THE INFLUENCE OF STORED POLLEN AND OF COLONY SIZE ON THE BROOD REARING OF HONEYBEES

Four hundred and thirty records of the numbers of bees in honeybee colonies and of the amounts of brood and pollen present have been kept during various months of the years 1945-53, and the data have been used to calculate total and partial regression coefficients showing the influence of stored pollen and of colony size on brood rearing throughout the year. It was found that pollen storage and colony size were correlated but that, even allowing for this, colony size and pollen both independently influenced brood rearing. The annual distribution of the total regression coefficients of brood on pollen was somewhat similar to the brood curve itself, rising from a minimum in October and November to a maximum in midsummer, while the partial regression coefficients showed less clearly marked but similar features. Both total and partial regression coefficients showing the influence of colony size on the amount of brood reared were also at a minimum in October and November, but reached their peaks in May. The quantities of brood present in these colonies at Aberdeen, Scotland, followed a pattern similar to that given by Nolan for colonies near Washington, D.C.