March and April are often trying months for the bees, the sudden changes of temperature being very unfavourable to bee-life. Colonies that are not very strong may become so reduced in numbers that they “pull through” only with difficulty, and afterwards require the whole of the following season to regain their full strength, yielding neither honey nor swarms.
On the other hand, strong colonies, under favourable conditions, during the latter part of April and May, will increase so rapidly that, unless they are given plenty of room inside the hive in good time, they will make preparations for swarming, which the bee-keeper, who wishes to work for honey and not swarm, will find it difficult to check. The usual way to give the bees more room in the spring is by inserting a frame or foundation, or of empty comb in the centre of the brood-nest. If, however, the bees are not quite strong enough to take it, and a spell of cold weather follows, some of the brood may get chilled and this will be a worse disaster than an over-crowded hive.
The spring, then, is a period which calls for constant attention and vigilance on the part of the bee-keeper, who must not be satisfied, as many are, that all is going on right because the bees show activity on a warm day, but must be acquainted with their exact condition, so that prompt assistance may be given when it is required.
Having completed my sketch of the chief events in the bee-keeper’s calendar, it only remains to add a few details which may be of use or interest.
The subject of bee diseases is one that claims our attention. There is only one serious disease that bees are subject to; but that, unfortunately, is rather common. It is known as _foul brood_. It is caused by a micro-organism, which attacks the brood in the combs, causing it to putrefy and die. In its earlier stages, the presence of foul brood can only be detected by a careful examination of the brood combs, in which here and there a larva or two will be found to be decomposing into a coffee-coloured ropy mass, and some of the capped cells containing pupæ will have their cappings sunken and perforated. As the disease advances, much of the brood gets affected, and a foul smell issues from the entrance of the hive, which may often be perceived several yards away. The colony becomes rapidly weak and profitless, and in the end frequently perishes altogether.