WINTERING BEES.
There is almost as much diversity of opinion with respect to wintering
bees as in the construction of hives, and about as difficult to
reconcile.
DIFFERENT METHODS HAVE BEEN ADOPTED.
One will tell you to keep them warm, another to keep them cold; to keep
them in the sun, out of the sun, bury them in the ground, put them in
the cellar, the chamber, wood-house, and other places, and no places at
all; that is, to let them remain as they are, without any attention.
Here are plans enough to drive the inexperienced into despair. Yet I
have no doubt but that bees have been sometimes successfully wintered
by all these contradictory methods. That some of these methods are
superior to others, needs no argument to illustrate. But what method
_is best_, is our province to inquire. Let us endeavor to examine the
subject without prejudice to bias our judgment.
THE IDEA OF BEES NOT FREEZING HAS LED TO ERRORS IN PRACTICE.
By close observation we shall probably discover that the assertion so
often repeated, that bees have never frozen except when without honey,
has led to an erroneous practice.
APPEARANCE OF BEES IN COLD WEATHER.
We will first endeavor to examine the condition of a stock left to
nature, without any care, and see if it affords any hints for our
guidance, when to assist and protect with artificial means.
Warmth being the first requisite, a family of bees at the approach of
cold weather crowd together in a globular form, into a compass
corresponding to the degree of cold; when at zero it is much less than
at thirty above. Those on the outside of this cluster are somewhat
stiffened with cold; while those inside are as brisk and lively as in
summer. In severe weather every possible space within their circle is
occupied; even each cell not containing pollen or honey will hold a
bee. Suppose this cluster is sufficiently compact for mutual warmth,
with the mercury at 40, and a sudden change brings it down to zero, in
a few hours, this body of bees, like most other things, speedily
contracts by the cold. The bees on the outside, being already chilled,
a portion of them that does not keep up with the shrinking mass, is
left exposed at a distance from their fellows, and receive but little
benefit of the warmth generated there; they part with their vitality,
and are lost.
HOW PART OF THE SWARM IS FROZEN.
A good family will form a ball or circle about eight inches in
diameter, generally about equal every way, and must occupy the spaces
between four or five combs. As combs must separate them into divisions,
the two outer ones are smallest, and most exposed of any; these are
often found frozen to death in severe weather. Should evidence be
wanting from other sources to show that bees will freeze to death, the
above would seem to furnish it. It is said, "that in Poland bees are
wintered in a semi-torpid state, in consequence of the extreme cold."
We must either doubt the correctness of this relation, or suppose the
bee of that country a different insect from ours--a kind of semi-wasp,
that will live through the winter, and eat little or nothing. The
reader can have no difficulty in deciding which is the most probable,
whether _bees are bees_ throughout the world, endowed with the same
faculties and instincts, or that the facts as they are, are not
precisely given, especially when we see what our own apiarians tell us
about their never freezing.
Here I might use strong language in contradiction; but as I am aware
that such a course is not always the most convincing, I prefer the test
of close observation. If bees will freeze, it is important to know it,
and in what circumstances.
HOW A SMALL FAMILY MAY ALL FREEZE.
Suppose a quart of bees were put in a box or hive where all the cells
were filled and lengthened out with honey; the spaces between the combs
would be about one-fourth of an inch--only room for one thickness of
bees to spread through. The combs would perhaps be one and a half or
two inches thick. All the warmth that could be generated then, would be
by one course or layer of bees, an inch and a half apart. Although
every bee would have food in abundance without changing its position,
the first turn of severe weather would probably destroy the whole.
This, it may be said, "is an unnatural situation." I will admit that it
is; the case was only supposed for illustration. I know that their
winter quarters are among the brood combs, where the hatching of the
brood leaves most of the cells empty; and the space between the combs
is half an inch; a wise and beautiful arrangement; as ten times the
number of bees can pack themselves within a circle of six inches, as
can in the other case; and in consequence the same number of bees can
secure much more animal heat, and endure the cold much better; but a
_small_ family, even here, will often be found frozen, as well as
starving.
FROST AND ICE SOMETIMES SMOTHER BEES.
Besides freezing, there are other facts to be observed in stocks which
stand in the cold. If we examine the interior of a hive containing a
medium-sized swarm, on the first severely cold morning, except in the
immediate vicinity of the bees, we shall find the combs and sides of
the hive covered with a white frost. In the middle of the day, or as
soon as the temperature is slightly raised, this begins to melt,--first
next to the bees, then at the sides. A succession of cold nights will
prevent the evaporation of this moisture; and this process of freezing
and thawing, at the end of a week or two, will form icicles sometimes
as large as a man's finger, attached to the combs and the sides of the
hive. When the bottom of the hive is close to the floor, it forms a
sealing around the edges, perfectly air-tight, and your bees are
smothered. I have frequently heard bee-keepers say in these cases, "The
storm blew in, and formed ice all round the bottom, and froze my bees
to death." Others that have had their bees in a cold room, finding them
thus, "could not see how the water and ice could get there any way;
were quite sure it was not there when carried in," &c. Probably they
never dreamed of its being accounted for philosophically, and to
analyze anything pertaining to bees would be rather small business. But
what way can it be accounted for?
FROST AND ICE IN A HIVE ACCOUNTED FOR.
Physiologists tell us "that innumerable pores in the cuticle of the
human body are continually throwing off waste or worn out matter; that
every exhalation of air carries with it a portion of water from the
system, in warm weather unperceived, but will be condensed into
particles large enough to be seen in a cold atmosphere." Now, if
analogy be allowed here, we will say the bee throws of waste matter and
water in the same way. Its food being liquid, nearly all will be
exhaled--in moderate weather it will pass off, but in the cold it is
condensed--the particles lodge on the combs in form of frost, and
accumulate as long as the weather is very severe, a portion melting in
the day, and freezing again at night.
THE EFFECT OF ICE OR FROST ON BEES AND COMB.
When the bees are not smothered, this water in the hive is the source
of other mischief. The combs are quite certain to mould. The water
mould or dampness on the honey renders it thin, and unhealthy for the
bees, causing dysentery, or the accumulation of faeces that they are
unable to retain. When the hive contains a very large family, or a very
small one, there will be less frost on the combs,--the animal heat of
the first will drive it off; in the latter there will be but little
exhaled.
FROST MAY CAUSE STARVATION.
This frost is frequently the cause of medium or small families starving
in cold weather, even when there is plenty of honey in the hive.
Suppose all the honey in the immediate vicinity of the cluster of bees
is exhausted, and, the combs in every direction from them are covered
with frost; if a bee should leave the mass and venture among them for a
supply, its fate would be as certain as starvation. And without timely
intervention of warmer weather, they _must_ perish!
OTHER DIFFICULTIES.
Should they escape starving, there is another difficulty often
attending them in continued cold weather. I said that small families
exhaled but little. Let us see if we can explain the effect.
There is not sufficient animal heat generated to exhale the aqueous
portion of their food. The philosophy that explains why a man in warm
blood and in profuse perspiration would throw off or exhale more
moisture than in a quiet state, will illustrate this. The bees in these
circumstances must retain the water with the excrementitious part,
which soon distends their bodies to the utmost, rendering them unable
to endure it long. Their cleanly habits, that ordinarily save the combs
from being soiled, is not a sure protection now, and they are compelled
to leave the mass very often in the severest weather, to expel this
unnatural accumulation of faeces. It is frequently discharged even
before leaving the comb, but most of it at the entrance; also some
scattered on the front side of the hive, and a short distance from it.
In a moderately warm day, more bees will issue from a hive in this
condition than from others; it appears that a part of them are unable
to discharge their burden--their weight prevents their flying--they get
down and are lost. When cold weather is too long continued, they cannot
wait for warm days to leave, but continue to come out at any time; and
not one of such can then return. The cluster inside the hive is thus
reduced in numbers till they are unable to generate heat sufficient to
keep from freezing. With the indications attendant upon such losses, my
own observation has made me somewhat familiar, as the following
conversation will illustrate.
FURTHER ILLUSTRATIONS.
A neighbor who wished to purchase some stock hives in the fall,
requested my assistance in selecting them. We applied to a perfect
stranger; his bees had passed the previous winter in the open air. I
found on looking among them that he had lost some of them from this
cause, as the excrement was yet about the entrance of one old
weather-beaten hive, that was now occupied by a young swarm, and was
about half filled with combs.
I saw at once what had been the matter, and felt quite confident that I
could give its owner a correct history of it. "Sir," said I, "you have
been unfortunate with the bees that were in this hive last winter; I
think I can give you some particulars respecting it."
"Ah, what makes you think so? I would like to hear you guess; to
encourage you, I will admit that there has been something rather
peculiar about it."
"One year ago you considered that a good stock-hive; it was well filled
with honey, a good family of bees, and two or three years old or more.
You had as much confidence in its wintering as any other; but during
the cold weather, somehow, the bees unaccountably disappeared, leaving
but a very few, and they were found frozen to death. You discovered it
towards spring, on a warm day. When you removed the combs, you probably
noticed a great many spots of excrement deposited on them, as well as
on the sides of the hive, particularly near the entrance. Also one-half
or more of the breeding cells contained dead brood, in a putrid state;
and this summer you have used the old hive for a new swarm."
"You are right, sir, in every particular. Now, I would like to know
what gave you the idea of my losing the bees in that hive? I can see
nothing peculiar about that old hive, more than this one," pointing to
another that also contained a new swarm. "You will greatly oblige me if
you will point out the signs particularly."
"I will do so with pleasure" (feeling quite willing to give him the
impression that I was "posted up" on this subject, notwithstanding it
savored strongly of boasting).
I then directed his attention to the entrance in the side of the hive,
where the bees had discharged their faeces, on the moment they issued,
until it was near the eighth of an inch thick, and two or three inches
broad; that yet remained, and just began to cleave off. "You see this
brown substance around this hole in the hive?"
"Yes, it is bee-glue (_propolis_); it is very common on old hives."
"I think not; if you will examine it closely, you will perceive it is
not so hard and bright; it already begins to crumble; bee-glue is not
affected by the weather for years."
"Just so, but what is it, and what has that to do with your
guess-work?"
"It is the excrement of the bees. In consequence of a great many cells
containing dead brood, which the bees could not enter, they were unable
to pack themselves close enough to secure sufficient animal heat to
exhale or drive off the water in their food, it was therefore retained
in their bodies till they were distended beyond endurance--they were
unable to wait for a warm day--necessity compelled them to issue daily
during the coldest weather, discharging their faeces the moment of
passing the entrance, and part of them before. They were immediately
chilled, and could not return; the quantity left about this entrance
shows that a great many must have come out. That they came out in cold
weather is proved by its being left on the hive, because in warm
weather they _leave_ the hive for this purpose."
"This is a new idea; at present it seems to be correct; I will think it
over. But how did you know that it was not a new swarm; that it was
well filled?"
"When looking under it just now, I saw that combs of a dark color had
been attached to the sides near the bottom, below where those are at
present; this indicates that it had been full, and the dark color that
it was not new. Also, a swarm early and large enough to fill such a
hive the first season, would not be very likely to be affected by the
cold in this way."
"Why not? I think this hive was crowded with bees as much as any of my
new swarms."
"I have no doubt they appeared so; but we are very liable to be
deceived in such cases, by the dead brood in the combs. A
moderate-sized family in such a hive will make more show than some
larger ones that have empty cells to creep into, and can pack closer."
"But how did you know about the dead brood?"
"Because old stocks are thus often reduced and lost."
"What were the indications of its being filled with honey?"
"Combs are seldom attached to the side of the hive farther down than
they are filled with honey. In this hive the combs had been attached to
the bottom, consequently must have been full. Another thing, unless the
family is very much reduced, the hive is generally well stored, even
when diseased."
"Why did you suppose it was near spring before I discovered it?"
"I took the chances of guessing. The majority of bee-keepers, you know,
are rather careless, and when they have fixed their bees for winter,
seldom give them much more attention, till they begin to fly out in the
spring."
"But what should I have done had I discovered the bees coming out?"
"As it was affected with dead brood, it was but little use to do
anything; you would have lost it eventually. But if it had been a stock
otherwise healthy, and was affected in this way only because it was a
small family, or the severity of the weather, you could have taken it
to a warm room, and turned it bottom up; the animal heat would then
convert the most of the water contained in their food into vapor; that
would rise from the hive, and the bees could retain the excrementitious
portion without difficulty till spring."
"I suppose you must get along without losing many through the winter,
if I may judge by your confident explanations."
"I can assure you I have but little fear on this head. If I can have
the privilege of selecting proper stocks, I will engage not to lose one
in a hundred."
"How do you manage? I would be glad to obtain a method in which I could
feel as perfectly safe as you appear to."
"The first important requisite is to have all good ones to start with.
Enough weak families are united together till they are strong, or some
other disposition made of them." I then gave him an outline of my
method of wintering, which I can confidently recommend to the reader.
ACCUMULATION OF FAECES DESCRIBED BY SOME WRITERS AS A DISEASE.
This accumulation of faeces is considered by many writers as a
disease--a kind of dysentery. It is described as affecting them towards
spring, and several remedies are given. Now if what I have been
describing is not the dysentery, why I must think I never had a case of
it; but I shall still persist in guessing it to be the same, and
suppose that inattention with many must be the reason that it is not
discovered in cold weather, at the time that it takes place. Some
stocks may be badly affected, yet not lost entirely, when moderate
weather will stop its progress. When a remedy is applied in the spring,
long after the cause ceases to operate, it would be singular if it was
not effectual. I have no doubt but some have taken the natural
discharge of faeces, that always takes place in spring when the bees
leave the hive, for a disease. Others, when looking for a cause for
diseased brood, and found the combs and hive somewhat besmeared, have
assigned this as sufficient; but according to my view, have reversed
it, giving the effect before the cause.
THE AUTHOR'S REMEDY.
For a time, I supposed that this moisture on the combs gradually mixed
with the honey, making it thin, and that the bees eating so much water
with their food, would affect them as described. Some experiments that
followed, induced me to assign cold as the cause, as I always found,
when I put them where it was sufficiently warm, that an immediate cure
was the result, or at least, it enabled them to retain their faeces till
set out in the spring.
BURYING BEES.
Burying bees in the earth below the frost, has been recommended as a
superior method of wintering, for small families. I have known it
confidently asserted, that they would lose nothing in weight, and no
bees would die. I found, in testing it, that a medium quantity of honey
sufficed, and but very few were lost, perhaps less than by any other
method. Yet the combs were mouldy, and unfit for further use. There was
no escape for the vapor and dampness of the earth. This did not satisfy
me; it only cured "one disease by instituting another." I saved the
bees, (and perhaps some honey), but the combs were spoiled.
EXPERIMENTS OF THE AUTHOR TO GET RID OF THE FROST.
I wished to keep them warm, and save the bees as well as honey, and at
the same time, get rid of the moisture. I found that a large family
expelled it much better than small ones; and if all were put together
in a close room, the animal heat from a large number combined, would be
an advantage to the weak ones, at least,--this proved of some benefit.
Yet I found on the sides of a glass hive, that large drops of water
would stand for weeks.
SUCCESS IN THIS MATTER.
The following suggestion then came to my relief. If this hive was
bottom up, what would prevent all this vapor as it arises from the bees
from passing off? (It always rises when warm, if permitted.) The hive
was inverted; in a few hours the glass was dry.
This was so perfectly simple, that I wondered I had not thought of it
before, and wondered still more that some one of the many intelligent
apiarians had never discovered it. I immediately inverted every hive in
the room, and kept them in this way till spring; when the combs were
perfectly bright, not a particle of mould to be seen, and was well
satisfied with the result of my experiment. Although I was fearful that
more bees would leave the hives when inverted, than if right side up,
yet the result showed no difference. I had now tried both methods, and
had some means of judging.
BEES WHEN IN THE HOUSE SHOULD BE KEPT PERFECTLY DARK.
When not kept perfectly dark, a few would leave the hives in either
case. I have found it much better to make the room dark to keep the
bees in the hive, than to tie over them a thin muslin cloth, as that
prevents a free passage of the vapor, and a great number of full stocks
were not at all satisfied in confinement; and were continually
worrying, and biting at the cloth, till they had made several holes
through it for passages out. Thus the little good was attended by an
evil, as an offset. Even wire cloth put over to confine them, which
would be effectual, would not save bees enough to pay expense. I have
thus wintered them for the last ten years, and am extremely doubtful if
a better way can be found.[17] For several years I made use of a small
bed-room in the house, made perfectly dark, in which I put about 100
stocks. It was lathed and plastered, and no air admitted, except what
might come through the floor. It was single, and laid rather close,
though not matched.
[17] I was so well pleased with my success, especially with small
families, that I detailed the most important points in a
communication to the Dollar Newspaper, Philadelphia, published
November, 1848.
A ROOM MADE FOR WINTERING BEES.
In the fall of 1849 I built a room for this purpose; the frame was
eight by sixteen feet square, and seven high, without any windows. A
good coat of plaster was put on the inside, a space of four inches
between the siding and lath was filled with saw-dust; under the bottom
I constructed a passage for the admission of air, from the north side;
another over head for its exit, to be closed and opened at pleasure, in
moderate weather, to give them fresh air, but closed when cold, and so
arranged as to exclude all the light.
A partition was extended across near the centre. This was to prevent
disturbing the whole by letting in light when carrying them out in the
spring. By closing the door of this partition, those in one room only
need be disturbed at once.
MANNER OF STOWING AWAY BEES.
Shelves to receive the hives were arranged in tiers one above the
other; they were loose, to be taken down and put up at pleasure.
Suppose we begin at the back end: the first row is turned directly on
the floor, a shelf is then put across a few inches above them, and
filled, and then another shelf, still above, when we again begin on the
floor, and continue thus till the room is full; or if the room is not
to be filled, the shelves may be fixed around the sides of the room in
two or three courses. This last arrangement will make it very
convenient to inspect them at any time through the winter, yet they
should be disturbed as little as possible. The manner of stowing each
one is to open the holes in the top, then lay down two square sticks,
such as are made by splitting a board, of suitable length, into pieces
about an inch wide. The hive is inverted on these; it gives a free
circulation through the hive, and carries off all the moisture as fast
as generated.
TEMPERATURE OF ROOM.
The temperature of such a room will vary according to the number and
strength of the stocks put in; 100 or more would be very sure to keep
it above the freezing point at all times. Putting a very few into such
a room, and depending on the bees to make it warm enough, would be of
doubtful utility. If these means will not keep the proper temperature,
probably some other method would be better. All full stocks would do
well enough, as they would almost any way. Yet I shall recommend
housing them whenever practicable. If the number of stocks is few, let
the room be proportionably small.[18] It is the smallest families that
are most trouble: if they are too cold, it may be known by bees leaving
the hive in cold weather, and spots of excrement on the combs; they
should then have some additional protection; close part or all of the
holes in the top, cover the open bottom partially or wholly, and
confine to the hive as much as possible the animal heat; when these
means fail, it may be necessary to take them to a warm room, during the
coldest weather.
[18] As an additional proof that this method of inverting hives
in the house for winter is valuable, I would say that Mr. Miner,
author of the American Bee-Keeper's Manual, seems fully to
appreciate it. In. the fall of 1850, I communicated to him this
method; giving my reasons for preferring it to the cold method
recommended in his Manual. The trial of one winter, it appears,
satisfied him of its superiority, so much so that within a year
from that time he published an essay recommending it; but advised
confining the bees with muslin, &c.
TOO MUCH HONEY MAY SOMETIMES BE STORED.
After the flowers fail, and all the brood has matured and left the
combs, it sometimes happens that a stock has an opportunity of
plundering, and rapidly filling all those cells that had been occupied
with brood during the yield of honey, and which then effectually
prevents their storing in them. This, then, prevents close packing,
which is all-important for warmth. Although a large family, as much
care is needed as with the smaller ones. Also such as are affected with
diseased brood should receive extra attention for the same reason.
Some bee-keepers are unwilling to risk the bold measure of inverting
the hive, but content themselves by merely opening the holes in the
top; this is better than no ventilation, but not so effectual, as all
of the moisture cannot escape. There are some who cannot divest
themselves of the idea, that if the hive is turned over, the bees must
also stand on their heads all winter!
Rats and mice, when they find their way into such room, are less bold
with their mischief than if the hive is in its natural position.
MANAGEMENT OF ROOM TOWARDS SPRING.
A few warm days will often occur, towards spring, before we can get our
bees out. In these cases, a bushel or two of snow or ice pounded up
should be spread on the floor; it will absorb and carry off as it melts
much of the heat, that is now unnecessary, and will keep them quiet
much longer than without it; (provision for getting rid of this water
should be made when putting down the floor.)
TIME FOR SETTING OUT BEES.
The time for carrying out bees is generally in March, but some seasons
later. A warm pleasant day is the best, and one quite cold, better than
one only _moderately_ warm.
After their long confinement, the light attracts them out at once,
(unless very cold air prevents), and if the rays of a warm sun do not
keep them active, they will soon be chilled and lost.
Some bee-keepers take out their stocks at evening. If we could be
always sure of having the next day a fair one, it would probably be the
best time; but should it be only moderate, or cloudy, it would be
attended with considerable loss--or if the next day should be quite
cold, but few would leave, and then the only risk would be to get _a
good day_, before one that was just warm enough to make them leave the
hive, but not quite enough to enable them to return.
NOT TOO MANY STOCKS TAKEN OUT AT ONCE.
When too many are taken out at once, the rush from all the hives is so
much like a swarm, that it appears to confuse them. Some of the stocks
by this means will get more bees than actually belong to them, while
others are proportionably short, which is unprofitable, and to equalize
them is some trouble; yet it may be done. Being all wintered in one
room, the scent or the means of distinguishing their own family from
strangers, becomes so much alike, that they mix together without
contention.
FAMILIES MAY BE EQUALIZED.
By taking advantage of this immediately, or before the scent has again
changed, and each hive has something peculiar to _itself_, you can
change the stands of very weak and very strong families.
To prevent, as far as possible, some of these bad effects, I prefer
waiting for a fair day to begin, and then not until the day has become
sufficiently warm to make it safe from chill.
SNOW NEED NOT ALWAYS PREVENT CARRYING OUT BEES.
I am not particular about the snow being gone--if it has only lain long
enough to have melted a part of it, it is "terra firma" to a bee, and
answers equally well as the bare earth. When the day is right, about
ten o'clock I put out twelve or fifteen, taking care that each hive
occupies its old stand, at the same time endeavoring to take such as
will be as far apart as possible; (to make this convenient, they should
be carried in in the manner that you wish them to come out.) When the
rush from these hives is over, and the majority of the bees has gone
back, I set out as many more about twelve o'clock, and when the day
continues fair, another lot about two. In the morning, while cool, I
move from the back to the first apartment, about as many as I wish to
set out in a day, except a few at the last.
To do this in the middle of the day, while warm, would induce a good
many bees to leave the hive, while the light was admitted, and which
would be lost. It will be supposed generally that their long
confinement makes them thus impatient to get out; but I have frequently
returned stocks during a cold turn of weather after they had been out,
and always found such equally as anxious to come out, as those which
had been confined throughout the winter; without the airings, I have
kept them thus confined, for five months, without difficulty! The
important requisites are, sufficient warmth and perfect darkness.
DOES NOT ANALOGY PROVE THAT BEES SHOULD BE KEPT WARM IN WINTER?
Opposition to this method of wintering will arise with those who have
always thought that bees must be kept cold; "the colder the better." I
would suggest for their consideration the possibility of some analogy
between bees and some of the warm-blooded animals--the horse, ox, and
sheep, for instance, that require a constant supply of food, that they
may generate as much caloric as is thrown off on the cold air. This
seems to be regulated by the degree of cold, else why do they refuse
the large quantity of tempting provender in the warm days of spring,
and greedily devour it in the pelting storm? The fact is pretty well
demonstrated, that the quantity of food needed for the same condition
in spring, is much less when protected from the inclemency of the
weather, than when exposed to the severe cold. The bee, unlike the
wasp, when once penetrated with frost, is dead--_their temperature must
be kept considerably above the freezing point, and to do this, food is
required_. Now if the bees are governed by the same laws, and cold air
carries off more heat than warm, and their source of renewing it is in
the consumption of honey in proportion to the degree of cold, common
sense would say, keep them warm as possible. As a certain degree of
heat is necessary in all stocks, it may take about such a quantity of
honey to produce it, and this may explain why a small family requires
about the same amount of food as others that are very large.
THE NEXT BEST PLACE FOR WINTERING BEES.
A _dry_, warm cellar is the next best place for wintering them; the
apiarian having one perfectly dark, with room to spare, will find it a
very good place, in the absence of a room above ground. If a large
number was put in, some means of ventilation should be contrived for
warm turns of weather. I know an apiarian, who by my suggestion has
wintered from sixty to eighty stocks in this way, for the last six
years, with perfect success, not having lost one. Another has wintered
thirty with equal safety.
As for burying them in the earth, I have not the least doubt, if a dry
place should be selected, the hive inverted, and surrounded with hay,
straw, or some substance to absorb the moisture, and protected from the
rain, at the top of the covering, that perfect success would attend the
experiment. But this is only theory; when I tried the experiment of
burying, and had the combs mould, the hives ware right side up.
EVILS OF WINTERINGS IN THE OPEN AIR CONSIDERED.
As a great many bee-keepers will find it inconvenient, or be unable to
avail themselves of my method of wintering, it will be well enough to
see how far the evils of the open air, which we have already glanced
at, may be successfully avoided. I am told by those who have tried
wintering them in straw hives, that in this respect they are much safer
than those made of boards; probably the straw will absorb the moisture.
But as these hives are more trouble to construct, and their shape will
prevent the use of suitable boxes for surplus honey, this one advantage
will hardly balance the loss. They are said also to be more liable to
injury from the moth. We want a hive that will unite advantageously as
many points as possible.
It should be remembered that bees always need air, especially in the
cold.[19] With this in view, we will try to dispose of the vapor or
frost. If the hive is raised sufficient to let it out, it will let in
the mice; to prevent which, it should be raised only about one-fourth
of an inch. The hole in the side should be nearly covered with wire
cloth to keep out the mice; but give a passage for the bees; otherwise
they collect here, endeavoring to get out, and remain till chilled, and
thus perish by hundreds. The boxes on the top must be removed, but not
the cap or cover; the holes all opened, to let the vapor pass up into
the chamber; if this is made with perfectly close joints, so that no
air escapes, it should be raised a very little; otherwise not. The
moisture will condense on the sides and top, when it melts will follow
the sides to the bottom, and pass out; the rabbeting around the top of
the hive will prevent its getting to the holes, and down among the
bees. It will be easily comprehended, that a hole between each two
combs at the top, (as mentioned in the subject of putting on the
boxes,) will ventilate the hive much better than where there is but one
or two, or where there is a row of several, and all are between two
combs.
[19] It is presumed that the inexperienced will soon learn to
distinguish such bees, as die from old age or natural causes,
from those affected by the cold.
BUT LITTLE RISK WITH GOOD STOCKS.
All _good stocks_ may be wintered in this way, with but little risk in
most situations. Whether in the bleak north-wind, buried in a
snow-bank, or situated warm and pleasant, it will make no great
difference. The mice cannot enter; the holes give them air, and carry
off moisture, &c. But second-rate stocks are not equally safe in cold
situations.
EFFECT OF KEEPING SECOND-RATE STOCKS OUT OF THE SUN.
It has been strongly urged, without regard to the strength of the
stock, to keep them all out of the sun; because an occasional warm day
would call out the bees, when they get on the snow, and perish; this is
a loss, to be sure, but there is such a thing as inducing a greater one
by endeavoring to avoid this. I have said in another place that second
rate or poor stocks might occasionally starve, with plenty of stores in
the hive, on account of frosty combs. If the hive is kept from the sun,
in the cold, the periods of temperate weather might not occur as often,
as the bees would exhaust the honey within their circle or cluster. But
on the contrary, when the sun can strike the hive, it warms up the
bees, and melts the frost more frequently. The bees may then go among
their stores and obtain a supply, generally, as often as needed. We
seldom have a winter without sunny days enough for this purpose; but
should such an one occur, stocks of this class should be brought into a
warm room, once in four or five days, for a few hours at a time, to
give them a chance to get at the honey. Stocks much below second-rate
cannot be wintered successfully in this climate; the only place for
them is the warm room. I have known bees thoroughly covered in a
snow-drift, and their owner was at considerable trouble to shovel the
snow away, fearing it would smother them. This is unnecessary, when
protected from the mice and ventilated as just directed; a snow-bank is
about as comfortable a place as they can have, except in the house.
When examined a short time after being so covered, the snow for a space
of about four inches on every side of the hive is found melted, and
none but quite poor stocks would be likely to suffer with this
protection. A little snow around the bottom, without a vent in the side
of the hive, might smother them.
EFFECTS OF SNOW CONSIDERED.
As for bees getting on the snow, I apprehend that not many more are
lost there, than on the frozen earth; that is, in the same kind of
weather. I have seen them chilled, and lost on the ground by hundreds,
when a casual observer would not have noticed them; whereas, had they
been on the snow, at the distance of several rods, every bee would have
been conspicuous. Snow is not to be dreaded as much as chilly air.
Suppose a hive stands in the sun throughout the winter, and bees are
allowed to leave when they choose, and a portion are lost on the snow,
and that it was possible to number all that were lost by getting
chilled, throughout the season, on the bare earth--the proportion (in
my opinion) lost on the snow would not be one in twenty. A person that
has not closely observed during damp or chilly weather, in April, May,
or even the summer months, has no adequate conception of the number.
Yet, I do not wish to be understood that it is of no consequence what
are lost on the snow, by any means. On the contrary, a great many are
lost, that might be saved with proper care. But I would like to impress
the fact, that frozen earth is not safe without warm air, any more than
snow, when crusted, or a little hard. Even when snow is melting, it is
solid footing for a bee; they can and do rise from it, with the same
ease as from the earth. Bees that perish on snow in these
circumstances, would be likely to be lost if there was none.
STOCKS TO BE PROTECTED ON SOME OCCASIONS.
The worst time for them to leave the hive is immediately after a new
snow has fallen, because if they light on it then, it does not sustain
their weight; and they soon work themselves down out of the rays of the
sun, and perish. Should it clear off pleasant, after a storm of this
kind, a little attention will probably be remunerated. Also, when the
weather is moderately warm, and not sufficiently so to be safe, they
should be kept in, whether snow is on the ground or otherwise.
For this purpose, a wide board should be set up before the hive to
protect it from the sun, at least above the entrance in the side. But
if it grows sufficiently warm so that bees leave the hive when so
shaded, it is a fair test by which to tell when it will do to let them
have a good chance to sally out freely, except in cases of a new snow,
when it is advisable to confine them to the hive. The hive might be let
down on the floor-board, and the wire-cloth cover the passage in the
side, and made dark for the present; raising the hive at night again,
as before. I have known hundreds of stocks wintered successfully
without any such care being taken, and the bees allowed to come out
whenever they chose to do so. Their subsequent health and prosperity
proving that it is not altogether ruinous. It has been recommended to
enclose the whole hive by a large box set over it, and made perfectly
dark, with means for ventilation, &c. (A snow-bank would answer equally
well, if not better.) For large families it would do well enough, as
would also other methods. But I would much rather take the chances of
letting them all stand in the sun, and issue as they please, than to
have the warmth of the sun entirely excluded from the moderate-sized
families. I never knew a whole stock lost by this cause alone.[20] Yet,
I have known a great many starved, merely because the sun was not
allowed to melt the frost on the combs, and give them a chance to get
at their stores.
[20] Vide other causes of loss, a few pages back.
DO THE BEES EAT MORE WHEN ALLOWED TO COME OUT OCCASIONALLY IN WINTER?
Besides the loss of bees on the snow when standing in the sun, and
taking an airing occasionally, there are some economical bee-keepers
who urge this disadvantage, "that every time bees come out in winter
they discharge their excrement, and eat more honey in consequence of
the vacant room." What a ridiculous absurdity it would be to apply this
principle to the horse, whose health, strength, and vital heat is
sustained by the assimilation of food! and the farmer is not to be
found who would think of saving his provender by the same means. That
bees are supported in cold weather on the same principle is indicated
strongly, if not conclusively.
Is it not better (if what has been said on the subject of wintering
bees is correct) to keep our bees warm and comfortable when
practicable, as a means of saving honey?
To winter bees in the best manner, considerable care is required.
Whenever you are disposed to neglect them, you should bear in mind that
one early swarm is worth two late ones; their condition in spring will
often decide this point. Like a team of cattle or horses when well
wintered, they are ready for a good season's work, but when poorly
wintered have to recruit a long time before they are worth much.