CHAPTER XV.WINTERING BEES.
T
THE subject of wintering bees is of the greatest importance, and one which is generally very imperfectly understood, if we may judge from the large number of swarms lost every winter and spring. There are many methods recommended as "the best" for wintering bees. One will tell you to keep them cold; another to keep them warm. One will say, put them in the cellar; another, bury them in the ground; another, put them in the attic. Is it any wonder that the beginner becomes confused and disgusted at so much conflicting advice? That bees have been wintered safely by any and all of these old plans I shall not dispute. But I am certain that neither plan will, alone, prove successful in the majority of cases.
By all the methods heretofore recommended, a large number of bees die from each stock, during the winter; so reducing them in numbers that it takes nearly the entire summer for them to regain in numbers what they have lost; while a very large number of stocks are lost entirely.
It will be readily understood that the greater the number of bees in a hive in early spring, the morewarmth will be generated; consequently the more rapidly will the brood mature and the bees increase in numbers. It is of the greatest importance to have strong stocks in early spring. This is one of the strong points of the new system of management, taught in this book.
In nearly all the hives now in use, there is no proper ventilation, consequently the honey in such hives becomes sour, the comb mouldy, and the bees diseased. It is impossible, in our variable climate, to winter bees successfully for any number of years, with any degree of certainty, in the great majority of the ordinary hives.
Some, who have met with heavy losses in winter, have taken the ground that the loss was caused by a poor quality of honey, stored by the bees in a wet season, or a large yield late in the fall. But this is a great mistake. Bees will not collect and store honey not suited to their use as food; they make no mistakes on this point.
I might discuss in detail all the different methods of wintering bees, and show the great losses attending each, with causes, etc., but by so doing I should consume more space than I can give in this work. I shall therefore confine my remarks to ordinary conditions of bees in winter, and the requisites to insure uniform success in wintering.
In the winter, bees cluster as closely together as circumstances admit, and the severity of the cold demands. The more severe the cold, the closer they cluster together, in order the better to keep up the animal heat necessary to maintain life.
By all the old methods, the cluster of bees is divided by the sheets of comb, which is a great hindrance to successful wintering. In such cases the bees cannot cluster compactly together, but are spread out between the different sheets of comb. In the Controllable Hive, and on the plan of wintering here recommended, the bees in very cold weather cluster in the space between the wire cloth of the ventilator and the top of the frames of the brood section. They are here able to keep up the required amount of animal heat, as they can cluster compactly, without anything to separate them.
By the ordinary plan, in sudden turns or very cold weather, the bees between the outer combs are often frozen to death. "Oh!" says some one, "that's all hum-bug; you can't freeze a bee." Certainly you can. To satisfy yourself of this, after a very cold turn of weather look under your box hives, if you have them, or any patent hive having a loose bottom board to admit of an examination, and see if you do not find hundreds of bees which have fallen dead from the outside combs. I have examined hundreds of stocks and found them as here described. If you don't believe a bee will freeze, take out a dozen from a hive in a severely cold spell of weather in mid-winter, confine them in a box, and set them out doors, letting them remain only one night. See if they are not dead beyond resuscitation the next morning. This notion that bees will not freeze, is a great mistake, and has led to some very foolish experiments in wintering them.
A swarm of bees of average size, put in proper condition for winter, will not freeze; but from this it does not follow that a bee is proof against the greatest possible degree of cold. When bees are prepared for winter as herein directed, they will, as before stated, cluster compactly together. And as the cold increases, the cluster will contract, in accordance with the increasing of the cold, and consequently no loss of bees occurs.
Another great cause of loss in winter is improper ventilation, or no ventilation at all. Every swarm of bees throws off a considerable amount of moisture from their bodies. In very cold weather, if the hive is not properly ventilated, this moisture collects on the combs at the sides and top of the hives in the form of frost and ice. In moderate weather this frost and ice melts and runs down into the hive, completely saturating the bees, and then, if a sudden change to extremely cold weather takes place, all are destroyed by freezing; or if they chance to survive the winter, the moisture causes the combs to mould, the honey becomes sour, and thin like water, rendering it unsuitable food for the bee, and bringing on diseases—dysentery, bee cholera, foul brood, etc., and in a short time the bees are all destroyed. Thousands of good swarms are lost every winter by improper management, and from being kept in hives not suitable for wintering. I give directions for wintering on my plan, in Controllable Hives, and I feel confident, if directions are carefully followed, that many stocks will be saved annually, which otherwise would have perished.
Bees are wintered in Controllable Hives on their summer stands, by my plan, without loss, by maintaining an even temperature in the brood section, and disposing of all moisture or perspiration thrown off by the bees in cold weather. I have never lost a swarm of bees in Controllable Hives in the winter. I attempt to winter none except strong healthy stocks. I have no mouldy combs, no sour honey. The combs are kept perfectly dry, and the hives in a healthy condition. I do not lose a teacupful of bees, on the average, from each of my hives during the winter.
To winter in Controllable Hives, prepare as follows: At the commencement of steady cold weather, which, in the New England States, is usually near the close of November, put the bees in condition to winter, by entirely closing the upper entrance to the hive, and the lower one shut up about one-half.[9]Take out the box frames at the sides of the brood section, and put the moveable partitions in place. Remove the boxes and feeder, or honey board (whichever is in place,) from over the brood section. Place the ventilator over the brood section, so the lower edge of the ventilator, at the sides, will rest on the upper edge of the moveable partitions, oneach side of the brood section. Secure it in place by means of a screw at each end.[10]Pack the sides of the hive (that part occupied by the side boxes in summer) closely with very line hay or straw. Pack the cap as full of the same matter as it can be crowded. Then put the thickness of one or two inches over the ventilator, filling up evenly, so when the cap is placed over the upper part, the cap and sides will be compactly filled. There must be no spaces left unfilled, the object being to secure an even temperature in the brood section, and absorb all moisture thrown off by the bees; and to do this successfully, the cap and sides must be closely packed throughout. When you have the cap and sides well packed, replace the cap, and the work is done. Shade the front of the hives during the winter months. No matter if the snow drifts over the hive so as to completely bury it from sight, let it remain;—your bees are safe.
[9]To secure a slight upward draught of air, to carry of the moisture arising from the bees, make a hole a half-inch in diameter in front and rear of the cap, in the center, close to the top or roof boards. (And here let me say, the roof boards, or boards covering the cap, should project about an inch, as they can be more firmly nailed, and make better joints; for driving rains must not be allowed to penetrate to the inside of the hive.) The inside of each hole should be covered with wire cloth, to keep out insects, etc.[10]To make the ventilator, get out four pieces one inch square; nail them together making a frame large enough to cover the brood section of Hive. Cover this frame with wire screen, meshes too fine to admit the passage of the bees.
[9]To secure a slight upward draught of air, to carry of the moisture arising from the bees, make a hole a half-inch in diameter in front and rear of the cap, in the center, close to the top or roof boards. (And here let me say, the roof boards, or boards covering the cap, should project about an inch, as they can be more firmly nailed, and make better joints; for driving rains must not be allowed to penetrate to the inside of the hive.) The inside of each hole should be covered with wire cloth, to keep out insects, etc.
[10]To make the ventilator, get out four pieces one inch square; nail them together making a frame large enough to cover the brood section of Hive. Cover this frame with wire screen, meshes too fine to admit the passage of the bees.
A neighbor of mine had fifteen stocks in Controllable Hives completely buried in snow over six feet deep, and the crust formed over them so it would bear a horse. They remained under the snow, from January until April when they thawed out, and every stock was found to be in first-class order.
When there is only a small quantity of snow about the hive, say only enough to cover the lower entrance, andthere should come a very warm spell of weather, which would bring the bees out, be sure to clear away the snow so they need not be kept back by it. But it will take an exceedingly warm day in winter to rouse the bees from their dormant state in the Controllable Hive and bring them out for a turn in the open air. If the air is warm enough to induce them to come out, it is always warm enough for them to fly briskly. In this respect there is a great contrast between my hive and others. With other hives, an hour's warm sun will bring out the bees in winter, when the air is cold, and the consequence is, they fall into the snow, and perish by hundreds. In this way stocks are often reduced in numbers until all are lost. The dysentery generally attacks such stocks (brought on by the sudden changes in temperature in the hive.) and hastens their destruction, by causing them to leave the hive, when they would not do so, if in a healthy condition. Bees when wintered in Controllable Hives as directed, will come out in the spring, strong in numbers, and in a healthy condition—in great contrast to the weak and diseased stocks which have been wintered in the ordinary manner. I have perfect confidence in the method of wintering here recommended, for I have had it in practical use for many years, and have never lost a stock, notwithstanding some winters have been very destructive to bees in this section, some, who practice the old methods, losing their entire stocks. I learn from my correspondents in all parts of the United States that there is agreat loss of bees in winter; so great in fact as to discourage many from attempting to engage in apiculture.
My plan of wintering is very simple, and commends itself to every intelligent person. In a few words it may be expressed thus: The brood section is secured against the effects of sudden changes in the weather (this keeps the bees dormant throughout the winter season, which is as nature designed,) and provides for the absorption of all moisture and perspiration arising from the bees while in a dormant state. These two points are the foundation of successful wintering.