64 Beekeeping 



by a queen trap (Fig. 30), the bees may make several at- 

 tempts to swarm and often finally destroy the old queen, 

 sometimes swarming with a virgin raised at this time. 



As soon as the bees leave the entrance there is a striking 

 tendency to move upward. Some go upward within the 

 hive and if it is opened they pour out at the top and if, as 

 sometimes happens, the queen goes up inside instead of out- 

 side, the swarm soon returns to the hive. In an analysis of 

 swarming this upward movement is to be reckoned with. 



In seeking an explanation of the stimulus to leave the hive, 

 there are some manipulations which produce similar results 

 and which are of value for purposes of comparison. (1) In 

 transferring colonies (p. 245) from a box-hive, an empty 

 box is sometimes placed over the inverted box-hive, which is 

 then pounded. This drumming causes the bees to fill their 

 honey stomachs, after which they gradually move upward 

 until practically the entire colony is clustered in the upper 

 box in the shape of a swarm. (2) In making artificial 

 swarms (p. 283) or in the use of the swarm box (p. 422) for 

 starting artificial queen cells, the bees gorge themselves and 

 later cluster like a swarm. (3) If bees are smoked exces- 

 sively, they gorge themselves and begin to run (especially 

 true of black bees), usually in an upward direction. In these 

 three examples the bees are " demoralized "; the colony is 

 disorganized. The bees usually do not sting and most of 

 them do not attempt to fly so long as they can proceed in the 

 desired direction on foot. They can be moved to a new loca- 

 tion after these operations, in which event practically none of 

 them return to the old location. 



The same peculiar manner of leaving the hive may be 

 induced by placing bees in a box with a small opening. If a 

 substance with a repelling odor is now placed in the box, 

 the bees shoot out the opening as in swarming. This manner 

 of exit may be merely incidental to rapidity of movement and 

 may not be specially characteristic. The fact that move- 

 ments can be duplicated does not necessarily imply similar 

 causes. 



