80 HOW TO KEEP BEES 



them singly until but one queen is left in the hive; 

 and this actually does occur often. However, there 

 are differences between bee-colonies, as there are 

 between individual people, and every young queen 

 does not seem blood-thirsty; or perhaps in some 

 instances the citizens restrain her from carrying out 

 her murderous intent, and try to get rid of her by 

 sending her forth with as many followers as can well 

 be spared from the parent colony. Other queens 

 may issue, and if this charitable instinct still persists, 

 another and still another swarm may be sent out. 

 This misguided kindness to young queens is as 

 demoralising to the colony as unwise giving of alms 

 is in the human world, and finally a swarm may be 

 sent off so small that a teacup would hold it. Of 

 course, this means certain death to all of its members. 

 Finally the limit of endurance is reached, and with 

 the last possible swarm are sent out all the young 

 queens left in the hive save the one retained as queen 

 mother. Whether the workers send out these bur- 

 densome members of royalty as a measure of good 

 riddance, or whether in their excitement they fail 

 to guard the queen cells and so let them out and 

 they voluntarily join the procession, is not as yet 

 surely ascertained. One of the formalities of the 

 after-swarm is that before it occurs the queen sounds 

 her pibroch, a tune which probably excites her 

 listening subjects to rash departure. The bee- 

 keeper gets to know this sound very well, and when 

 he hears it, he knows that an after-swarm will issue 

 very soon unless he does something immediately to 



