338 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



June, 1918 



BEST SWARM CONTROL PLAN 



cA Re'view and Study of the T'lans 

 of Thirty Tears. Is There Such a 

 Thing as ''the T)emaree Plan ? " 



By lona Fowls 



OF all the 

 different 

 phases o f 

 beekeeping noth- 

 ing has had more 

 discussion and 

 experimentation 

 than swarm con- 

 trol. It there- 

 fore occurred to 



me that to study the bee literature of the 

 past 30 years, carefully picking out, corre- 

 lating, and comparing the most successful 

 plans of swarm control might perhaps be in- 

 structive and helpful. It is quite possible 

 that I was slightly prejudiced at the start. 

 At any rate, the result of this study is a firm 

 conviction that the plan we have been us- 

 ing for the past five years is as good a plan 

 as has yet been advanced for the prevention 

 or control of swarming in the production of 

 extracted honey in out-yards. 



The Best Plan for Out-yards. 

 This plan is: As soon as danger of swarm- 

 ing arises, every seven or eight days careful- 



Old hive of lii-ood with 

 all rapped queen-eels 

 torn down. 



Emfitii super of combs. 



Super. 



Super 



Queen excluder. 



1 comb with patch of 

 young larvae, queen and 

 few tees ; 9 framer; 

 diawn combs. 



Best extracted-honey plan of 

 swarm prevention or control 

 in out-yards to be applied 

 after advanced queen-(p?lLa 

 appear. Above loweir story 

 there should be at least three 

 shallow or two deep supers. 

 For swarm prevention, afte- 

 8 days removei queen-cells in 

 top story and leave brood to 

 hatch or give to weak colo- 

 nies. For swarm control 

 after 8 days move top story 

 to new stand, contract en- 

 trance and leave queen-cell 

 to hatch or introdiii-i' new 

 qlK en. 



ly examine the colonies, keejting them always 

 supplied with ])lenty of room, and destroying 

 whatever queen-cells are found, providing 



they contain on- 

 ly eggs or young 

 larvse. When 

 more advanced 

 cells are found, 

 place on the old 

 stand a hive of 

 drawn combs, 

 one of which con- 

 tains the queen, 

 a few bees, and a few young larvae. (If 

 no combs are available, most of the frames 

 may contain foundation; but there should 

 always be at least three drawn combs, and a 

 whole set, if possible.) Above this place the 

 queen-excluder; then two or three empty su- 

 pers; and at the very top the hive of brood, 

 tearing down only the capped queen-cells. 

 At the end of seven or eight days, if no in- 

 crease is desired, tear down all queen-cells 

 again. If increase is wanted, simply place 

 the upper story on a new stand and leave 

 them to raise their own queen, or introduce 

 a good queen or choice cell in a protector. 

 It is not even necessary to remove any 

 queen-cells; for when the new queen hatches, 

 either she or the bees will attend to that. 

 If one desires no increase, then the queen- 

 cells may be destroyed and the brood dis- 

 tributed to other colonies or left to increase 

 the original colony. That is the entire plan, 

 and it has for years been used by many of 

 the best beekeepers. 



Good Points in Above Plan. 



There are points of unusual merit in this 

 method. The conditions very closely re- 

 semble those of a natural swarm, the bees 

 of the old colony being mostly young and 

 hatching bees: and, being so far removed 

 from the new swarm below, they seem to 

 consider themselves queenless, and conse- 

 quently direct all their energies to the com- 

 pletion of splendid-looking cells. In the 

 lower story there are no nurse bees nor cell- 

 biiilders — only field bees; and since this new 

 colony is supplied with such an abundance 

 of room, both for the queen and for the stor- 

 ing of honey, they entirely give up all ideas 

 of swarming. Moreover, this plan keeps 

 the working force together for a longer 

 time; enables the bees in the upper story 

 to raise fine cells under the swarming im- 

 pulse, keeps the brood very warm until it is 

 all sealed and the greatest danger of chill- 

 ing is over, and makes it possible to leave an 

 apiary entirely alone for a week at a time 

 (luring the swarming season. 



Haziness in Regard to Demaree Plan. 



This plan is one often referred to as a 

 modification of the Demaree plan; and if 

 every plan in which brood is raised to an 

 upper story has the right to this name, then 

 almost every plan except swarming, dividing, 

 or dequeening should be so designated. 

 Eight in this connection we should like to 

 ask whether Dr. Miller, E. E. Eoot. or any 

 one else really knows what the Demaree 

 plan is. 



We noticed in Gleanings, page 854, 1917, 



