Abstract

Demuth (1919) states that there are four factors which combine to make up the honey crop that a bee-keeper hopes to get, namely, (1) a surplus population of adult bees ready for field work, (2) a pronounced storing instinct and a minimum of swarming impulse, both of which depend upon the race of bees handled, (3) a good pasturage and (4) suitable weather conditions which would not impediment flight of bees on the one hand, and which would on the other hand stimulate secretion of nectar in plants. Root (1929) adds that "some advances have been made within recent years in a study of climatic factors on a few plants, but there still remains much to be done, and bee-keeping will not be a safe business until far more is known about these effects". Ramakrishna Ayyar and Ramachandran (1934) observe that the most important factors which contribute to the general health and prosperity of the bees are "(1) availability in the vicinity of sufficient pasturage for gathering honey and pollen, (2) the climatic con- ditions prevailing and (3) the absence of enemies like the wax moth". They point out also that "we have hardly any previous records on these points with regard to South Indian conditions". The present investigation was undertaken to find out the relationship that exists between climatic conditions, chiefly temperature and relative humidity, and bee behaviour as indicated in the activity of the bees and the change of weight of a hive. Hambleton (1925) has studied in U. S. A. the effect of weather upon such changes in weight during the honey flow. The practical bee-keeper is concerned about the net gain per day per "colony which to him represents a surplus of honey available for extraction during the honey flow season. The importance of determining the various climatic conditions which influence his honey crop cannot, therefore, be over estimated.

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