4 Farmers’ Bulletin 1198. 
of the issuing of the swarm depends to some extent upon the weather, 
issuing sometimes being postponed by inclement weather and some- 
times, especially in the case of Italian bees, being hastened by ex- 
tremely hot weather. 
Tn nature there is a marked slowing down in work of the colony 
after the queencells have been started preparatory to swarming, espe- 
cially during the last 
few days previous to 
the issuing of the 
swarm, when the 
field workers in in- 
creasing numbers re- 
main in the hive in- 
stead of working in 
the fields. In some 
cases in nature the 
instinct to gather 
nectar is almost en- 
tirely subordinated 
for several days at 
this time, the swarm- 
ing instinct appar- 
ently becoming dom- 
inant. In well-man- 
aged colonies this is 
not universally true. 
When the swarm 
issues, a varying pro- 
portion of the adult 
bees, together with 
the old queen, fly 
from the hive, leay- 
ing in the original 
hive a greatly re- 
duced number of 
adult worker bees, a 
large number of unemerged young bees, and several unemerged young 
queens. Some of the drones accompany the swarm, but many of them 
remain in the hive. After circling in the air the swarming bees form 
a dense cluster (fig. 1) on some convenient support, and after an in- 
terval they break the cluster and fly to a chosen abode for the inaugu- 
ration of a new colony. After establishing themselves in a new home 
the bees begin almost immediately to build comb, the queen begins to 
lay eggs, and three weeks later young bees begin to emerge from 
the cells. 
Fic, 1.—Swarm clusiered. 
