210 The Ottawa Naturalist. [February 



the only bees left in the hive after the swarm has issued are the 

 very young ones, still silvery-grey and evidently hatched within 

 a few hours. If the hive is examined an hour or two later a 

 number of older bees will be found in it, no doubt those that 

 were (?ut in the field when the swarm issued. These bees look 

 after and feed the thousands of larvde from one to six days 

 old and are assisted in this work by the hundreds of young bees 

 which are hatching every hour. First swarms accompanied 

 by the old queen usually leave the hive between the hours of 

 10 a.m. and 3.30 p.m., seldom earlier or later. Second and 

 after swarms are much more uncertain in their habits, and 

 it may almost be said of them that they will leave the hive 

 during any hour when the sun is shining. First swarms always 

 cluster for a time within a reasonable distance of the hive 

 which they have left, but second swarms have frequently been 

 known to go straight away for miles without a preliminary 

 halt. 



The first outside indication of a swarm will be an unusual 

 number of bees about the entrance of the hive ; not hanging in 

 the listless idle manner they do for several days previously, 

 but all excitement, running in and out of the entrance, frying a 

 short distance onlv to return until at last the exodus begins in 

 real earnest, and a wonderful sight it is to see those thousands 

 and tens of thousands of insects all filled with the same desire 

 to leave in the utmost haste their well provided home for one 

 which, in the ordinary course of nature is probably as yet 

 unfound and certainly devoid of the necessities of bee life. It 

 is quite commonlv supposed that the queen leads out the 

 swarm; this idea is entirelv erroneous, as she seldom appears 

 until the swarm has partly issued and often she is amongst the 

 last to leave the hive. As to how or when the new home of a 

 swarm, possibly in a hollow tree, is selected, must always 

 remain a matter of doubt, but it is probable that a suitable 

 place is found bv some of the worker bees during the time the 

 swarm is hanging on the bough of some tree, and that these 

 bees return and lead the wav to their future abode. In about 

 nine days after the first swarm has issued a second swarm from 

 th.e same hive may be expected if the weather is favorable and 

 the honey flow abundant. This second swarm will be ac- 

 companied by a young or virgin queen, and on the seventh or 

 eighth day if a swarm is going to issue, she can be distinctly 

 heard giving the swarming note which is called "piping," and 

 which resembles the word "zeep" repeated several times in 

 rapid succession at intervals of a few minutes. Her piping 

 will be answered by other young queens which are ready to 

 leave the cells at anv time, but which are either afraid to do so, 



