1887 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



651 



SWARMING AND SWARM-CATCHERS. 



VALUAULE SUGGESTIONS FROM W. F. CLARKE. 



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I OR one, I have settled down to the beliel' that 

 ) swarming: is to bo accepted as one of the un- 

 changeable conditions of bee-life. In com- 

 mon with many others, I hailed f lie plan of 

 division sometimes called " artificial swarm- 

 and practiced it long: enoug'h to become con- 

 vinced that it was indeed artificial and abnormal. 1 

 never had a stock of bees that was thus started on 

 an independent career, whose energ-y, industry, and 

 efficiency would begin to compare wilh those quali- 

 ties as displayed by a natural swarm. I have also 

 tried clipping the queen's wing, and abandoned it 

 for several reasons. First and foremost, it is a 

 fraud on the bees. Nature is constructed on hon- 

 est principles, and 1 believe that even a stock of 

 bees resents deception and imposture. They start 

 for that grand gala-time which Nature provides 

 them once a year; and instead of having a holiday 

 excursion they are obliged to turn back in dire 

 confusion and disappointment. It is their annual 

 celebration of independence; and man, by wicked 

 artifices, prevents their enjoyment of it. They feel 

 and act as if balked, which they are, and no mis- 

 take. Again, dissatisfaction springs up in the hive. 

 They become disloyal toward their queen. They 

 don't want a leader who can't lead. Something is 

 the matter with the queen. They cabal, scheme, 

 and finally conclude to supersede the reigning mon- 

 arch. I have no doubt many of our queen-troubles 

 have arisen from clipping and otherwise disturbing 

 the queen. Furthermore, it is very difficult forme 



gone outside my own lot of about an acre in extent, 

 to find a clustering-place, except once. 



When things are handy foi- cutting off the bough 

 (m which the cluster hangs, that is a nice way of 

 getting possession of your swarm. Dut it has its 

 objections. A properly trimmed Norway spruce is 

 disfigured by the removal of an important bough, 

 and the symmetry of an a))ple-tree is spoiled Ijy cut- 

 ting ott' here and there a large branch. It is re- 

 markable what a tendency there is in swarms to 

 pick out certain trees, and they soon get cut out of 

 all shape by sawing off limbs. Besides this, it is not 

 easy to saw off a limb without jarring it; and some- 

 times at the critical moment of separation between 

 bough and trunk thei-e is a serious jar, and, lo! 

 half the cluster parts company with the rest; or 

 the whole swarm becomes disorganized, and, quick 

 as wink, is " over the woods and far away." If you 

 get your bough and cluster safely to the new hive, 

 you are not beyond the reach of mishap. The 

 queen may rise in the air again instead of going 

 into the hive, and then it is " love's labor lost." 



Various devices have been suggested for taking 

 swarms, most of which I have tried and found 

 wanting in some particular or other. I can not 

 discuss them in detail here, for I find that this arti- 

 cle is getting lengthy, and the special object of it 

 is not yet reached. I want to describe and illus- 

 trate a very simple method of taking swai-ms, which 

 I have evolved during the season just passed, and 

 found more satisfactory than any other with which 

 I have experimented. The idea of it was evolved 

 from an apparatus figured in the A B C of Bee Cul- 

 ture, page 336, as follows: 



FIG. 1. A SWARM-CATCHER. 



to handle a queen without hurting her. I have not 

 that delicacy of touch, nor that control of my 

 nerves, which is necessary for handling such soft- 

 bodied little creatures. I think real injury often 

 done to queens in the process of clipping impairs 

 their efficiency, and leads to their being superseded. 

 I forbear discussing other preventives of swarm- 

 ing, lest this article should become too long. 



Taking it for granted that we are going to let our 

 bees swarm within due limits, we ought to arrange 

 accordingly. First, we want a spacious bee-yard, 

 or, rather, bee-garden, for I don't believe in a bee- 

 yard, like a door-yard, devoid of trees and shrub- 

 bery. An apiary should be located on a roomy 

 lot, and be environed by evei-greens and low- 

 growing deciduous trees. My experience has 

 been, that bees prefer Norway spruces and ap- 

 ple-trees to all others, for clustering on. In my lot 

 they have had a choice of maples, willows, moun- 

 tainash, chestnut, plum, cherry, pear, and various 

 other trees, together with lilac, syringas, and other 

 shrubs, also pines, balsams, and other evergreens; 

 and in over twenty years they have invariably 

 chosen Norway spruces or apple-trees to <-luster on. 

 I may add, that in all that time they have never 



The drawback to this device is its being horizon- 

 tal. You must climb a ladder, get even with the 

 cluster, and in such a fi-ee position that you can 

 readily operate the handle; for unless, as described 

 in the ABC, you instantly twist the bag so as to 

 confine the bees, a large portion of them will get 

 away, and, in all probability, along with them you 

 will lose the queen. This drawback is obviated by 

 the use of a wooden handle, as shown in Fig. '.I. 

 The construction of the swarm-catcher is also 

 shown, together with the manner in which it is 

 shoved under the swarm. The rod is made in 

 joints, the two lower joints being of stout bamboo, 

 and the upper one of tough ash. Fig. 'Z shows 

 the device with the lower joint removed, and which 

 I have so far found quite long enough for such 

 swarms as I have taken with it. As soon as the 

 swarm has dropped into the bag, slant the rod a 

 little, give it one twist, and the bees are all your 

 prisoners. Not a solitary one of them can escape, 

 and the bag lies against the rod snug and secure 

 (see Fig. 3), to await your convenience. If the 

 hive is not ((uite ready for the reception of the bees 

 they can wait a little while. The bag lieing made 

 of cheese-cloth, or some such porous material, thej- 



