HYMENOPTERA. 



337 



hive. Now is the moment to take possession of the swarm in a hive 

 prepared beforehand to receive it. If delayed too long, the troop 

 flies off, and establishes itself in some natural cavity, as the hollow of 

 a tree, &c. The bees then return to their wild state. 



Under a warm climate, where flowers abound, the hives may cast 

 The first swarm, however, is always the 



several times in succession. 



Fig. 322.— Cluster of Bees hanging to a branch. 



,,g Dest. It is more numerous, and has before it more time to provision 

 J fj. itself If the weather remains favourable, it is not rare to see it send 

 x^ out a swarm itself three weeks after leaving the old hive. The old 

 queen then leads the emigration of the second swarm, abandoning 

 ^.j.j the colony she had lately founded. If the original hive sends forth 

 "'.^ several swarms, the interval between the first and the second is from 

 j:i; seven to ten days ; the third and the fourth follow at shorter intervals. 

 ■ ^ Bat these late casts have rarely vitality enough to exist long. 



A swarm never returns to a hive it has once left It is surprising 



