THE SWARMING OF BEES 65 



as to whether the queen or the workers take the 

 initiative in this hegira of the bees, and much evidence 

 is advanced on both sides of the question. But it is 

 a profitless discussion for us to indulge in; the more 

 we study bees, the more firmly we are convinced that 

 we know little of the forces which govern the bee 

 body politic. We only know that at certain seasons 

 of the year when the successful colony has plenty of 

 brood and honey, the old queen and many of the old 

 and experienced citizens, go away from the hive and 

 form a new colony elsewhere, leaving the young 

 queen and the younger bees in possession of the 

 homestead, thus reversing the human custom. While 

 in the air, or when clustered, the swarm looks 

 sufficiently large to be composed of the whole colony, 

 yet the swarms are smaller than they look, for rarely 

 more than 20,000 bees go away with the old queen. 



WHEN BEES SWARM 



The swarms usually come off in June in a climate 

 like that of New York State. Some strong colonies 

 may swarm in May if the season is early, thus making 

 us glad; for the old verse, **A swarm of bees in May 

 is worth a load of hay," is based upon practical 

 experience. 



The when and the immediate why of the swarming 

 of bees are closely connected. There are several 

 conditions which conduce to swarming: the presence 

 of young queens ready to issue from the cells; the 

 crowding of the hive with brood, bees, and honey; 

 the presence of too many drones; the extreme heat 



