'SF

523

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CONSTRUCTIVE

BEEKEEPING

BY

ED

H.

CLARK

.
,

CONSTRUCTIVE

BEEKEEPING

BY

ED

H.

CLARK

.0

Copyright, 1918, by

ED. H. CLARK.

APR 22 1918

CI.A496365

<l\r

A WORD TO THE BEEKEEPERS.

For

this

system or theory of housing bees

am making

no

extravagant claims, and had no thought of giving the public

the result of

my

study and experiments until

had given them

a test of a few more years, but the present necessity for increased

production makes
in

every

way

it

the first duty of every person to stimulate

that he can this production; and

if this

system

proves to be that will-of-the-wisp that the beekeepers have been

chasing, a conclusion will be reached sooner than could be by

my

individual effort.

ED.

H.

CLARK.

CONSTRUCTIVE BEEKEEPING
Commercial beekeeping has for

its

object the production of

quantity of well ripened honey at a minimum of

Swarming adds greatly to the cost of producing honey.
cost.
Most methods of swarm-prevention have in them the element
the

maximum

of destructiveness.

Ventilating, removing the queen, shaking

the bees, removing the brood, exchanging brood-bodies, loosening

the cover, all destroying something that the bees have done, or

adding to the work to be done in the hive.

Let me state here that you are not going to be told that absolute swarm-prevention is a possibility, nor will you be told that
honey can be produced by absent treatment. What you will get
from a good understanding of the following pages is that the beekeeper who takes advantage of the laws relating to condensation
of vapor, and follows where the bees have been leading will have
advanced one step nearer the swarmless bee.
Instead of going to the hive and telling the bees (by manip-

them "keep

your brood, keep

your queen, keep the cold damp air out of the hive and I will
make your hive so perfect a condenser of water vapor that the
work of evaporating water from the nectar will be done quickly."
We will bring team-work into play, and each get the benefit of
every advantage gained.
ulations) "don't do this"; say to

all

Constructive beekeeping helps by getting the honey ripened

quickly each night and stored out of the way of the queen. The
hive will then be maintained in such a condition that the bees
have the greatest amount of comfort in relation to the results
produced.

EFFICIENCY
Familiarity with the bees makes a person wonder where the
mule got his reputation for stubborness. We must, when we work

with bees, follow where they lead

if

we want

satisfactory results.

CONSTRUCTIVE BEEKEEPING

They generally know what they want and

own way.

fight to do

it

in their

The bee is an economical "fellow." Efficiency is his last

name. For ages before our time he has been working at the
same task that he has brought to such perfection. The bees that
have excited the amazement and wonder of the world as builders of geometric comb, with all its economy and strength, the
bees that make from the nectar of the flowers the honey, that is
the superlative of all things sweet and good; have not stopped
with these two achievements, but have maintained a marvel within their home, which, when understood, will amaze us more
than ever.

The bees collect propolis (despised by the beekeeper) and

with infinite work and a knowledge of the laws of condensation
cf moisture, have varnished the inside, sealed

all

openings that

would give upper ventilation, making out of their home a perfect

condenser for the water vapor that has filled the hive air by
evaporation from the nectar. This moisture they collect from the
inside surface of the hive, works right in with their idea of economy, saving the carrying of water from the stream or spring.

CO-OPERATION

told

One great discovery in beekeeping was the beespace. When

space was within the limits that conform to what instinct
them was best, peace between the beekeeper and his bees

was

established along this line.

this

on at the present time about

the best way to get rid of the moisture in the hive. The bees,
from the habits and customs, carried down for ages, contending
that condensation is the system best adapted to their mode of life,
while the beekeeper is trying to force them to use the ventilating
system. I think that the beekeepr, being a most sensible person,
will see the error of his way and eventually follow where the bee
leads.
it is

similar misunderstanding

The bees but show

at its best.

is

their contempt for ventilation

when

CONSTRUCTIVE BEEKEEPING

URGE
Swarming

the breaking in two of a populous colony of bees

for the reproduction of the colony. Other swarming need not
is

be considered here.
The confusion of conceptions which arises in the mind
when the term swarm-prevention is mentioned, has to a great
extent, been a hindrance to logical reasoning on this subject.

At mention

of the

word swarm, there

conjured up from the

is

background of our minds, the exciting and spectacular scenes

we have seen enacted around the aipary. What we want to
prevent not the birth but the conception. We must go even
prior to this and prevent the primal urge. To avoid confusion
and give reason and logic an opportunity to work, unhampered
by visions conjured up at mention of the word swarm, the word
urge will be used here to refer to the initial starting point of
the swarming impulse.
,

The urge

is

the direct result of the actual or apparent failure

of the queen.

With the exception

of a

young queen

in the hive, all other

methods of urge prevention have to do with room for the queen

to lay.
Give the queen plenty of room to lay and swarms are
reduced.
Give the colony plenty of ventilation and you have
fewer swarms. Young queen, and shade in the afternoons,
reduce swarming. Room, ventilation, shade in the afternoon,
and young queen have given the best results so far obtained.

CONDITIONS.

What has

is that results obtained by

the same treatment year after year have not been the same. Nor

puzzled the beekeeper

have the same results been obtained by similar treatments in different localities. Bees always respond to similar treatment under
like conditions by giving uniform results. The beekeepers' trouble is that he makes his treatments uniform but not his conditions.
1.

2.

Conditions include

all

of the following things

Temperature.
Direction and velocity of the wind.

CONSTRUCTIVE BEEKEEPING

3.

Moisture in the

4.

Depth of evaporation.

5.

Sunshine.

6.

Altitude.

7.

Number

8.

Fertility

9.

air.

of bees.

and vigor of the queen.

Number of worker cells in the hive.

10. Size of entrance.

Construction of hive.
12. Fit of hive parts and cover.
13. Radiating surface on inside walls of the hive.
14. Number of honey and pollen-producing plants.
11.

15.

The amount

of water in the nectar.

To show how much harder bees would have to fan at the entrance to ripen honey in some localities than in others, if they
ripened

it

altogether by ventilation, the depth of evaporation in

inches, taken

from a map of the Weather Bureau,

is

here given

25 inches, Ontario, Canada.

35 inches, Massachusetts.

30
50
50
60

Northern part.
inches, Illinois, Southern part.
inches, Ohio,

inches, Texas, Central part.

to 100 inches, Colorado,

New

Mexico, Arizona and most

of California.

From

this will readily be seen the different conditions

which the bees do their work

in different localities,

one of the conditions previously mentioned.

It is

under

due to only

apparent that

similar treatments, as regards ventilation, cannot give uniform

results in

all

these places.

To make the treatments as near uniform as

like results

possible

and get

under these different atmospheric conditions, we

must follow the way

of the bees and

instead of a ventilator.

make

the hive a condenser

CONSTRUCTIVE BEEKEEPING

ROOM
To look at the question of room and apply constructive treatment is our aim. If the hive room is large, good results do not
So much thought has been put into the experiments carried out with different sizes of hives, that the majority
of beekeepers have settled on a standard size, which is best under most conditions. Some, advocate one a little larger, some a
little smaller, but neither deviate much from the recognized standard. So we must conclude that the bees and their keeper do not
disagree greatly on the size of the hive.

always follow.

During the urge period the attention. of the beekeeper has

mostly been given to brood rearing. To get best results he must
have the hive filled with bees at the beginning of the honey flow.
He knows that swarming results when the hive is full of brood,
nectar, honey and bees, so he increases the size of the hive.

As the

room is not the result of one condition, but

of many, the added room may be more than the bees can heat.
Our aim then must be to determine that nice balance between too

much and

lack of

room, ventilation and shade. On the correct

determination of this balance our success depends.
too

To have

little

our minds a conception of brood conditions in the

hive prior to and at the time of the urge, will give us a clearer
understanding of the principal cause of the urge. By a study of
the following hypothetical tabulation, the conditions of a hive can
be seen. A ten-frame hive of Langstroth dimentions has, when
the frames are filled with worker cells, about 66,000 of these cells.
Deduct 12,000 for the ones occupied by pollen and capped honey
and there is left 54,000 cells for brood and nectar.
in

This is about the condition of brood in a strong colony at

Fargo, North Dakota on the given dates. On June 23 there would
be in this colony 25,000 bees under 10 days and 44,440 over 10
days old.

can readily be seen that, when the hive is filled with

brood honey and pollen, when sunshine and flowers are tempting
It

CONSTRUCTIVE BEEKEEPING

10

EGGS

APRIL
1

2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9

10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21

22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30

BROOD
13
14
15

100
100
110
110
115
115
120
120
120
140
140
140
180
180
200
200
210
215
220
240
300
300
400
500
550
650
700
800
900
1000

3375
3575
3875
4265
4705
5240
5825
6505
7285
8165

1100
1200
1200
1300
1400
1400
1500
1500
1500
1600
1700
1700

9125
10185
11245
12365
13585
14785
16085
17375
18660
20040
21500
22900

16
17
18
19

20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31

2
3

4
5
6
7
8
9

10
11
12

'

BROOD

1500^

24100
24900
25400
26450
27400
28500
29200
29900
30700
31800
33000
34800
36300
37300
38500
40000
41000
41900
42300

1200
1000
1600
1600
1800
1500
1600
180Q
2200
2400
300
2800
2400
2600
3000
2500
2400
2000

JUNE.

May
1

EGGS

2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13

14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23

2400
3000
3400
3000
3200
3100
3000
2400
3000
3200
3000
2500
2400
3000
2800
2400
2600
3000
2500
2400
2000
2400
3000

43000
44300
46200
48000
50200
51700
53100
53700
55200
56800
58000
58300
58300
58300
58300
58300
58300
58300
58300
58300
58300
58300
58300

CONSTRUCTIVE BEEKEEPING

11

the bees to work almost to madness, the honey coming in deposited in cells and interfering with the laying of the queen,
Their instinct
their system of housekeeping is disorganized.
tells

them that now

is

the time to get things in shape for

swarming.

Another condition of hive that gives like results is when

the cells are filled with nectar, and the conditions of atmosphere
and hive such that little or no evaporation takes place.

WAX.
Also,

when from whatever

cause, the bees

have a

lot of

empty outnot remove the

sealed honey around the brood-nest, and because the

combs are too cold for work, they will

honey to these to enable the queen to lay. This is the condition
of colony where spreading the brood makes more room, also
that makes a colony in a sixteen-frame hive take on the urge.
side

To understand this condition a knowledge of the relation

of temperature to wax- working is necessary. To work and build
with

wax

requires a temperature nearly as high as that main-

when any part of the hive is colder

than is consistent for easy work with wax; the bees, if they
work on wax at all, do it in the warmer part of the hive.
It must be borne in mind that the bees, like all other creatained in the brood-nest, and

tures, do things mostly in the line of least resistance.

easier to

Hence we

work wax where

it

is

warm than where

find the bees starting

it

is

It

is

cold.

on the center combs in the

second super, before finishing the outside ones in the first. The
beekeeper who puts boards, with slits on either side for the
bees to enter the super from the brood-chamber, produces a
condition that sends the

warm

air

from the brood-chamber up

through the slits; thereby giving the bees a good temperature

to work on outside combs.
Beekeepers who produce heather honey in England, because
of the cold nights, put a covering over and around the supers
to keep them warm.
Otherwise poor results follow. It has
been demonstrated that combs can be built down to the bottom-

CONSTRUCTIVE BEEKEEPING

12

bar in a super better than in a brood-chamber with an opening

at the bottom front, and here again temperature plays its part.
Knowing the relation of temperature to working in wax, it
can readily be seen how a colony, with plenty of hive room may
be crowded for brood-room and acquire the urge.
Caging the queen gives more room, but brings on the urge
and may result in swarming. Removal of the brood and substituting foundation or drawn comb gives laying room to the
queen. These are good examples of destrutive beekeeping. Haw
much better the colony could get ahead had they hives so constructed and protected from outside weather conditions that
they could evaporate the water from their honey and store it
away from the brood-nest.
Shaking the bees gives ample room, but that is artifical
4

swarming.

Removing the water from the nectar and giving the bees an
opportunity to store this ripened nectar in fewer cells makes
more room, and when this can be accomplished soon after the
bees' last trip to the field,

it

shortens their hours of work, adds

comfort and perhaps lengthening their lives.

It is just as necessary for the economy of their domestic
arrangement that they have room sufficient and warm enough
to ripen the honey, as for storage of ripened honey and brood.

to their

BROOD FRAMES
-

Brood-frames cannot be ignored in constructive beekeeping,

because they have so close a relation to room in the hive. The
nearer the number of worker cells in all the frames approach
the

maximum,

filled to

Frames not
the bottom-bar and frames containing drone comb will,
the more room the hive contains.

together with other conditions, make just enough difference in

hive room to bring on the urge. The ten-frame hive, under
these conditions, has but little more room than eight full frames.
The size of a hive, no matter what its dimensions, is expressed
in the number of worker cells it contains. A hive with but from
40,000 to 50,000 worker cells must not be thought of as a
standard hive, even though it has ten standard frames.

CONSTRUCTIVE BEEKEEPING

Empty

spaces inside the frames

make an

13

extra expense to

the beekeeper, and an added burden on the bees. They have

fully one-fourth more space to keep warm in a hive with beespace
and frames, than they have in a box hive of the same dimensions.

Another way a constructive principle can be applied to the

frame is to reduce the top-bar to the same thickness as the
bottom-bar. Beekeepers are convinced that ten frames are not
enough for a good laying queen, therefore some advocate giving
more room above, by adding another hive-body, others giving
more room on the side, using a wider hive-body, while some make
the hive higher, wider and longer. The larger hive-body, it is

when used

in producing extracted
standard
hive, because a great
honey, but it can never become a
number of beekeepers produce comb honey.

claimed, gives better results

The ten frame

most purposes, it remains for the beekeeper, when he gives more room,
to give the bees a brood-nest with as little space between comb
and comb, where the brood-bodies meet, as possible. Considering
that all the combs in the hive body given above are built down to
the bottom-bar, we have at the junction of the two hive bodies,
a space between comb and comb of top-bar, beespace and bottom
bar, or about one and one-half inches. From experiments it has
or standard hive being the best for

been observed that a thick top-bar

Hence it is apparent that more or

is

a fairly good queen excluder.

an effort is required to
pass over this space. When this is reduced by a thin top-bar an
easier passage for the queen and bees is made, and better results
will follow. In smoothing out little difficulties like these we are
always amply repaid.
less of

For the same reason all comb should be built down to

the bottom-bar, then with cells overlapping top and bottom bars
of the respective hive-bodies, the beespace is all that separates

comb from comb.

The thin top-bar adds more cells to the hive,

so adding its mite to the economy of the hive, and giving the
bees nearly continuous comb from top to bottom of the hive.

CONSTRUCTIVE BEEKEEPING

14

VENTILATION
One of the axioms of beekeeping is ventilate
No matter
what other manipulations the beekeeper recommends to prevent
.

swarming, he always adds

require so

much

fresh air in

Why

"VENTILATED
May and June when

do the bees
they have double

the capacity of air space, within the hive, that they

have

in

October and November

The

air in the hive serves a two-fold purpose.

It supplies

the bees with oxygen and influences the amount

This water vapor is given
the hive can contain.

of water vapor
off in

the

It is either
ripening of honey and the breathing of the bees.
removed from the hive by ventilation or carried to the walls and

ceiling,

where

it is

condensed and used by the bees for domestic

purposes.
Ventilation

warm and

is

constructive in principle

when

the atmosphere comparatively dry, but

when the nights

the nights are

is

destructive

are cold and the atmosphere nearly saturated

with moisture. Only the best beekeepers can, by ventilation,

maintain that nice balance that accords with temperature and
strength of the colony.
During the season when the bees are most likely to acquire
the urge the nights are colder and the humidity of the air greater
than later in the season. At such times a cold current of air
throught the hive interferes with the rearing of brood and does
not help much in the ripening of honey. Each day of good
honey gathering bringing the colony nearer to a crowded
condition.

No

beekeeper finds it practicable to change the ventilation

as the temperature changes, but must rely on his judgment of
the amount that gives best results.
The manipulations of divisible brood chambers can be considered under the head of ventilation. When the two sections
of the brood

chamber have been broken apart or exchanged, the

percentage of colonies that acquire the urge has been reduced.

This can readily be explained by showing how it makes for ventilation. If it is done prior to the urge it will have a tendency to

CONSTRUCTIVE BEEKEEPING

15

reduce swarming. All tearing apart of hive-bodies from each

other or from covers or bottom-boards leaves a rough surface
to the adjoining parts, the result of dirt, grass or bees adhering
to the propolis. When the hive is again put together the adjoining surfaces are not tight and ventilation is the result.

The result of ventilation is room. Because ventilation has

given more room we have all believed in it. Room can be given
by ventilation but at the expense of a warm hive.
The velocity of the wind and shape and size of the entrance
must be studied in their relations to one another when considering ventilation. The ill effects from winds, even with reduced entrances, is sometimes apparent. A bunch of grass or a shrub,
sometimes two or three feet away from the entrance may deflect
and send a current of air right into the hive, or it may produce
a calm at the entrance. The only possible way to have uniform
ventilation is to have a good wind break. If the hives are so
situated as to be in a calm at all times then what ventilation there
is is regular, but hives so situated are troubled with excessive
swarming.

With any wind

at

all

blowing, no two hives in a row, nor in dif-

ferent rows, even though they have the

same

size openings, will

To any one who has tried to follow

movements along the surface and a few feet

have the same ventilation.

the course of air

above the earth, winding in and out among obstructions, sometimes flying off at a tangent, sometimes circling all around,

sometimes upward or downward, bounding and rebounding from

such obstructions, it is apparent that air currents among the
hives in an aipary are so complex as to be past our understanding.
This but shows with what little certainty ventilation can be made
anyway uniform. Hence the different results at different times
from apparently similar treatments.

Shade

has been proven to be somewhat of a

preventive of the urge. This is clearly explained by the laws
governing condensation of water vapor, and will be treated in the
chapter under that head.
in the afternoon

Ventilation and shade each

make more room

in the hive,

CONSTRUCTIVE BEEKEEIPING

16

which leads

me

to

remark that

ventilation is constructive at the

proper time, and under right atmospheric conditions, but is destructive in spring and early summer, because of the low temperature and moisture-laden atmosphere. Air that is already full
of moisture will be of little use in drying the air of the hive. To
demonstrate this a wet cloth can be hung by the hive on a night
of high relative humidity, and in the morning it will be far from
dry. It will require no great reasoning on the part of anyone to
see that the water vapor of the hive is not all carried away by
ventilation.

SWARMING
During a heavy flow of honey the queen gradually and sometimes sharply reduces the number of eggs laid per day. We know
that had the same thing happened during the spring building-up
of the colony it would have brought on the urge. Some one will
point to the above statement as a contradiction of the one that
the urge is the direct result of the actual or apparent failure
of the queen. We know, from observation, that they are almost
sure to swarm in spring or early summer when this condition^
exists. In summer, with an abundant honey flow and plenty of
room, they rarely swarm. In the fall they quietly supercede
the queen.
It is obvious that the aim or object for which they strive
each of the three periods mentioned is not the same, and that
the aim or object attained as the collective result of these three
periods, is that for which all bees are striving, the survival of
the colony.
in

During the spring period the one purpose for which they
strive is numbers. Every atom of concerted energy of the colony
is working to increase the unit strength of the colony.
When we
consider the advantages that numbers give for offense and defense and general welfare, we know that they are urged on by
the law of the survival of the fitest.
After this carnival of brood-rearing, when weather and field
conditions prompt their instinct to a realization that winter is

CONSTRUCTIVE BEEKEEPING

17

ahead, and only the colonies that are f itest survive we have the
energy of the colony directed as a unit to gathering stores.
The brood-rearing at this period is a secondary consideration, and
;

about keeps pace with the bees that

fall

from the ranks.

The next period has brood-rearing and general preparation

for the winter on its schedule.

This brood-rearing does not take

on* the riotous nature of the spring period.

no definite line or date dividing these periods. They

dovetail into one another and only by close observance and much
bee-wisdom is a person able to detect the change of colony
procedure as the bees pass from the spring to the summer period.
Because of the inability of the ordinary beekeeper to sense this,
he has not been uniformly successful in the production of comb

There

is

honey.
In passing

from one period

to the other the colony

work

fades from rearing brood to gathering honey, then back again to

rearing brood. This change depends as much or more on strength

and good condition of the colony as on weather and

ditions.

The beekeeper, not being

able to

tell

field con-

the exact time that

each particular colony is prepared to take on the work of the next

period, assumes that they take on the urge in the summer period
when contraction of the brood takes place.

The rearing

by the colony cannot be considered

have to admit that it is both for the

of oueens

an acquired habit.

We

xeproduction of the colony and the species, and goes back to the

very origin of

life.

The strongest

disire or

As generation

after generation succeeds one another, the

urge in all life is to reproduce its

kind. If this disire is destroyed in a species that species becomes
extinct.
It is an impossibility to breed a swarmless bee.
If it
could be done all ambition, vim and energy would disappear, and
as much could be accomplished with so many inanimate units.'
The main thing in life is reproduction. All other things are done
for the better bringing it about. Increase and multiply is the
urge of all things living, so that each generation is greater in
numbers and wisdom than the preceding.

CONSTRUCTIVE BEEKEEPING

18

acquirements of one when they are advantageous to the next,

puts that next generation a stride forward in the battle for ex-*
istance
The colonies in which this acquired habit took hold succeeded best, and when we reali z e that this development has been
going on for countless years, by slow evolution, we can believe
that the bees have acquired habits that are of advantage to them
in their mode of life.
Swarming is one of these habits, and
should we be able to breed it out, they would be thrown back, to
their way of life or social development that existed in the colony
before they acquired this habit.
.

colony of bees cannot be considered in the scheme of reproduction the same as individuals. Individuals are being born
regularly in th ecolony, but through an acquired habit the colony
carries on

what may be

called limited birth control,

by

[prevent-

ing the perfect development of the female. CONDITIONS that

induce the colony to start oueen-cells, or allow perfedt
development, is what we must control to prevent the urge.

at

The bees in their wild state seldom had a home that did not
some time become filled to its capacity. They developed a

habit, as we know, of putting off reproduction of the colony

while conditions in the home were such, that the strength of the
colony could be increased; but letting it take place normally
when home conditions were getting crowded. Sometimes the

home was

of such size that this did not occur for several seasons,

but eventually the home became crowded, from accumulated

honey, and swarming resulted.

The smaller the hive the sooner the urge. The smaller colonies that came from the smaller homes did not survive as often
as the stronger ones, that had more time and room to prepare;
hence we have bees with the habit of putting off swarming as
long as hive conditions permit.

The

act of

swarming must be considered

a protest against

Could we keep a colony of bees with a

good queen, and plenty of necessary room, we would have no
swarms. It has been done, so it is not impossible.

a condition in the hive.

CONSTRUCTIVE BEEKEEPING

19

EVAPORATION
by the bees in ripening
honey is water vapor. Sometimes more than one pound of water
This much water
is expelled from the honey in part of a night.
vapor at average hive temperature of 90 deg. F. would fill to sat-

One

of the by-products given off

uration over 600 standard hive-bodies. Then if the air entering

the hive was absolutely dry, and that emerging from it at saturation, and the hive air completely changed in one minute, this
amount of water vapor would pass out in about 10 hours. But

we never have

absolutely dry air, nor do

we have

all

the air in

the hive even near saturation, nor can the bees change all the
air in the hive, through an opening in the lower front, in one minute. The bees could not get rid of a pound of water this way in

24 hours.

One pound of water evaporated during the night, from the

nectar brought in during the day, would empty over 1600 cells.
These and the ones vacated by hatching bees would keep well
ahead of the queen.

we

are bound to give recognition and

allowance for the storing and ripening of nectar between the
If the hive be so prostores of ripened honey and the brood.
In handling bees

tected that a good working temperature can easily be maintained,

the honey close around the brood-nest is either moved to some

outside comb, or consumed by the bees and brood, leaving empty
cells to store the nectar.

Removal of the water from the nectar

something to which
the beekeeper has given little attention, because it could not be
seen, but nevertheless we have the water vapor given off when
the bee ripens a drop of honey in his mouth. We are as certain
of

as

it

we

are of the

wax

is

scales that the bees secrete.

We

see the

wax, but the water vapor not being visible, has claimed little of
our attention. The beekeeper, striving for good results, cannot
afford to overlook the great part that water vapor plays in the
hive.

When

the beekeeper opens the hive for inspection, does he

CONSTRUCTIVE BEEKEEPING

20

ever observe the room available for the storage of a generous

He

amount of brood
and sealed honey, and in this way he is conscious of what he calls
plenty of room. While there is yet space between brood and
amount

of nectar.

looks for queen-cells, the

honey, he concludes that the bees swarm before they are crowded
for room. Did they have room to carry on all the work of the
hive ?

Consider a farmer, who has ample granary room to store his

wheat, and who tried to put it in the granary before it was
thrashed. It can readily be seen that the granary would not hold
it.
The bees must have temporary storage cells just as the
farmer must have sufficient room to stack his grain before it is
thrashed. This is the room that the beekeeper has sensed, rather
than to have observed it as room necessary for the domestic work
of the bees. As the farmer must put aside the straw, so must
the bees evaporate the water to get the finished honey that can
be stored economically.

How

do the bees dispose of the great amount of water

carried into the hive in the nectar ? You say "they evaporate
it and it is carried off by the air."
But is it? Try, drying the
family wash in a room of dimensions, as regards water to be
evaporated, temperature and opening at the floor, proportionate
to the beehive, and see how fast your wash dries. Be sure you
:

have no windows in the room to condense the water vapor. Try

when temperature outside is 60 deg. F and the atmosphere onehalf saturated, (one-half saturated in the evening is about as
dry as we find the air in May and June where there is ample rain
fall).
Then try it when the atmosphere is 9-10 saturated, and
after this experience you will be more amazed than ever at the
it

bees' efficiency.

you are skeptical and remember that you should have

put an electric fan at the opening, because the bees are seen
to fan at the entrance.
Let us not delude ourselves about the
bees moving all the water vapor, given off in ripening honey,
out of the hive by fanning.
Still

Records of temperature and humidity taken from the U.

S.

CONSTRUCTIVE BEEKEEPING

21

Weather Station at Moorhead, Minnesota, for three days

at 7

P. M. are as follows:

Temperature Humidity

1916

May
May
May

13

45.5

14

42.5

93
100

37.5

96

15

To remove from the hive one grain of water vapor by fanning on May 13, the volume of air that would have to be moved
would be five or six times the air capacity of the hive. To remove one pound of water would require the removal of a volume
of air equal to the capacity of from 30,000 to 40,000 hive-bodies.
On May 14 the outside air being saturated, no water vapor could
be removed by a change of air, and on May 15 the result would be
about the same.

From

can readily be seen that little evaporation from

the nectar could take place by ventilation, and we are led to believe that on such days as these the urge takes hold, giving
swarms the last week of May.
No contention will be raised when the statement is made
that the water is evaporated from the honey before we have
ripened honey. It has been taken for granted that as soon as the
water passes off by evaporation the bees were done with it.
They would be if this evaporation took place the same as from
the family wash hung on a line in open air. But if instead of having the great volume of mooving outside air, we have in a standard hive body a little less than one cubic foot of air, where is all
this water vapor going to go ? Saturate this small volume of air
at hive temperature and the water vapor in it would be from
1-600 to 1-5000 of what the bees evaporate in a night during a
good honey flow. If they saturated this air in the hive and then
forced it out at the entrance, they would cause rain in the hive
near the entrance.
this

it

When

hive conditions are as they should be we must conclude that all the air in the hive is never near saturation. There

no known way of accurately measuring the humidity of the air

inside the hive, but we can safely estimate that, except for a thin
is

CONSTRUCTIVE BEEKEEPING

never more than 3-4 saturated*. We

have then air entering the hive at a temperature of 50'F. and 1-2
satuation which would, when heated to hive temperature, be
about 1-4 saturated. This air then when heated to hive temperature, being 1-4 saturated, is capable of taking up moisture until
The amount of moisture taken up by this air
it is 3-4 saturated.
is 3-4 minus 1-4 or 1-2 of its capacity at saturation.
This amount
of water vapor would be less than 1-1000 of a pound for one cubic
layer under the cover,

it is

foot of air.

Now

follow the course of thiS|90 degree air in passing

from

the hive by way of the entrance. As it approaches the entrance

the temperature is reduced and it would give up some of its
water at the entrance. Could they force all the air out of the
hive at a temperature of 90 and fully saturated, each time the air
in the hive is changed 1-600 of a pound of water would be re-

moved. A pound of water could be expelled from the hive in 10

hours if the bees could change all the air of the hive once a
minute.

When an analysis

of the evaporation inside the hive

is

under-

taken we are confronted with many conditions that increase or

retard it. Water vapor and warm air being lighter than air at the
entrance, pass naturally to the top of the hive, and remain there
unless some mechanical force compels them to move toward the
entrance. This force is noticable when the hive contains smoke.
Under normal conditions we do not find this fanning going on all
through the hive.

So far only the evaporation which takes place when the air
and water are at the same temperature has been considered.
Water can readily be turned into steam by boiling. This steam
begins to rise from the surface of the water long before the water
comes to the boiling point. "The surface of any watery liquid,
whose temperature is 20 degrees warmer than any superincumbent air, rapidly gives off true steam,"* applies to the evaporation in the hive. We know the temperature of the bee's body,

*WehV

Natural Philosophy.

CONSTRUCTIVE BEEKEEPING

23

naturally follows that the temperature of the nectar in the

Observation tells us that the bees
bee's stomach is the same.
ripen the honey drop by drop, bringing it from the stomach and

and

it

pulsating each drop in the

mouth

for about ten minutes.J

The

drop during this process is exposed to the air at the particular

temperature of that part of the hive where the bee is doing this
work. When this temperature is 20 degrees colder than the drop
of nectar true steam is given off. This evaporation takes place,
no matter how much water vapor is in the air, and varies with
the difference of the temperature of the air surrounding the drop
of nectar. This is forced evaporation. We find conditions favorable to forced evaporation in cool night temperatures and a
hive with a generous around of room.
To clearly comprehend the great amount of water that must
be evaporated to get a pound of ripened honey, let us assume
that 12 pounds is the weight of one gallon of honey, and 48
pounds the weight of 6 gallons of water. 6 gallons of water mixed with 1 gallon of honey gives 60 pounds of water and honey.
20% of ripened honey is water. 20% of 12 pounds or 1 gallon of
honey is 2.4 pounds. 48 pounds plus 2.4 pounds is 50.4 pounds,
which is the weight of water in this mixture. 50.4 pounds is
84 % of 60 pounds. 84% is a conservative estimate of the amount
of water in nectar. To get 1 gallon of honey 48 pounds of water
must be separated from the nectar. To get 1 pound 1-12 of 48
pounds of water must be separated, or 4 pounds. Let us grant
that 2 pounds of this water is disposed of before the bees enter
the hive. They will still have 2 pounds of water to evaporate
before they produce 1 pound of ripened honey. When the honey
increase of a hive is 4 pounds a day, 8 pounds of water must be
evaporated. The nectar carried into the hive that day would require about three frames for temporary storage. When conditions are such as to hamper evaporation for two or three days
of successful honey gathering,
crowed condition could exist.

$A. C. Miller.

it

can

readily be seen

that

24

CONSTRUCTIVE BEEKEEPING

NECTAR

IN

THE FLOWERS

Another wc*y that evaporation influences the work of the

bees is that which takes place from the surface of the nectar
while it is yet in the flower. Very little is known of the exact
percentage of water in nectar. It has been weighed and found
range from 60% to 93%. Scientists can never give us much information on this, unless they take into account the evaporation
which takes place from the surface of the nectar in the open
flowers. Nectar in the same blossom may contain 90% of water
at 9 A. M. and 60% at 2 P. M., because of the movements of the
air, sunshine and low relative humidity.
Because of this varietion of the volume of water in nectar, we can understand^ what
a differance there would be in hive conditions, as the nectar is
gathered at a time when there is little or much evaporation taking place in the field.
Consider the gathering of nectar from buckwheat. There
are districts where the bees work wholly on buckwheat during
its blooming season, and peculiarities of the flow of this nectar
have been commented on by many beekeepers. Some have noted
that the nectar has all disappeared about 2 P. M. They have not
gone so far as to prove this by an examination of the flowers,
but have assumed it to be so, because the bees did not work on
the flowers after this houi. This reasoning is right as to the absence of nectar after this hour.

Other things commented on, are that the bees gather honey
from buckwheat only during sunshine periods, and that they
gather more on a still day than a windy one.
Let us now assume that all the blossoms that receive the
direct rays of the sun secrete nectar suitable for the bees. We
have no reason to doubt that flowers on the same plant, surrounded by like conditions viz sunshine and air, secrete nectar that
the bees can gather. The bees can not gather all the nectar from
every flower which contains it, before 2 P. M. It is not reasonable to beleive that the flower absorbs what the bees don't gather
by this time, and yet we know that it has disappeared. The only*
way to explain this absence of nectar after this hour is that it
;

CONSTRUCTIVE BEEKEEPING

25

has evaporated. Note the statement that the wind reduces the

amount

of honey gathered.

Wind

increases evaporation.

Unless some close observer along this line can prove otherwise, we must reason that the flower containing nectar in the
morning, and if this nectar has not been removed by any insect,
would still contain nectar in the afternoon, so that the bees could
gather it, if evaporation had not reduced it to such consistancy
as to be useless to the bees.

ABSORBTION OF WATER BY HONEY

would be impossible for the bees, except under the most
favorable conditions, as regards humidity of the air, to produce
well ripened honey wholly by evaporation and depending on v ntilation alone to carry off the water vapor. Honey put up in barrels that are not dry, absorb water from the wood, shrinking it
enough to cause leakage. One of the causes of watery cappings
is that the honey has absorbed water from the moisture-laden
It

air.

Even

if

the bees ripened

in themselves, as

all

the honey by some process with(this would have to allow

some have suggested,

for only worker-bees doing the ripening and throwing off

the

water in the flight from the hive) the moisture-laden air, would
soon undo the work of the bees. Hence to produce well ripened
honey we have to let the bees condense the moisture of the hive
on the inside walls and ceilings. An exception of this would be
in localities having a very dry atmosphere, but these are very
scarce during the urge period.
,

CONDENSATION

good understanding of the condensing properties of a hive

will make clear a great deal that pu z zels us about bees, and such
knowledge constructively applied to honey production, cannot
fail to give results, the magnitude of which, the beekeeper with
his present knowledge, would hardly dare to hope for.

We

have seen that ventilation, by moving the

of the hive reduces the heat of the hive.

When

warm

air ,out

better results

CONSTRUCTIVE BEEKEEPING

26

can be obtained in a way that conserves the heat of a hive, a step

forward has been taken. This will result if we let the bees, as
they are striving to do, use their hive as a condenser.

To understand how water vapor

condensed in a hive, the

dewpoint should be understood. Saturated air is at the dewpoint.
The amount of moisture that the air will hold varies as the temperature changes. The amount of moisture in the air is spoken
degrees F. is saturated with
of as absolute humidity. Air at
1-2 grain, at 60 degrees F. 5 grains, and at 80 degrees F. with 11
grains of water vapor. Air at 60 degrees which contains but
2 1-2 grains of gater vapor would be at 1-2 or 50 per cent of saturation. Air at 78 degrees which contains the same amount of
watef vapor (2 1-2 grains) would be but 1-4 or 25 per cent saturated. This per cent of saturation is called relative humidity. If
the amount of water vapor in the air remains constant as the
temperature changes, the relative humidtiy changes with the
temperature. Air that is saturated at 78 degrees would have to
give up 50 per cent of its water vapor when its temperature is
reduced to 60 degrees, leaving this 60 degree air also saturated.
The dewpoint is the temperature of the air, at which it would
be at saturation, if the amount of moisture is neither increased
nor deminished.

To

is

illustrathe the principle of the air giving

up part of

its

water vapor when its temperature is reduced to the dewpoint*

saturate a sponge with water, then press slightly on it and it
looses part of its water. The pressure of the hands acts on the
sponge the same as reduced temperature on saturated air.

The most obvious illustration of this formation of dew, or

condensation of moisture on a cool surface, is when a pitcher of
ice water is placed in a warm room. This everybody is familiar
with. Condensed vapor on the windows, when the outside temperature is cool, is another. Place a pan, bottom up on the ground
and dew will be found on the inside surface of the pan in the
morning.
The beehive, when we allow the bees
ventilation, condenses

to arrange their

vapor this way, when there

is

enough

own
dif-

CONSTRUCTIVE BEEKEEPING

27

ference between outside and inside temperature to give a dewpoint on the inside surface of the hive. We do not observe any
great amount of moisture on the inside walls of the hive, during

the urge period, because the bees, needing a good supply of water
to mix with the food they prepare, gather it as soon as deposited,
leaving the surface in better condition for more condensation.

This gives the bees nice distilled water for their use.

Records of weights taken morning and evening, during the

honey flow, show but a slight loss in weight of the hive each
morning. This has puzzled many beekeepers, and some have
suggested that the bees got rid of the water of the nectar before
entering the hive.

Let us look at this and apply the condensation theory. The

bees evaporate the water from the nectar, condense it on the
inside walls of the hive, then gather it as distilled water and mix
it with food for the brood.
The water has been evaporated, but
the hive still retains it, and the hive weights have decreased but
little during the night.

We

had some experience with dew and have observed that all objects will not have dew on their surfaces in the
morning, after a night favorable to the deposit of dew. The
have

all

grass will be very wet, but the road is dry. A painted board is
wetter than an unpainted one. The grass and the road are in con-

same amount of water vapor. Any

will explain this by the laws governing the
radiation of heat. The surfaces of objects on which the dew has
been deposited radiate more heat into space, and consequently
cool more than the ones that radiate less heat and have no dew
on them. The air which comes in contact with the colder surface,
and whose temperature is reduced to the dewpoint, is compelled
to give up some of its moisture.
The law of the dewpoint operates in the hive the same as
tact with air containing the

Natural Philosophy

cutside. Air in the hive at a temperature of 90 degrees

contains 8 grains of water vapor must,

when

it

comes

which

in contact

with the cool walls of the hive whose temperature is 60 degrees,

give up 3 grains of its water vapor. This condensation will go

CONSTRUCTIVE BEEKEEPING

28

on as long as temperature of the hive walls, temperature of air

in the hive, and humidity of hive air, hold such relations to each
other that the dewpoint obtains at the inside surface of the hive.
All objects do not radiate heat equally well.

Some part with

become cold faster than others. A smooth istone,

exposed the same as grass surrounding it, does not part with its
their heat or

heat as readily as the grass.

PROPOLIS
I

Blackened tin has a high radiating power and is taken as a

standard for expressing the radiating power of other substances.
Give the radiating power of blackened tin as 100, rosin is 96 and
wood is very low. Propolis, being a rosin its radiating power is
almost perfect. But few substances approach this high standard.
It is obvious that more condensation takes place on a hiye lined
with propolis than one where the wood is without a varnish.
More condensation makes more evaporation, more exaporation
makes more room.

substance like propolis that is a good radiator and absorber, is a poor transmitter of heat.
Propolis used as a varnish
keeps the hive heat from warming the wooden walls, and they
being cooler at night, give a temperature to the inside surface,
that condenses the water vapor fast or slow, as the difference
cf inside air temperature and wall temperature is great or small.

The bees finding it necessary to separate a great deal of

water from the nectar, dispose of it by evaporation, but instinct
tells them that the" air holds very little on cool nights in May and
June so to remove this moisture from the air, they varnish the
inside walls and make a condenser out of the hive. The process"
is, in principle, the same as that used in distillation.
The makers of refrigerators take advantage of condensation
;

chamber. A refrigerator car,

after years of experimenting has been finished off with several
coats of varnish. It has been proven, by tests, that products that
are inclined to sweat or absorb moisture, keep drier in a highly
varnished car than in one not varnished. The water vapor in the
to maintain dry air in the food

CONSTRUCTIVE BEEKEEPING

29

on the inner surface of the car, making the air

drier, consequently preventing the absorbtion of water from the
air by the products stored in the car.
air condenses

SHADE
has been observed to have a tendency
to prevent swarming. There can be no condensation if the temperature of the hive walls is nearly equal to or higher than the.
ahive air. This is the condition that exists most of the day and
evening when the weather is warm and the sun is shining; providing the hives are not shaded. When a hive is so situated that
the shade covers it about noon or soon thereafter, the conditions
for condensation are good, cool walls.

Shade

in the afternoon

Bees situated in dense shade have been observed to swarm

more than those having more open surroundings. In dense shade
the humidity is high and no movement of air takes place. The
hive may be well ventilated as the beekeeper has had best results
from well ventilated hives but the air, being almost saturated
when it enters the hive, does not carry off the water vapor from
the hive.
The good ventilation keeps the inside and outside
walls of the hive at nearly the same temperature and if the hives
are not well lined with propolis, not much condensation takes
place. With nectar not ripening into honey, they soon feel their
crowded condition.
;

CLUSTERING OUT
When

the bees are clustering out,

it is

not the heat of the

hive that bothers them, but the high dewpoint in the hive. Man
can stand a temperature in dry air much above 100 degrees

without much discomforture, but let the air become so saturated

with moisture that the dewpoint approaches the temperature of
his body, then he feels more or less sufficating effects. We have
all noticed this condition of atmosphere on a day that we call
close and stuffy. The bees that are clustering out have this close
stuffy air in the hive and cluster out for relief.

Cover the outside of the hive with a wet cloth and soon the

CONSTRUCTIVE BEEKEEPING

30

bees will be back in the hive about their work. The hive walls
are cooled by the evaporation of the water from the cloth, bring-

ing on condensation of hive moisture, consequently lowering the

dewpoint.

ABSCONDING SWARMS
Many

beekeepers report swarms leaving a short time after

being hived. When they have mentioned anything about conThese
ditions, a high temperature and a new hive are noted.
make just the right combination to give a high dewpoint in the
hive. The parts of a new hive naturally would fit close, and wood
being a very poor radiator of heat, no condensation takes place.
The swarm objecting to the close stuffy air, and having no home
ties, leave for a more suitable place.
The remedy for bees' that
will not stay hived is a few days in the cellar. The cellar temperature is enough colder than the hive a'r to condense the hive moisture on the wood.

WILD BEES
Bees in selecting a home for themselves in a tree, consider
two things upon which their future welfare depends, and in doing
First, a
this we can believe that their instinct led them right.
small entrance so that they could easily protect themselves from,
their enemies.

Second, a cavity in the tree of sufficient capacity

work of the hive, and small enough to keep themselves and their brood from being harmed by outside weather
conditions. Never do we find them, in the selection of a home,

to carry on the

paying the least attention to ventilation.

is

Natural ventilation

Every beekeeper has visible

aipary and it cannot be made more

a thing that the bees ignore.

evidence of this truth in his

clear by further discussion.

LATENT HEAT
Evaporating by the aid of condensation has the advantage
that it retains the latent heat in the hive. This might be considered too small a thing to claim our attention. Most things
pertaining to a colony of bees are small, but the result of many

CONSTRUCTIVE BEEKEEPING

31

small things working in a single direction and having the same

ultimate goal, is great efficiency. But this is not as small as it[
appears to be. During the urge period, it conserves great quan-

heat for the colony. The bees' instinct leads them to

If one
give consideration to things that make for economy.
which
hive,
water
vapor
into
the
pound of water is evaporated in a
this volume of water has been converted, contains latent heat
enough to raise 1,000 pounds (about four barrels) one degree.
Irt changing this back from a gaseous to a liquid state, the same
tities of

amount

of heat

is

given off in the hive.

By

ventilation

it is lost.

HIVE WALL TEMPERATURE

be covered with heating-manure to keep iti
warm in spring the colony will dwindle and become very Weak.
Hive walls are warmer than hive air and no condensation takes
place. For the same reason bees in a greenhouse dwindle. They
should be set where the hive walls can cool during the night.
In some loclaities in spring, occurs a succession of days during which the bees do not fly. They have young brood in the
hive and when they do not get condensed water from the walls
the increase is very slow. A colony of bees, small in proportion
to the hive, does not build up as fast as one that is strong for the
size of the hive.
When bees are not able to heat the hive air
above the temperature of the walls, no condensation takes place,
and when the bees cannot fly no water is available for domestic
purposes. How many beekeepers have stopped to consider where
the bees got the water to rear brood before the first flight ? Distilation tells the story.
Condensation tells many a story to explain bee behavior. Can
you wonder at the awe and amazement with which I approached
this phase of bee economy, when brought to a realization of the
wonderful instinct that led the bee into the realms of physics, to
select propolis, one of the best substances nature has, to bring
their work up to a high state of efficiency. This instinct tells
them that freer evaporation obtains when the water vapor is
being freely condensed on the inner walls of the hive. It tells
them that water can be evaporated in any air with a temperaIf a hive of bees

CONSTRUCTIVE BEEKEEPING

S2

ture 20 degrees lower than that liquid.

It tells

them that

this

water can be condensed readily on the propolis covered walls of

the hive. Wonderful is the instinct of the bee

CONSTRUCTIVE HIVE
The hive that condenses the most water vapor and leaves
so that the bees can dispose of

it,

is

the hive in which

we

it

find

the contented bees. This water vapor may be allowed to pass

from the top of the hive and be condensed the same as in the
condensing chamber of a still, but by this process the bees are
deprived of the water the same as when the honey is ripened
wholly by evaporation. It has been shown in the chapter on evaporation that for every pound of honey ripened in the hive the
bees,

when they use

the condensing system, have for their domes-

use from two to four pounds of water. This amount of

water is from 60 to 80 per cent of what nectar the bees brought
in that day. Now when this water escapes from the hive and
they have to make special trips for water to take the place of
this that has escaped, it is obvious that the bees that have to go
for water, will reduce the number of nectar gathering bees. This
percentage can only be speculated upon, but it runs from 20 td
60 per cent of the field force. When all the field force presist in
gathering nectar, as I am almost certain they do at times, the
brood is restricted.
tictic

What

the bees want

a good condenser and

that retains the condensed water on the inner surface of the
hive.

is

a hive that

The nurse bees can then gather

it

is

as they

want

it.

We will

have to give the bees credit for being efficient, and it follows that
they do not evaporate the water from the nectar that they mix
with the food for the brood, but from the surplus. But there
occurs a day or a succession of days, during the urge period, when
no nectar nor water are brought in, and these are the days when
condensed water from a humid atmosphere brings contentment
to the colony.

The

from years of experimenting and close observations of weather and hive conditions, gives these results,
hive, that

CONSTRUCTIVE BEEKEEPING
I will

now

try to describe.

All

my

33

hives are factory made, ten-

frame Langstroth dimensions. All flat covers have been set

aside and telescope covers substituted. No inner covers, or honeyThis cover rests on a rabited cleat that extends
This cleat is fastened at a proper distance
all around the hive.
from the top of the hive-body to allow a beespace between the
upper edge of the hive-body and the cover. On the inside top of
the cover is fastened a piece of "wall board," 13 3-4 by 17 1-2
inches.
This "wall board" is between 1-4 and 3-8 of an inch
thick.
The cleat on which. the cover rests is rabited so as to
leave a 3-8 inch space all raound between the hivebody and
cover, and over the edges of the hivebody and above the frames.
The cover, inside measure, for a hivebody 16 inches wide is 5 1-8
by 16 3-4 by 20 3-4 inches.
boards, are used.

and cracks are filled with hot rosin or pitch and

the inside of the hivebody and cover is given three coats of
All joints

varnish'.

The cross

section of the Constructive Hive given here

shows

at a glance the consrtuction of the cover and the way it is

supported on the hive. Note how similar in principle is this
cover to the inverted pan that is set in the garden. and which
has dew deposited on the inside surface in the morning.

The bees seem to regard this cover as the final word on

inside finish, and they are the ones whose approval we must look
for.
Never have I found one attempt to intrefere on their part.
The cover in the fall is just as free from propolis as it was the
day it was given to them.
This cover was built as the result of conclusions arrived at
from a study of condensation of moisture. The only object when
designing it was to make the hive a condenser that would ileave
the condensed water where the bees could use it, but its good
points do not stop at that one thing, as I have observed after its
use for some time. These good points are as follows

CONSTRUCTIVE BEEKEEPING

34

CROSS SECTION OF THE CONSTRUCTIVE HIVE

1.

Good condenser.

2.

Wind

3.

When

once on a
not misplace it.

4.

Bees are more gentle to handle.

5.

No

6.

When

does not blow

it off.

bump

bees are crushed

the cover

again, the hive

is
is

or jar

from person or object

when putting on the

removed

in cold

cover.

weather and put on

just as comfortable as

the cover was taken

does"

it

was before

off.

In regard t othe bees being more gentle to handle, it must be

stated that the bees are so gentle as to make this point very no-

where Seal-Tight covers are used. This must be accounted for by the reasoning that the bees are contented, and in
our not having to destroy their gluing when removing the cover.
They are relieved of all work for the prevention of upward ventilation, and the old guers, who are so belligerent are not there
ticeable,

when the cover

is

taken

off.

CONSTRUCTIVE BEEKEEPING

35

WINTERING
So much has been written on wintering bees that it is not
necessary to try the reader's patience by restating, what has al-^
ready been proven of the conditions that give best results.
Just an enumeration
Outdoor Wintering:
Strong in your bees. Sufficient honey of good quality. No
disturbance. Entrance and hive in proportion to the number of
bees.
Hive.
Sufficient insulation. Sealed covers.
Absorbent
cushions

Inside Wintering

Strong in young bees. Sufficient honey of good quality. No

disturbance. Large entrance. Ventilation of room good. Temperature of room 57 degrees.
Poor wintering is due to disturbance. Disturbance can be dia.

gramed as

follows:

Jaring.

Light.

High: Disturbance.
57 deg. F. Comfortable.
:

Noise.

Low: Disturbance.

>

Poor honey.

Temperature of

air

surrounding the hive.

>>

High: Disturbance.

Xfl

Humidity of

air

surrounding the hive.

70 to

80% Comfortable.

Low

Disturbance.

so constructed that the temperature of its body

can be reduced to 57 degrees.* This reduction of body-temperature the bee does not control, but it is the result of reduced

The bee

is

temperature of the air surrounding the bee. The tmperature of

the bodyof the bee can be raised in two ways first, b# the temperature of the air surrounding it second, by a power inherrent
The bee cannot of his own volition lower his temin the bee.
perature below that of the surrounding air, hence, to attain that
;

*U.

S.

Farmers

Bulletin, 695.

CONSTRUCTIVE BEEKEEPING

36

condition of body that gives winter's quiet and contentment,

it

depends wholly upon the temperature of the air surrounding

it.

This

minimum body-temperautre has been found

When

degrees.

to be 57

the temperature of the air surrounding the bee

below this point energy is used by the bee to keep

ature up to this safe minimum
is

its

temper-

his

The instinct of the bee leads it to do things, not wholly for

own individual comfort, but for the good of the colony. For

this reason

we

find the bees clustered

when the temperature of

The temperature of the

the hive air goes below 57 degrees.

cluster may be raised at the center to 90 degrees, the ones at
the outside of the cluster are giving their bodies for isolation of
the cluster. It is not known if a temperature down to freezing
injures these exposed bees. Bees have been revived after exposure, for some time to a very low temperature.

keep in mind this relation of temperature

to the bees, the effect of humidity of the air on a colony of bees
will be better understood. It is evident to every person wintering
bees that humidity plays an important part in success or failure.
-Temperature and humidity are so related to each other that temperature controls the absolute humidity of the air at saturation,
If the reader will

as the following tabulation shows

Vapor wt. per Cu

Temperature

Ft.

at saturation.

Grains.
0.54

10

0.84

20...

1.30

30
40

1.97

2.86

50

4.09

60
70
80
90
100

5.75
7.99

10.95

14.81
.

19.79

CONSTRUCTIVE BEEKEEPING

Where we

find a colony with diarrhea

37

we

find even the

frames and combs damp. This is the condition of most colonies

that are dead or very weak in spring. Honey has an absorbing
power for water and in a moisture-laden air will absorb great
quantities of it. When honey gets thin and watery it is not good
feed for bees, and with such a diet the system soon clogs, and
we are all familiar with the results.

We

air. Most
One day in

naturally ask the cause of this moisture-laden

beekeepers give respiration of the bees as the cause.

took a Seal-Tight cover from the hive and held it so that

the drops of water that were condensed on its inside surface could
run down to a corner of the cover. Then I poured out a little

the

fall I

What

more than two ounces of water.

yet remained on the

cover I estimated to be one ounce. Three ounces of water condensed on the cover. No estimate was made of the amount on
the hive-walls. Did the bees breathe out that much water the
previous night?

One

of the axioms of physics

produced from nothing.

is

that something cannot be

If bees are confined in

winter quarters

120 days and they consume 30 pounds of honey, of which 1-5

water,

making the consumption

of 6 pounds of water during the

winter, or 1 1-4 of an ounce for one day.

all

the

is

the water that they eat, this

Could they breathe out

amount

falls

away

amount that condenses on a Seal-Tight cover

short of

in a single-

wall hive on a cool night.

OUTDOOR WINTERING
The ordinary beekeeper cannot keep

his bees at a

uniform

temperature; neither can he control the humidity of the

air.

So his bees have a fluctuating temperature to overcome and consequently a changing humidity.

This changing humidity

is

the

one great unseen cause of disturbance in bees.

clear understanding of the laws of meteorology that relate

CONSTRUCTIVE BEEKEEPING

38

to moisture in the air, will be necessary to

comprehend wher>e

water vapor comes from. The amount of water vapor in the

atmosphere is ascertained by using two tested thermometers.
One, called the dry bulb, is exposed and the temperature .noted.
The other one has a cloth covering the bulb. This cloth is moistened and the thermometer whirled in the air for a short time,
and the temperature noted. Then by subtracting the temperature of the wet bulb from that of the dry bulb, we have a basis for
computing the dewpoint, and from this the relative humidity.
Knowing the tmeperature of the dewpoint and the amount of
water vapor that saturates the air at that temperature, we have
the absolute humidity. Divide the absolute humidity of the dewpoint by the absolute humidity of the dry bulb temperature and
you have the relative humidity.
this

can contain water in

excess of that which saturates it at its temperature, but this
excess water is held in the air in globules of water and is known
as fog or clouds. The excess water has given up all its gaseous
properties and is not subject to the same laws as the water vapor
cf the air.

Air can be supersaturated; that

The gaseous vapor

of the air

in regard to its expansion

known

is

is it

controlled

by the same laws,

and contraction as air.

which the air is rairified,

It is well

opened,
that if a chamber, in
the air rushes in from the outside until the outside and inside
air have the same density.

Water vapor does not rush

into a hive,

is

where the hive

air is

and a small opening is maintained, but is slowly

forced in until its tention at hive temperature equals the tention
of the outside vapor at outside temperature. Because of this slow
^movement of water vapor, when its tention inside the hive is
greater than on the outside it condenses on the inner walls, or is
transformed into fog, which then looses the expansive power of
a gas and is retained in the hive.
relatively dry

Disturbance inside the hive which causes the bees to raise

the temperature of the hive air, with its then greater capacity
for moisture, or a fall of temperature or raise of relative hu-

CONSTRUCTIVE BEEKEEPING

39

midity outside, give an unequal vapor tention and cause vapor to

pass from the outside into the hive.

When
which

the hive air

is

some of its moisture

To illustrate assume a hive tem-

cooling

it

loses

condensed in the hive.

perature of 57 degrees and an absolute humidity of four grains,
which temperature is raised to 70 degrees, and still 4 grains of
is

moisture, to equalize the tention of the vapor, inside and outside,

some moisture is slowly forced through the opening; let us say
until this 70 degree air holds 6 grains.
to 57 degrees

water

When

this air

is

reduced

and an absolute humidity of 4 grains, two grains of

is left in

the hive after this disturbance.

Suppose the hive is not insulated (no thickness of insolation

is too much in any locality whose temperature falls below 50 degrees) and the outside temperature drops to 32 degrees, the hive
temperature drops from 57 degrees, humidity 4 grains, to 40
dgrees at 40 degrees air is saturated with 2.86 grains. In this
case about 1 1-2 grains of water is left in the hive.
;

Let us pass to the next cause, the change of the humidity of

the outside air. Assume a maximum temperature of 40 degrees,
a relative humidity of 84 degrees and an absolute humidity of
about 2.30 grains the hive air at 50 degrees, a relative humidity
of 74 per cent and an absolute humidity of 3 grains. To; equalize
the tension of the vapor inside and outside the hive a constant
movement of vapor into the hive is taking place, which when
it is equal to the humidity that the condensing surface of the hive
can maintain, is being constantly condensed on the inner surface
of the hive. Consider the amount of vapor that is constantly
passing into the hive on days when the relative humidity is 96
per cent. There are many days in the more southerly states
when a 100 per cent relative humidity obtains.
:

Because of the small amount of moisture with which a zero

atmosphere is saturated (0.54 grains) bees in the north have
less moisture to contend with than in the south, where the temperature ranges from 32 degrees up to 60 and 70 degrees. In
the latter locality absolute humidity of 32 degree air at saturation

is

2 grains

at 60 degrees

it is

5.76 grains.

In the colder

lo-

CONSTRUCTIVE BEEKEEPING

40

with a temperature of zero or lower for weeks at a time,

insulation is necessary to protect the bees from the cold, and in
spring and fall to protect them from excess of moisture. In localities where the cold is not so severe but that the bees can beat
back what little cold comes in at the entrance, insulation is necessary to keep the hive dry. In the north we insulate to keep the
hive warm and dry. In the south you should insulate to keep

calities,

the hive dry.

The question naturally

How

arises as to

how

insulation keeps the

keeps the hive warm is obvious. Because atmospheric vapor and temperature are so correlated they must be
considered together. Heat is communicated in three ways: by
conduction, when it travels from partical to partical in the substance heated by convection, when the particals of the substance
heated move away from the sourre of heat; by radiation, when
heat travels through space in all directions from the heated subhive dry.

it

stance.

Insulation has to do with heat communicated

by conduction.
A substance that is a poor conductor is a good insulator. The
escape of heat from a substance or space depends on the amount
and quality of insulation surrounding the substance or space.
The fireless cooker is a good example of what insulation does.
The wood of which a hive is made is the insulation that surrounds the hive air. Add to this insulation a uniform thickness
of leaves, sawdust, chaff or any other insulator and you make
it harder for the heat to pass out of the hive by conduction.
Hence a well insulated hive has a temperature more nearly uniform than a single wall one.
The temperature of a hive could easily be kept uniform if the
bees did not have to have air. An opening must be left for ventilation, and because of this heat is passing out of the hive by convection. Not much heat passes through this opening by radiation or conduction, as air absorbs heat slowly and does not readily
part with it. The escape of heat where the opening is not too
large, is not great and the radiation and convection of heat from
the bees will balance that, where outside temperature is not very
low.
Where they have both opening and single walled hives

CONSTRUCTIVE BEEKEEPING

41

(poor insulation) to contend with, they exert energy, and the

consequent consumption of stores, to supply the loss.

The more insulation and the greater the number of bees in

the hive, the more the temperature of the hive air lags behind as
the outside temperature changes. The hive vapor under these
conditions moves out slowly and does not saturate the hive air
r

When

a colony of bees cluster they create for themselves a

hive within a hive.

The

insulation of the cluster hive

is

the

bodies of the bees on the outside of the cluster, and the colder

the hive air the better they

make

this insulation.

Let us now indulge in a little speculation. It is an established fact that the heat of the inside of the cluster increases as
the hive temperature falls and vice versa. The honey stores are
mostly outside of the cluster and exposed to the vapor of the
hive. We know that the bees have ways of controling the vapor
of the hive in summer. May it not be possible that the rise in
temperature of the cluster is for the purpose of increasing the lag
This may mean a great deal to them by proin temperature?
tecting their honey

from moisture.

ABSORBENT CUSHIONS
As understood by beekeepers any porous material

placed be-

tween the cover and frames for insulation is an absorbent cushion. 'Claim is made that moisture escapes through this cushion.
Sometimes the moisture has tried to escape this way and in the
spring the cushion is wet. Sometimes the cushion does not fit
snug against the super and an opening is left which gives upward
ventilation. Moisture here travels in the path of least resistance
and posses off through the largest opening it can find. If a close
examination is made in the winter frost will be found where the
moisture is passing out and the cushion found dry. Sometimes
the cushions are found dry where the burlap is laid across the
top of the hive and the super set on this and filled with padking.
If this burlap is examined a great deal of propolis is found on it,
put there by the bees to prevent upward ventilation. Sometimes
this cushion is found dry because the inside of the hive is well

CONSTRUCTIVE BEEKEEiPING

42

varnished with propolis, the insulation

keep the hive air at a proper humdty.

The temperature of an nsulated

is

wall,

good, which conditions

which has an unequal

temperature on
wall be influenced by the distance that these points are from
the surface. If the outside temperature is 10 below zero the
first quarter of an inch on the outside part of this insulation
will be about 10 below zero. The inside surface would be about
hive temperature. Unless the laws of nature are bent or broken,
water vapor would not travel far in this material, under these
conditions, without being condensed.
its

opposite sides, will at the points within this

In winter as well as summer, the big part that a well var-

nished hive and the consequent condensation play can be seen.

Most beekeepers winter their bees in hives used a year or more.
These hives give results in proportion to the way they are varnished with propolis and sealed at the top. When all hives are
well varnished inside, a seal-tight cover provided, and other necessary things pertaining to good wintering, such as bees, food,
sheltered location, insulation and a clear entrance, bee conservation will

have advanced.

INDOOR WINTERING
Indoor wintering differs from outdoor wintering in that
the repository where the hives are stored is the regulator of the
temperature and moisture, instead of each individual hive. A
good cellar or other repository where a nearly uniform temperature of 50 to 57 degrees is maintained, and well ventilated, is an
ideal place to winter bees.

When

setting the hives in the cellar

remove the bottom board

from each hive then forget that the bees are in individual hives,
and think of your cellar as one big complex hive. About the only
;

a convenient
place to hang the frames. If the temperature and ventilation are
good, and the cellar dark, the bees will wniter as well if the
frames are taken out of the hive and hung on a rack, and propuse there

is

erly spaced.

for a hive in the cellar

is

that

it is

CONSTRUCTIVE BEEKEEPING

43

Small entrances are the primary cause of more dead bees

than anything else. Condensation takes place in a hive with a
small entrance for the same reason as given in outdoor wintering; a change of hive temperature caused by some disturbance.
The botton board must be left off to eliminate this moisture trouble.
This gives an equal temperature to hive walls and hive air,
and makes condensation on the hive walls impossible. If a colony
of bees give off much moisture in respiration, and there is no
doubt that they give off some, it is easily diffused through th'e
air by means of the large opening at the bottom.
Let us remember that what we are trying to prevent is excess of moisture in the hive air, and that we control it by our
control of the temperature of the repository. Temperature and
its relation to moisture is the keystone to successful wintering.

CONCLUSION
When we compare

evaporation by the aid of ventilation with

that which takes place aided by condensation, and give this an
application of the laws of heat, with its three ways of commu-

and radiation, the tension of

vapors and the stillness, dryness and density of the atmosphere,
our conclusion must be that condensation is so uniform in its
nication; conduction, convection
;

results, that

number

it

elimniates everything ascribed to locality, but the

of flowers and the weather conditions that affect the

flight of bees

and the flow of nectar.

All other conditions, by^

the aid of condensation, can be controled by the beekeeper.

Ventilation and shade each

make more room in the hive, but

So we must add to the

not with uniformity under all conditions.

treatments we give the bees, a well varnished inner surface to

the hive, and a cover that, at no time, permits of upward ventilation.
Then the bees will be able to keep the nectar out of the
way of a queen, whose egg-laying capacity is increasing daily.
Room, and the procedure whereby the bees automatically
make more room as they need it, is the single thing that we have
io consider in urge prevention.

*:

-\

'iJ+w&Bmim*