The weight of the nests at my house was measured since 1997. As the nests became larger, the hives were exchanged. One after another the measurement was continued, even though the nests were sometimes changed due to some trouble.
From late autumn to spring, the stored honey decreased. In the early spring when the flowers had not yet bloomed, brood rearing was started, and the decrease in weight was sudden. When the flowers began to bloom, the weight increase was sudden as the bees had begun to collect honey. Swarming is seen at this time. Although the weight decreases temporarily by the swarming, it recovers almost immediately. At midsummer, since there are few blooming plants, and activity of a bee falls during the period of hot temperature, and the weight of nest decreases a little. When the autumn comes and the tall Goldenrod (Solidago sp.) begins to bloom, the weight suddenly increases. The gathering of honey from the tall Goldenrod is very important for the honeybee, as the graph shows. The arrow in the graph is the day when a swarm was seen.

　

Mr. T. D. Seeley had performed weight measurement of A.mellifera nests in the U.S. Mr. Seeley's　measurements and my measurements can be seen to compare. When compared, A.mellifera is seen to collect much honey for a short period of the time, while the Japanese honeybee collects honey for a long period of time. I think that this is not a difference of species, but is a difference of the environment in which they are living. For example, because the latitude of Connecticut in the U.S. is higher than that of Osaka Japan, the winter of Connecticut is more severe than that of Osaka. Generally A.mellifera collects much more honey per colony when compared with Japanese honeybees.

Weight change of the nest of A.mellifera (1985 Seeley)

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