Mar 1. 1912 



IS SWARMING A CAUSE OR RESULT ? 



BY J. E. HAND 



Swarming is the fulfillment of a natural 

 impulse of bees, and is governed by certain 

 fixed laws. Since swarming and queen- 

 rearing are inseparably connected, the pop- 

 ular theory is that swarming-cells are con- 

 structed in o^tedience to a desire of the bees 

 to swarm. Right here the question arises 

 whether bees prepare for swarming by the 

 construction of swarming-cells or whether 

 all queen cells are constructed in obedience 

 to certain fixed laws over which they have 

 no control. In the latter event, swarming 

 woukl be the effect instead of the cause of 

 queen-cell construction. While many will 

 not accept this theory, I think all will agree 

 that the i)resence of a plurality of queen 

 cells will cause after swarms to issue so long 

 as a queen cell and x handful of bees re- 

 main, i)rovided external conditions are fa- 

 vorable. 



The popular theory prevails that there 

 are two condit'ons under which "queen- 

 right" bees rear queens, viz., swarming and 

 supersedure. Who can distinguish between 

 swarming and supersedure cells during a 

 honey flow? To my mind, a more reason- 

 able theory is that all queen cells are con- 

 structed in obedience to an inborn instinct 

 to supersede either a failing or a departed 

 queen. For instance, a combination of 

 forces compels the construction of supersed- 

 ure cells, and the presence of queen cells in 

 a brood-chamber already having a vigorous 

 queen places the colony in an abnormal 

 condition; and (he law of self-preservation, 

 impelled by the power of instinct, compels 

 the bees to seek the lines of least resistance 

 by migrating to a new home, and hence the 

 issuing of the swarm. 



Doubtless some will say that bees w^ill 

 not construct su,iersedure cells while a vig- 

 orous queen is present. It is generally con- 

 ceded, however, that, if a vigorous queen is 

 caged within the hive in such a manner as 

 to restrict her in the performance of her 

 natural funcliin (laying eggs), supersedure 

 cells wi 1 usually be constructed. Hence it 

 is evident that any thing that will have a 

 tendency to restrict the queen in the per- 

 formance of her natural function will oper- 

 ate as though she were actually failing. 

 While restricted function is not the direct 

 cause of swarming, the psychological con- 

 dition thus produced will develop the queen- 

 rearing impulse to the highest pitch, and 

 supersedure cells will be constructed regard- 

 less of external conditions. Thus while the 

 swarming instinct is always present, there 

 will be no swarming unless the forces are 

 present that nature employs to develop the 

 queen-rearing imi)ulse. While a slight re- 

 striction of the function of the queen may 

 not be noticeable to the apiarist, it is, nev- 

 ertheless, manifest to the unerring instinct 

 of the bees to supersede a failing queen. 



If the event transpires outside of the pe- 

 riod of nectar secretion, and especially if 



267 



the diminution of egg production is due to 

 a defect in the queen, supersedure will be 

 the result. On the other hand, if the fertil- 

 ity of the queen is not exhausted, and if the 

 dt crease in egg-laying is due to restricted 

 function of the queen, caused by an over- 

 crowded condition of the brood-chamber, 

 and if external conditions are favorable,' 

 swarming will be the result. 



If the above deductions are correct, it is 

 evident that any thing that will break up 

 the combinatioii of forces that nature em- 

 ploys to develop the queen-rearing impulse 

 will prevent swarming; hence the impor- 

 tance of always having a young and vigor- 

 ous queen in every hive. While a vigorous 

 queen in a large brood-chamber will have a 

 tendency to prevent the development of the 

 queen-rearing impulse, perhaps some meth- 

 od of separating the bees and queen from 

 their brood at the beginning of the honey 

 flow is the surest and most economical 

 method of swarm control. Such a method 

 would provide ample room for the queen 

 to exercise her natural function, and there- 

 fore the forces that develop the queen- 

 rearing impulse are not present, and 

 swarming is controlled. The segregation of 

 many colonies near together is contrary to 

 nature; therefore the fact that, under these 

 conditions, bees will often swarm in open 

 violation of all rules and regulations should 

 not be taken as evidence of an error in the 

 theory, but rather as an instance of abnor- 

 mality caused by the excitement conse- 

 quent upon the issuing of many swarms 

 near each other. 



Birmingham, O. 



RHEUMATISM AND BEE STINGS 



The Poison of the Stings Valuable for Only Certain 

 Types of the Disease 



BY J. B. TALMAGE, M. D. 



I notice that from time to time various 

 cures for rheumatism are presented to the 

 liublic with somebody's recommendation 

 that the one he describes is a sure cure. 

 In Gleanings the favorite remedy dis- 

 cussed pro and con is bee stings. It is not 

 my purpose to make Gleanings a medical 

 journal, but it seems a matter of interest to 

 consider briefly why so many cures are pro- 

 pose<l, and said to be good or worthless ac- 

 cording to each one's experience. 



It should be known that the term "rheu- 

 matism" as commonly used covers a class 

 of diseases such as inflammatory rheuma- 

 tism (true rheumatism), muscular rheuma- 

 tism (myositis or myalgia), articular rheu- 

 matism, rheumatoid arthritis, sciatica, etc. 

 The character of these diseased conditions 

 differs widely, and necessarily the same 

 must be true of their treatment. Further, 

 two cases that would be diagnosed the same 

 might require different remedies for their 

 cure because of the difference in the chem- 

 ical and physiological condition of each In- 

 dividual, i'hysicians well understand that 



