>Allen, are you saying, then, that brood rearing in the winter is reliant more upon humidity than whether or not it is after the Winter Solstice

I don't know if the solstice has much to do with it.  My observations have shown that if there is a broodless period around here, it is in October/November/December, but there is often a patch of brood in December.  If I had to look for broodless hives, I would choose November, (and that is our chance to use oxalic drizzle).

The fall brood shutdown IMO is due to lack forage and incoming stimulants like nectar and pollen.  At that time, the flying hours are reduced and the bees are young and not irritated by accumulated wastes, so they slow right down. 

Later on they are getting down to the pollen stores under the honey and they are irritated a bit by accumulated feces.  There are sure to be other factors, too that make them resume activity.

Henry did his study up mear the Arctic Circle where the air is very dry all winter, so I doubt it would apply where there is rain in December and high humidity.  Where he was, though, low humidity was the factor which limited winter brood and relieveing that condition unleashed high levels of brood rearing.

My friends who winter indoors say that in late winter when snow melts, if some water runs under the door into the dark cool wintering room, that the bees sense the humidity and go crazy.  

If that happens, the bees and the room suddenly heat up to where it takes special effort to keep them cooled down and in their hives.

             ***********************************************
The BEE-L mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned
LISTSERV(R) list management software.  For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html

Access BEE-L directly at:
http://community.lsoft.com/scripts/wa-LSOFTDONATIONS.exe?A0=BEE-L