99 Farmers’ Bulletin 1198. 
not swarm during the honey-flow unless it is of sufficient duration 
for the bees to fill their hives again with brood and to become crowded 
with young bees before its close. Swarming is not difficult to control 
under these circumstances unless the bees are gathering a little more 
than a living at the time of the swarming season, and usually the 
addition of an abundance of room in the form of empty combs with 
the brood extending through two or more stories of the hive will | 
practically prevent swarming under these conditions. 
When swarming occurs six weeks or more previous to the begin- 
ning of the main honey-flow, both the parent colony and the swarm 
should be given every advantage to enable them to build up again to 
full strength, so that both may gather a full crop. In such a locality, 
if natural swarming is permitted, all afterswarming should be pre- 
vented (p.25). It is better, however, to divide the colonies, some time 
before they have reached their maximum in spring brood-rearing, into 
two parts, supplying the queenless portion with a young queen, thus 
postponing the maximum egg-laying on the part of the old queen 
until later. This division prevents swarming during the normal 
swarming season, and, if adequate stores are supplied, should result 
later in two colonies in splendid condition for the honey-flow. Colo- 
nies should not be divided previous to the honey-flow, however, unless 
this can be done at least five or six weeks before the beginning of the 
main honey-flow, for this much time is needed for them to build 
up to full strength. 
Another plan for controlling swarming so long previous to the 
main honey-flow is that of keeping the colonies below swarming 
strength by removing some of the bees, to be sold as package bees, 
where the beekeeper is so located that he can sell them profitably and 
does ot desire to make further increase. 
Some beekeepers who are located where the honey-flow occurs some 
time after the swarming season are able to move their colonies to other 
locations which furnish a honey-flow at this time, thus bringing the 
honey-flow and the swarming season together. 
(2) When the honey-flow occurs during the swarming season, 
as in the clover region of the Northern States, the tendency to swarm 
is usually strong, while the main honey-flow is usually short. Under 
these conditions the colonies should not be permitted to divide their 
working forces by swarming, but most of the bees should be massed 
during the honey-flow, either in the swarm or in the parent colony. 
In regions where the swarming season and the honey-flow coincide, 
swarming is more difficult to control, especially if the field bees are 
confined to their hives a part of the time during the day by showers 
or by erratic yielding of nectar (p. 18), and the greatest precaution 
as to preventive measures is necessary. Remedial measures ap- 
plicable here are discussed later in this bulletin. 
