FARRAR (1949) while giving evidence of brood soon after January 1 in a colony, presents the viewpoint that winter brood rearing can be brought about by added supplies of pollen, and that it is both normal and beneficial. From less informed sources, wider divergencies of opinion on the date of commencement of brood rearing could be quoted; and it seems desirable therefore to bring forward experimental evidence extensive enough to give an adequate picture of the real position.
... the quantity of brood in the months when bees are wintering drops to a minimum in October and November. In October only one in seven of the colonies examined had brood. In November the ratio had risen to one in four, and in December and January brood was present at half of the examinations. In February and March, twelve colonies out of every 13 had some brood.
WINTER BROOD AND POLLEN IN HONEYBEE COLONIES
by EdWard P. JEFFREE, B. Sc.
(Bee Besearch Department, North of Scotland College of Agriculture, Marlschal College, Aberdeen.)