45. In all this comment about the wintering of bees, it is highly advisable to remember that a bee emerges from her cell in the comb with practically as much latent energy within her body as she will ever have. In other words, the bee is an insect that is not capable of renewing to any great extent the muscles and tissues and energy of her body. As these wear out, not being able to replace them as humans do, the bee decreases in value as a worker or a heat producer as she ages. Therefore if bees are improperly wintered and are forced to excess consumption of honey and the production of heat during the cold months, they come through spring weakened in vitality. Even though the colony may have within it a large number of bees and apparently be strong, it will be subject to that trouble commonly known as spring dwindling. The old wornout bees die off very fast until the colony is left with too few bees within it to build up rapidly and reach its necessary peak of strength before the blooming of the important honey plants. Right beside it may be a colony not so strong in numbers but with strong bees. These will stand the hard work of early cold spring days better and consequently will build up strong and store more honey, even though at the beginning of spring it did not have so many bees as its really weaker neighbor.

46. Another feature that enters into the wintering of bees is the number of times during the cold months when they may be able to take a flight. Bees never void their excrement within the hive until practically dead. In other words, they normally cleanse themselves while on the wing. However, where they have been confined to the hive by a long spell of cold weather, and where inadequate protection has forced them to consume large quantities of honey, they are often forced to seek relief in freezing temperatures. In this event they usually do one of two things, break away from the cluster and die from the cold before they can get outside of the hive, or they may succeed in getting outside to cleanse themselves, but die from cold before they can return. The spotting of hives in early spring days is commonly known as dysentery. Where that is seen in spring it is a sign that the bees had inadequate protection, or that the quality of stores left in the hive were poor and contained too many substances that were indigestible, or a combination of these two conditions.

47. It has been assumed by beekeepers in the past that all dark honeys were poor for wintering and all light honeys were good for wintering. The supposition was that all dark honeys contained large amounts of materials which were indigestible for the bees and which might cause dysentery. This assumption is not always true as seems likely to be proven by experiments now being carried on by the U. S. Bee Culture Laboratory. Some honeys contain large amounts of gums which are products of flowers and which it has always been supposed exist in larger proportion in dark honey than in light. Analysis of samples collected by the government in the past year or two show that the proportion of gums in some dark honeys were much less than had ever been supposed. Therefore while it is true that all light honey is comparatively favorable for winter, some dark honeys are too. No definite decision or announcement has been made at this time by the government along these lines. As a rule honeys stored by bees late in the fall in most localities may be safely assumed to contain larger quantities of materials indigestible for the bees than honey stored earlier in the season. The safest procedure for the beekeeper then, is to have the first body or super of honey that the bees store each season for the bees to winter on. This will invariably be a light colored honey highly desirable for wintering. Until such time as it can be more definitely announced what dark honeys are undesirable, it is far safer to use none of them if possible, and to winter on light colored honev onlv.

When in doubt feed each colony not less than 10 pounds of pure sugar syrup (see paragraph No. 16) just as soon as brood rearing is over in the fall.

48. Let us repeat then, that any effort on the part of the beekeeper that successfully reduces the expenditure of bee energy during cold weather months, makes for successful wintering. This conservation of energy applies equally in spring as in winter.

49. Bees in most localities north of the gulf coast need some form of winter protection, both against wind and low temperatures. There is far less necessity in most localities for cellar wintering than uninformed beekeepers now think. It is possible in most northern localities in the United States, at least south of latitudes having climates like Michigan, Wisconsin and Minne-soa and South Dakota to winter bees successfully outdoors if they are adequately protected.

50. The large percentage of winter losses among bees in the United States, is indefensible. In fact, the remedy is so readily at hand, that these losses almost amount to criminal carelessness. While the bees are the property of the individual, the welfare of the United States as a whole always supersedes that of the individual. Prevent the waste of tons of nectar and fertilize millions of flowers that would fruit. Beekeepers of the United States owe their country, as well as themselves, a definite effort to decrease serious winter losses of bees.