. The honey bee: a manual of instruction in apiculture. be quite sufficient to supply this waste in the case ofthe adult workers and no harm would result to these bees from the 106 WINTER FOOD FOR BEES. 107 substitution of other combs for those containing pollen. But good col-onies should begin brood rearing in January or February, and pollen or a suitable substitute for it containing nitrogen most then be presentor the nurse bees will be subjected to a fearful drain on their vitalityto supply the rich nitrogenous secretion required by the developing larva; in fact, they can not do so long, an
. The honey bee: a manual of instruction in apiculture. be quite sufficient to supply this waste in the case ofthe adult workers and no harm would result to these bees from the 106 WINTER FOOD FOR BEES. 107 substitution of other combs for those containing pollen. But good col-onies should begin brood rearing in January or February, and pollen or a suitable substitute for it containing nitrogen most then be presentor the nurse bees will be subjected to a fearful drain on their vitalityto supply the rich nitrogenous secretion required by the developing larva; in fact, they can not do so long, and the colony dwindles. Thisabsurd theory that bees can not have access to pollen in winter withoutdetrimental results can best be answered by referring to the well-knownfact that a colony in a large box or straw hive, freely ventilated, yethaving some part of the hive protected from drafts of air and kept almost invariably come out strong in the spring if populous in thefall, heavy with honey, and having a young and vigorous queen. The T ~ 7. Fig. 71.—Percolator for preparation of winter food. (Original.) pollen, it could not possibly be claimed, had been injurious to suchcolonies, although they always gather and store it without are not disturbed in the possession of it. In truth, their stores ofpollen have constituted an important factor in their development, andthe strong instinct which they have toward making accumulations ofpollen for winter use and which they have exercised for thousandsof years undisturbed is of great benefit to them. Other conditions being equal, those colonies having the most honeystored compactly in the brood apartment and close about the verycenter where the last brood of young bees should emerge, an- the oneswhich will winter best. Forty pounds for a northern latitude and 30in the middle sections of the Tinted States may be considered only a 108 MANUAL OF APICULTURE.
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