1902 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



941 



swarm. To prevent swarming- I have re- 

 sorted to some pretty radical measures, 

 such as taking- away brood and leaving dry 

 or broodless combs; shaking the bees from 

 strong colonies into weak ones; unqueening- 

 and other plans, and sometimes hiving- 

 on starters. I say I have never had a 

 set rule to make forced swarms, for there 

 are rarely any two years alike, and some- 

 times swarming- can be controlled with but 

 littletrouble by some more simple procedure. 

 This year I had planned to make forced 

 swarms of a hundred or more colonies by tak- 

 ing away all their brood and honey, taking- 

 all combs and giving starters. I thought to 

 let them work as long as they would without 

 swarming ; but when they commenced 

 swarming-, make the change. Well, either 

 two or three swarms issued from about 125 

 colonies. That ended swarming, but I did 

 change the most of them to starters. 



Usually I have managed most of my stock 

 on movable combs to have fair control of 

 swarming without making- a complete 

 change, but I am constantly getting bees in 

 boxes, or in regular hives with crooked 

 combs, and worse off than if in plain boxes; 

 and these it has been my custom to drive and 

 hive as swarms, often putting two or three 

 of these forced swarms into one when they 

 were small, and thus it comes that I have 

 had quite a little experience along these 

 lines; yet I can not say I have made the 

 practice a regular system. 



The question has often been raised as to 

 whether these forced swarms work with the 

 same vigor as do natural ones — a question 

 that is perfectly proper. My reply is, that 

 forced swarms made without intelligence, 

 and in a haphazard way, will not work 

 with the same vigor as the natural swarm, 

 yet may be made to come very close to it. 

 Much depends on conditions. A swarm 

 made just at the beginning of a honey- flow, 

 when every bee is fresh and full of vim, 

 will, when they get to the fields and find 

 nectar, get down to business ; and, once 

 started, will put in their best licks. The 

 natural swarm has gone out of its own ac- 

 cord, and clustered, and the hiving does not 

 bring about any unnatural condition, and 

 they proceed to work. Make a forced swai m 

 from a colony in prime or good condition; 

 and, if hived comfortably and in a suitable 

 place to work, there is very little difference 

 from the natural way. Every natural 

 swarm loses time when it swarms, so does 

 the forced one. 



Admit that the force method will not be 

 attended with quite the same vigor, which 

 is true, yet this fact remains: That the mas- 

 ter controls the situation, and bring-s his 

 business to a system that can not be attain- 

 ed where swarming is allowed. It enables 

 the apiarist to plan his work and work to 

 the plan, and he can care for so much more 

 stock that he will have much more profit in 

 the end. We may just as well advocate let- 

 ting our domestic stock of all kinds follow 

 nature as to say the bee shall. Swarming 

 season with me lasts about two or three 



weeks; and if I have live yards, that means 

 about ten weeks I must have helpers to 

 watch for swarms. I leave each apiarist 

 to say what that labor will cost; and when 

 it is done they won't have any more honey 

 than can be had when the apiarist puts his 

 bees into proper shape to accomplish what 

 he wants when the time is right to get the 

 desired results. 



It is not nature to take brood or bees (bees 

 usually give best results) to a very weak 

 colony in the spring- to help them get start- 

 ed, when for any reason the colony is too 

 weak to make a start for itself; nor is it na- 

 ture to give weak colonies brood later on to 

 help to a profitable degree of population, 

 yet these thing-s are practiced with profit. 

 I recall an instance where a man had in 

 the spring 300 colonies when the honey sea- 

 son came, but they were not up to his stan- 

 dard of strength to get good results in hon- 

 ey, so he went through the whole lot and 

 made 200 working colonies out of the 300, 

 putting the brood and most of the bees from 

 each third colony into its two neighbors, 

 and taking- the third one to a new stand. 

 The result was a fair crop of surplus where 

 others all about failed. We must have bees 

 and in the proper numbers and conditions 

 at the right time if we are to obtain results; 

 and if the bees do not come up to require- 

 ments when they ought to, to make the re- 

 sults, we must make conditions ourselves. 



That natural swarming does not by any 

 means meet conditions to get best results is 

 a fact too commonly known to admit of or 

 need argument to establish; and since it is 

 so we must take the bull by the horns and 

 force conditions. Where but few bees are 

 kept, and it is convenient to watch for 

 swarms and hive them, good results may be 

 had by hiving the swarm on the old stand 

 and giving the super to the swarm; but 

 when we can not, without a sacrifice, watch 

 for and care for swarms, then it is best al- 

 ways to take some other plan. The bees 

 must be controlled, and made to do that 

 which we wish — that is, when there is any 

 thing to do with. We can not make the 

 honey flow, but we can do much toward 

 g-etting strong colonies ; and, having the 

 bees, we can do much toward getting them 

 to do good work. 



It is a fact that the colonj' that is in 

 swarming strength is likelj^ to swarm just 

 when it ought to bend every energ}^ toward 

 honey- gathering, and ordinarily it will 

 swarm just at such time. The master may 

 and can get as good average results by 

 managing to suit himself, and here is what 

 to do: Give the bees plenty of room, or do 

 that which will keep them from all notion 

 of swarming until the flow is at hand, then 

 remove all brood and combs, and allow them 

 to start from st^lrters in a small brood- 

 chamber. Make them start just as a swarm 

 would have to do if hived on starters. If 

 you take away part of the combs and give 

 starters you can get a fine lot of drone comb. 

 It will also do to hive on dry combs in most 

 locations where the flow is short, or on full 



