It is often difficult for the beekeeper to know whether his bee
cellar is giving the best results, for he may not have been able to
determine from reading or the observation of other cellars whether it
is satisfactory. The writers, therefore, have attempted below to give
a few measures which the beekeeper may apply to his apiary and his
cellar, so that he may be able to decide whether his methods of cellar
wintering should be improved.
(1) During the winter a thermometer inserted in the entrance of the
hive should show a temperature of at least 52° F.
(2) There should never be any condensed moisture on the covers of the
hives, and certainly never any on the bottoms.
(3) While, the cellar should be kept dark at all times, if a candle
is held at the entrance of a hive at the end of January it should be
several seconds before any of the bees break cluster. Frequently the
cellar doors may be opened in March without disturbing the bees.
(4) There should never be many dead bees on the bottom of the hives.
The live bees should be able to push them out as they die during the
winter. The bees thus carried out will be found on the cellar floor
just below the entrances. If there are bees all over the floor, it
shows that these bees have flown from the hives--an indication of poor
wintering.
(5) The bees should be quiet during the late winter. Noise at this time
indicates that the bees are disturbed by an accumulation of feces,
caused by low temperatures or poor food.
(6) If the bees were in good condition in the fall and have been
wintered well, the loss during the winter will never be more than
one-sixth of the total population of the hive. Such a loss is
excessive, however, and in a well-wintered colony it may be as low as
a hundred bees. This probably depends to a large extent on the age of
the bees which go into winter, and if the temperature is right and the
stores good there will be almost no loss of vigorous bees.
(7) The bees should not leave the hive while they are being carried
from the cellar. If they do, it indicates that they are excited by an
accumulation of feces.
(8) Before removal from the cellar there should be no spotting of the
hives from dysentery. There may be a little spotting after the bees
have had a free flight outside, but if this is small in amount it does
not indicate a serious condition.
(9) When the bees are taken from the cellar there should be no moldy
combs, for the cellar at the right temperature will be too dry for the
growth of molds.
(10) There should be no brood when the colonies are taken from the
cellar. Brood-rearing in the cellar is proof that the cellar is too
cold or that the food used by the bees is inferior.
(11) Enough brood should be in each colony at the opening of the main
honey-flow to fill completely 12 Langstroth frames.
(12) The population of the hive should not decrease appreciably after
the bees are removed from the cellar. Such a condition, known as spring
dwindling, is an indication of poor wintering. For three weeks after
the hives are set out no new bees will be emerging, but the loss of
bees during this time should be so small as not to be noticeable.