Swarm Control and Increase 283 



no swarm will issue, under conditions of a prolonged honey- 

 flow. However, requeening combined with queenlessness 

 for about ten days, after swarming preparations have begun, 

 is a much more reliable procedure. The method used in 

 rearing queens, in mating them and in introducing them to 

 the queenless colonies will depend on the equipment and 

 system of the individual beekeeper. 



Removal of brood. 



The removal of a frame or two of brood was mentioned 

 earlier as a swarm-preventive measure in relieving the con- 

 gestion in the brood-chamber, especially in -comb-honey 

 production. It obviously also has the effect of reducing the 

 number of emerging bees for a period. If a colony persists 

 in its preparations to swarm, a common remedial measure is 

 to carry the removal of brood to the extreme (artificial 

 swarming). In brief, the beekeeper does for the colony in 

 advance of swarming just what the bees would do for them- 

 selves if left to their own instincts. The brood-combs are 

 removed from the hive and the bees are shaken or brushed 

 from the combs into a new hive-body. The brood-combs 

 are then comparable to the parent colony, while the bees in 

 the new hive make up the artificial swarm. The treatment 

 of the various parts does not differ from the same procedure 

 under conditions of natural swarming and need not be re- 

 peated. Since artificial swarms desert the hive sooner than 

 natural swarms, desertion may be prevented by removing 

 only a part of the brood at one time and, in fact, some ma- 

 nipulations do not call for the removal of all the brood. 



This manipulation has been modified in a dozen ways by 

 various beekeepers, but the essential principle remains the 

 same. The differences in the directions for the making of 

 artificial swarms are chiefly in the disposal of the two por- 

 tions of the original colony. It is claimed by some that, to 

 obtain satisfactory results, the bees must be smoked or other- 

 wise manipulated until they fill themselves with honey, just 

 as bees do in natural swarming. This usually occurs during 



