38 BEGINNER'S BEE BOOK 



ing of pans and other noise-making implements 

 when the bees swarmed. The idea was that the 

 noise would cause the bees to cluster. Bee- 

 keepers know now that ninety-nine times out 

 of one hundred they will cluster anyway with- 

 out so much fuss, and the hundi-edth time they 

 will leave wdthout ceremony in spite of the 

 noise. Clustering is a normal part of the 

 swarming and is as much to be expected as any 

 other natural impulse. 



It is an easy matter to hive the swarm by 

 placing a hive in position and shaking the bees 

 in front of it. They will usually go in without 

 difficulty. If a small cluster remains on the 

 outside, care should be used to see that the 

 queen is not left behind, for otherwise the bees 

 ^Wll not stay long inside the new home. 



The first swarm to issue is called the prime 

 swarm and there is no way to foretell its ap- 

 pearance without an examination of the in- 

 terior of the hive. Since the colonv is divided 



