Swarm Control. 91 
inclined to swarm the use of young queens can not be depended upon 
except under certain conditions. If a young queen is introduced into 
a colony previous to the swarming season after a period of queenless- 
ness, so that there is a period of 10 days during which no eggs are 
laid, there is usually no attempt to swarm again during the same sea- 
son, especially if this interval of no egg-laying occurs late enough 
so that the young queen is not able to reach her maximum of egg- 
laying before the close of the honey-flow. If, however, the old queen 
is removed from a colony previous to the swarming season and a 
young laying queen is introduced at once without an interval of no 
egg-laying, the tendency to swarm may be reduced little, if any. The 
condition of the colony brought about by a period of queenlessness is 
apparently a greater factor in reducing the tendency to swarm than 
the age of the queen, for if the old queen is removed or caged within 
the hive for 10 days and then reintroduced, no queencells being per- 
mitted to mature in the meantime, the bees give up swarming fre- 
quently for the remainder of the season. Colonies which have both 
a young queen and the interval of queenlessness usually may be con- 
sidered safe from swarming again the same season, especially in the 
North. Such colonies are comparable to the parent colony in nature. 
VARIATION IN TIME OF SWARMING SEASON IN RELATION TO THE 
HONEY-FLOW. 
Since the time of the swarming season is apparently determined 
largely by the great expansion of spring brood-rearing, it does not 
necessarily coincide with the main honey-flow of the season, although 
the honey-flow may greatly modify the tendency to swarm (p. 14). 
The time of the swarming season with reference to the time of the 
main honey-flow is a factor of importance in choosing the proper 
management of colonies that swarm or prepare to swarm. 
(1) In some localities, particularly in some of the Southern States, 
the main honey-flow may not occur until six or eight weeks after the 
swarming season. The colonies may reach their maximum strength 
during the spring brood-rearing period and swarming may be stimu- 
lated by a light honey-flow. There may be considerable swarming 
even when the colonies are securing no more than a living from the 
fields, and sometimes bees may swarm even when it is necessary to 
feed the newly hived swarms to prevent starvation. If there is a 
complete dearth of nectar at this time, however, the bees usually give 
up swarming and greatly reduce their brood-rearing activities. Such 
colonies after having reached their maximum strength in the spring 
are not inclined to rear brood extensively again until the honey-flow 
begins. Under these conditions the colonies arrive at the beginning 
of the honey-flow with a large proportion of old bees and usually do 
