66 Beekeeping 



mass expose this gland and the wings are moved rapidly so 

 that it seems probable that the odor which is emitted and 

 dispersed attracts the flying bees to the cluster. 



If the cluster has been formed in an inaccessible place, the 

 beekeeper often finds it desirable to have the bees move to 

 another support. The cluster will gradually move (more 

 readily upward) into the dark interior of a box placed nearby, 

 this movement being more rapid if a piece of comb, or 

 better, comb with brood, is placed inside the box (Fig. 47). 

 If the queen has failed to fly or has been prevented in some 

 way, the swarm usually does not cluster but returns to the 

 hive, and if a cluster does form it usually breaks up in a few 

 minutes. 



In a large apiary when swarms are issuing frequently, 

 many swarms will settle on one particular support. The 

 only plausible explanation for this peculiar action is that 

 the support retains an odor acquired from contact with the 

 swarm which acts as an attraction to other bees in the act 

 of swarming. This lends considerable weight to the theory 

 that clustering is a response to an odor stimulus. Bee- 

 keepers sometimes take advantage of this phenomenon 

 and provide an easily accessible and readily handled sup- 

 port for the clusters. The swarm catcher (Fig. 47) is readily 

 adapted to this purpose. In Langstroth-Dadant l (p. 218) 

 is the statement that swarming bees cluster on any dark 

 object that resembles a swarm in shape, especially if that 

 object affords adequate support. This presupposes that 

 bees are attracted to the clustering place through sight, for 

 which supposition there is little evidence. In this discussion 

 an old comb is mentioned as a favorite support, but in this case 

 it cannot be claimed that sight is the only means of perception. 



Supposed aids to clustering. 



An old practice at the time of swarming was to beat tin 

 pans, ring bells or otherwise to create a din, in the belief 



1 Langstroth-Dadant, 1907. Langstroth on the hive and honey bee, re- 

 vised by Dadant. Hamilton, 111., 575 pp. 



