76 Beekeeping 



in bee literature, it being overlooked that instincts are called 

 into action only by definite conditions in the environment. 

 It is also a common error to assume that bees voluntarily 

 call forth this instinct when " things look favorable," but 

 this is similar to the giving of human motives to other 

 actions and is unjustifiable here as elsewhere. This kind 

 of error is mentioned again here because it appears so fre- 

 quently in the discussion of swarming. 



Overcrowding of the hive, lack of ventilation, heat, an 

 abundance of drones and other conditions have been re- 

 peatedly given as causes or contributing conditions to 

 swarming. Unfortunately for these speculations, the con- 

 ditions named may be partially or entirely lacking at the 

 time of swarming, although generally they are present in 

 colonies about to swarm. To establish the cause of swarm- 

 ing, however, it is first necessary to find a condition or 

 conditions which are invariably present. While this prob- 

 lem is as yet unsolved, an analysis of some of the facts ob- 

 served may be helpful. 



It should first of all be observed that swarming is par- 

 ticularly prevalent in the northern regions. Near the 

 northern limits of the white clover belt, for example, there 

 is a definite, relatively short period when swarming may 

 be expected. This comes before and during the white 

 clover honey-flow but when the nectar is coming in freely 

 swarming may become rare. Beekeepers usually explain 

 this by saying that the bees are too busy gathering nectar 

 to swarm, but this explanation is unsatisfactory. Farther 

 south, there is a less well marked swarming season and the 

 percentage of colonies which swarm or which prepare to 

 swarm decreases as a rule, until under average tropical 

 conditions swarming becomes much less abundant, the 

 swarming period being less definite and more prolonged. 

 There are some exceptions to this general statement. Swarm- 

 ing may extend over six weeks or more in parts of Florida but 

 is never as excessive as it sometimes is in the North. 



It should further be noted that colonies headed by young 



