SWARMING. 



439 



SWARMING. 



ASPINWALL HIVE DISSECTED, SHOWING 13UUOD-FRAMES AND SLATTED DIVIDEKS 



instead of having tlie frames stand on the 

 bottom-board or hang in rabbets on the end- 

 boards they hang on a pair of cross-arms 

 bolted to a frame. The outside panel is 

 crowded tightly against the set of frames by 

 means of a wedge between the panel and 

 a rod passing tlu'ough opposite holes as 

 shown. 



A bee-space between the frames and su- 

 per is formed by laying strips of wood i inch 

 thick upon the top of the frames. The 

 comb honey super employs precisely the 

 same principle of slatted dividers between 

 the sections, and, in general, is constructed 

 on the same general lines as the brood- 

 chamber. 



These dividers are used only during the 

 swarming or honey-producing season. At 

 the end of that time they are removed. In 

 cool or cold weather they would be a posi- 

 tive detriment. 



The remarkable claim is made that bees 

 never cluster out in front of a hive having 

 these slatted dividers, no matter how pow- 

 erful the colony — at least that has been the 

 experience of those who have tested it. 



DECOY HIVES. 



Many bee-keepers have followed out the 

 idea given on page 417 (Do bees choose a lo- 

 cation before swarming?), by locating hives 

 in the forests, in the trees, and such hives 

 have in many cases been quickly accepted 

 and appropriated. We are indebted to the 

 late Mr. John 11. Martin for first suggesting 

 to us the idea. Hives left standing on the 

 ground in the apiary have many times been 

 selected by swarms, and, if correct, the bees, 

 in such cases, often come out of the parent 

 colony, and go directly to these hives with- 

 out clustering at all. 



One of our bee-keepers in California, by 

 trading and otherwise, had secured over 

 a dozen empty hives. Having no immedi- 

 ate use for them he packed them up in a 

 couple of tiers, about six high each. Each 

 hive contained four or five combs, spaced so 

 as to prevent the ravages of the moth-mil- 

 ler. One day, by accident he discovered 

 some bees going into one of these empty 

 hives. On examination he found that a 

 swarm of bees had taken possession. His 

 curiosity being now aroused, he examined 



