar, quite safely, when their food is of good quality, and the temperature does not vary too much, but they _must_ be _quiet_ and _in the dark_.
**651**. If the temperature of the cellar is too low, or too high, or if the food is unhealthy,-the bees will have a large amount of fecal aecunulation in their intestines, and will show their anxiety by coming out of the hive in clusters, during the latter part of their confinement. If, in addition to this, the cellar is damp, the comb will mould; and when taken out, some colonies _may_ desert (**407, 663**) their hives.
**652**. Great loss may be incurred in replacing, upon their Summer stands, the colonies which have been kept in special depositories. Unless the day when they are put out is very favorable, many will be lost when they fly to discharge their faees. In movable-frame hives, this risk can be greatly diminished, by removing the cover from the frames, and allowing the sun to shine directly upon the bees; this will warm them up so quickly, that they will all discharge their faeces in a very short time.
The following is an extract from Mr. Langstroth's journal:
"Jan. 31st, 1857.--Removed the upper cover, exposing the bees to the full heat of the sun, the thermometer being 30 degrees in the shade, and the atmosphere calm. The hive standing on the sunny side of the house, the bees quickly took wing and discharged their faces. Very few were lost on the snow, and nearly all that alighted on it took wing without being chilled. More bees were lost from other hives which were not opened, as few which left were able to return; while, in the one with the cover removed, the returning bees were able to alight at once among their warm companions."'
**653**. If more than one hundred colonies are wintered in the eellar, and it is desired to remove them all the same day, enough help should be secured to put them all on.their stands before the warm part of the day is over. It is far better to keep them in the eellar even one week longer, than to take them out when the weather is so cold that they cannot cleanse themselves immediately; to our mind, 43 in the shade, is the lowest temperature in which it is best to put bees out.
**654**. As bees remember their location, it is important to return each colony to its own place. _If this is not donc_, _the confusion may cause some colonies to abandon their hics_. Dzieron also advises placing them on their former stands, as many bees still remember the old spot.
This, however, is less important in locations where the confinement lasts a very long time, as it does in very cold countries. If it is desirable to remove some hives to a new location, a slanting board (**603**\(bis\)) should be placed in front of the hive. All the bottom boards should be cleaned of dead bees or rubbish, without delay.
**655**. If the hives of an apiary are all removed from the eellar on the same day; there will be but little danger of rubbing, for they are somewhat bewildered when first brought out; but if some are taken out later than others, the last removed will be in danger, unless some precautions are taken.
**656**. If the bees that are wintering in the eellar, are found to be restless, it may be good policy to give them some water (**271**), or to take them out on a warm day when the temperature is at least \(45^{\circ}\) in the shade, to let them have a
flight, and return them to the cellar afterward. We do not advise it as a praetiee however. On the contrary, if they are quiet, it is better to keep them indoors, till the early Spring days have fairly come, to avoid what is called Spring-dwindling (**659**).
Figure 138: (From L'Apelotore, of Milani.)
see clamp for wintering.
I, air draft. _d,_ roof.
**657**. Those, who have no eelilar, can successfully winter their bees in clamps or silos as advised by the Rev. Mr. Scholz, of Lower Silesia already mentioned in several instances. These clamps are made similar to those in which farmers place apples, potatoes, turnips, etc., to preserve them during cold weather. The only objection to this mode, is the dampness of the ground in wet and warm Winters. The hives are put, on a bed of straw, in a pyramidal form (fig. 139), and covered, first with old boards, then with a thick layer of straw, and another, of earth. Wooden pipes are placed at the bottom (fig. 140), and one in the shape of a chimney, at the top, for an air-draft. The requisites are the same as in eellar wintering, an eelual temperature, sufficient ventilation, a fairly dry atmosphere, and quiet.
**658**. We must warn novices against the wintering of bees in any repository in which the temperature descends below the freezing point. In such places the bees consume a great deal of honey, and they soon become restless, for want of a flight. Their Summer stand, even without shelter, is far safer than any such place, because they can at least take advantage of any warm Winter day (" void their excrements. These facts are demonstrated beyond a doubt.
Spring Dvindling.
**659**. When the conditions necessary to the successful wintering of bees are not compiled with, and they have suffered from diarrhea (**7S1**), many colonies may be lost by Spring dwindling, especially if the Spring is cold and backward. Even colonies, which appeared to have gone through the Winter strong in numbers, may slowly lose bee after bee till the queen alone remains in the hive. This is sometimes mistaken for desertion (**107**), as will be seen in the following paragraph, which we quote from _The London Quarterly Recircur_, and in which the author attributes to lack of loyalty in the bees, that which evidently must have been due only to Spring dwindling:"Bees, like men, have their different dispositions, so that even their loyalty will sometimes fail them. An instance not leng ago came to our knowledge, which probably few bee-keepers will credit. It is that of a hive which, having early exhausted its store, was found, on being examined one morning, to be utterly descerted. The eomb was empty, and the only symptom of life was the poor queen herself, 'unfriendly, melancholy, slow,' erawling over the honeyless cells, a sad speetaele of the fall of bee-greatness. Marius among the ruins of Carthage--Napoleon at Fontainebleau--was nothing to this."
Several such instances, caused by Spring dwindling, with subsequent robbing of the honey, were observed by us. Colonies are thus destroyed as late as April and May.
**660.** In some instances, the enlarged abdomen of the bees will show that they are suffering from constipation--(7S5)--or inability to discharge their faees, even though they may have voided their abdomen since their long confinement. Probably their intestines are in an unhealthy condition. In the worst cases of Spring dwindling, sometimes, even the queens show signs of failing, and eventually disappear. This may oeeur also with colonies that were wintered in the cellar, if they have suffered from diarrhoea, or have been removed too early.
There is another sort of Spring dwindling caused by the loss of working bees in cold Springs, while in search of water (271), or pollen (263), for the brood.
**661.** To avoid losses or to check them as far as possible, after a hard Winter, it is indispensable that the following be observed:
_1st._ The hives should be located in a warm, sunny, well-sheltered place. All Apiaries that are placed in exposed windy situations, or faeing North, suffer most from Spring dwindling.
_2d._ The number of eombs in the hive should be reduced in early Spring, with the division-board or contractor, to suit the size of the cluster (349). This helps the bees to keep warm and raise brood. The space must again be enlarged gradually, when the colony begins to recruit.
We consider this contraction of the live as altogether indispensable when using large hives. Let us suppose that, in early \(S_{\text{irring}}\), we have a colony whose population is so much reduced that it cannot warn, to the degree needed for breeding, more than 500 eubie inches of space. If we leave the brood-chamber without contraction, as its surface, in a 10-frame Langstroth hive, will be about 270 square inches, the eubie space heated will have about two inches in thickness at the top, since heat always rises. If, on the contrary, we have reduced the number of frames to three, the depth of the space warmed at the top will amount to more than three times as much, or to more than six inches. Thus, the bees will not only be more healthy, but the laying of the queen, not being delayed by the cold, and the number of the bees increasing faster, they will be able to repay the bee-keeper for the care bestowed, instead of dwindling, or remaining worthless for the Spring crop.
_3d._ The heat should be concentrated in the brood apartment, by all means, and not allowed to escape above. The entrance also must remain reduced.
In instances of this kind, the cloister (**63S**) or some other method of confining the bees without light, might prove useful, provided the colonies were supplied with pollen and water so that they might breed without having to seek for the necessaries.
**662**. Apiarists in general, do not attach enough importance to the necessity of furnishing water (**271**) to bees in cold Springs, in order that they may stay at home in quiet. Although Berlepsch laid too much stress on the question of water, the lack of which he even said was the cause of dysentery, yet he was right in calling our attention to the need of it for breeding:
"The ('rector has given the bee an instinct to store up honey and pollen, which are not always to be procured, but not water,which is always accessible in her native regions. In Northern latitudes, when confined to the hive, often for months together, they can obtain the water they need only from the watery particles contained in the honey, the perspiration which condenses on the colder parts of the hive, or the humidity of the air which enters their hives.
''In March and April, the rapidly-increasing amount of brood causes an increased demand for water; and when the thermometer is as low as 45 degrees, bees may be seen carrying it in at noon, even on windy days, although many are sure to perish from cold. In these months, in 1856, during a protracted period of nnfavorable weather we gave all our bees water, and they remained at home in quiet, whilst those of other apiaries were flying briskly in search of water. At the beginning of May, our hives were crowded with bees; whilst the colonies of our neighbors were mostly weak.
''The consumption of water in March and April, in a populous colony, is very great, and in 1856, one hundred colonies required eleven Berlin quarts per week, to keep on breeding uninterruptedly. In Springs where the bees can fly safely almost every day, the want of water will not be felt.
''The loss of bees by water-dearth, is the result of elimat, and no form of hive, or mode of wintering, can furnish an absolutely efficient security against it.''--(Translated from the German, by S. Wagner.)
That bees cannot raise much brood without water, unless they have fresh-gathered honey, has been known from the times of Aristotle. Buera of Athens (Cotton, p. 104), aged 80 years, said in 1797:
''Bees daily supply the worms with water; should the state of the weather be such as to prevent the bees from fetching water for a few days, the worms would perish. These dead bees are removed out of the hive by the working-bees if they are healthy and strong; otherwise, the stock perishes from their putrid exhalations.''
In any movable-frame hives, water can be given to the bees by pouring it into the empty cells of a comb.
A better method still is to supply the bees from time to time with small quantities of thin sugar syrup or watery honey (**G06**) warned up for this purpose. This takes the place of fresh nectar and saves the bees many a trip for cold water to the neighboring pond. But thin, watery syrup should never be fed at the opening of cold weather, in the **Fall.**
Deserting.
**663.** We have shown (**407**) that bees sometimes desert their hives, when the colony is too weak, or short of stores, or suffering from dampness, mouldy combs, etc., etc. This desertion, which differs from natural swarming in this, that it may take place in any season, and that the deserting bees do not raise any queen-cells previously, is more frequent in cold backward Springs than at any other time.
At different times we have seen bees deserting their hives and forsaking their brood for lack of pollen (**264**). A comb containing pollen having been put in their hive and the bees returned they remained happy. But the worst of these desertions is when the bees have suffered while wintered indoors (**651**.) These colonies abandon their hives very soon after being replaced on their Summer stands. When such desertion is feared, it is better not to put out more than one dozen colonies at one time, and to prepare a few dry combs, in clean hives, to hive the swarm as soon as possible; for, too often some other colonies following the example, mix with the first, the queens are handled (**538**), causing great annoyance and loss to the bee-keeper. Such swarms should be lived on clean hive comb, and furnished with honey and pollen. The capacity of the hive in which they are put should be reduced to suit the size "f the swarm, and increased very cantiously, from time to time, when the bees seem to be crowded; for warmth is indispensable to bees in Spring. The condition of such colonies must be regularly ascertained and their wants supplied.
We would refer those who think that "_it is too much trouble"_ to examine their hives in the Spring, to the practice of the ancient bee-keepers, as set forth by Columbia : "The hives should be opened in the Spring, that all the fifth which was gathered in them during the Winter may be removed. Spiders, which spoil their coubs, and the worms from which the moths proceed, must be killed. When the hive has been thus cleaned, the bees will apply themselves to work with the greater diligenee and resolution." The sooner those abandon bee-keeping, who consider the proper care of their bees as "too much trouble," the better for themselves and their unfortunate bees.
In making this thorough cleansing, the Apiarist will learn which colonies require aid, and which can lend a helping hand to others; and any hive needing repairs, may be put in order before being used again. Such hives, if occasionally re-painted, will last for generations, and prove cheaper, in the long run, than any other kind.
## Chapter XIV.
Robbing, and How prevented.