rWMENOPTERA. 



337 



hive. Now is the irioment to take possession of the swarm in a hive 

 prepared beforehand to receive it. If delayed too long, the troop 

 flies off, and establishes itself in some natural cavity, as the hollow of 

 a tree, &c. Th*! bees then return to their wild state. 



Under a warm climate, where flowers abound, the hives may cast 

 several times in succession. The first swarm, however, is always the 



Fig. 322. —Cluster of Bees hanging to a branch. 



best. It is more numerous, and has before it more time to provision 

 itself. If the weather remains favourable, it is not rare to see it send 

 out a swarm itself three weeks after leaving, the old hive. The old 

 queen then leads the emigration of the second swarm, abandoning 

 the colony she had lately founded. If the original hive sends forth 

 several swarms, the interval between the first and the second is from 

 seven to ten days ; the third and the fourth follow at shorter intervals. 

 But these late casts have rarely vitality enough to exist long. 



A swarm never returns to a hive it has once left. It is surprising 



