848 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Oct. 15 



Our Symposium on Shook or Brushed 

 Swarms, 



A Shook Swarm Not Materially Different from a 

 Natural One, and Avoids the Demoralization of 

 the Whole Yard ; Necessary to Smoke the Bees 

 Before Shaking; Under what Conditions Bees 

 will Build Worker Combs; Valuable Suggestions 

 from a Practical Bee-master. 



BY H. R. BOARDMAN. 



When the bees are taken from a colony, 

 whether they are brushed or shaken off the 

 combs, or smoked or frig-htened out by 

 drumming- and jarring- the hive, or by what- 

 ever means they are gotten out, they become 

 artificial swarms, and it simpliiies matters 

 a good deal to call them such. If the colo- 

 ny from which they are taken has already 

 made preparations to swarm they are in no 

 way materially different from a natural 

 swarm, except, possibly, they may contain 

 a g-reater proportion of very young bees; 

 and I know of no good reason why both the 

 swarm and old colony may not be as normal 

 in condition as in natural swarms. 



While this method seems to be coming to 

 the front just now, it is no new thing — in 

 fact, it is quite old with me. I have prac- 

 ticed it to some extent for a good many 

 years — not on all my colonies, but onlj' on 

 those that were making preparations to 

 swarm, or some small out-apiary that I 

 could not well afford the time to watch. 

 When the apiary was large, and much 

 swarming expected, I have usually noted 

 those most likely to swarm. 



Then in the afternoon, when the yard 

 was quiet, and little or no swarming ex- 

 pected, I have anticipated their plans a lit- 

 tle by artificially swarming them, and in 

 this way avoided much annoyance, confu- 

 sion, and demoralization of all the bees in 

 the yard that a swarming-panic might cre- 

 ate. 



It is important that the bees should be 

 gathering honey and secreting wax in order 

 that their work of comb-building may be 

 begun at once in the new hive, unless feed- 

 ing is to be resorted to, in which case it is 

 better to give the colony at least one liberal 

 feed 24 hours before they are swarmed. 

 The colony to be swarmed should be strong 

 in bees and brood, and have a laying queen. 



Smoke the bees vigorously; turn the hive 

 a quarter around on to a stand just back of 

 the old one. Set in its place another hive 

 with a full set of empty frames with only 

 comb starters. Combs will be more perfect- 

 ly built if the frames are closely spaced. 



I use mine in an eight-frame hive; smoke 

 the bees again, give them time to load up 

 with honey ; open the hive, and find the 

 queen and put her into the new hive after 

 shaking a few bees in, then take out the 

 combs and shake the bees in front of the 

 hive and let them run in the same as in nat- 

 ural swarming. I prefer to shake the bees 

 off the combs — well, because it is the way 

 I am used to, and it is easier and quicker 

 for me to do it that way. It is true that a 

 little raw nectar will sprinkle out among 

 the bees sometimes when honey is coming 

 in rapidly; but I never regarded that as a 

 very serious thing. The bees would very 

 soon clean it up and use it to advantage. I 

 prefer to leave a few bees, especially if these 

 colonies are to be depended upon to raise 

 queen-cells. Then they may be shaken out 

 again, being careful to leave enough bees 

 to protect the hive against robbers. 



In order to get a strong working force I 

 have sometimes united the bees of two colo- 

 nies, shaking them together in one hive, 

 and also would unite the two old colonies 

 by tiering them up, one on the other, and 

 give them one of the old queens. 



It makes less exposure of the bees and 

 honey to drum or smoke the bees out direct- 

 ly into the hive in which they are wanted. 



Later in the season, when no honey was 

 being gathered, and the bees were disposed 

 to rob, I have often practiced this plan, 

 sometimes driving three or more swarms at 

 the same time. A little experience enabled 

 me to get the queen almost without failure. 

 Strong swarms with good prolific queens 

 are important factors in getting good work 

 in comb-building. Favorable weather and 

 a steady honey-flow are also important, but 

 this we can not control. 



A strong swarm with a good queen will 

 usually build worker comb so long as the 

 queen is able to keep well up with the comb- 

 builders, and until she returns to refill the 

 combs that are being vacated by the first- 

 hatching brood. At this time, if the combs 

 are not finished, and honey is coming in, 

 more or less drone comb will be likely to be 

 built for store combs. 



Bees under the swarming impulse are 

 disposed to build more or less drone comb; 

 but when the swarming impulse subsides, 

 the impulse to build drone comb also sub- 

 sides. In artificial swarms the desire to 

 swarm seems to be entirely satisfied, and 

 there is very little disposition to build drone 

 comb. 



The character of the comb-building de- 

 pends very much upon the queen, and 

 queens are variable. 



If I find brood in the sections I feel sure 

 it is my own fault in putting the supers on 

 too soon, or in stampeding the bees into the 

 supers by careless handling afterward. 

 The queen will not leave the brood-nest aft- 

 er she is well established in egg-laying un- 

 less some unusual disturbance has caused 

 her to do so. I have never found it neces- 

 sary to use perforated zinc excluders to pre- 

 vent the queen from going into the supers. 



