98 



THE AMERICAN APICULTURIST. 



many reasons, as for instance, 

 by the observation that a swarm, 

 placed in a hive provided only 

 with starters, builds not only 

 a number of beautiful worker 

 combs, but commonly surpasses 

 an equally strong but artificially 

 formed colony, to which brood- 

 frames and empty combs have 

 been given. What may be the 

 cause of this? We answer: since 

 a natural swarm builds almost 

 exclusively worker combs at first, 

 they may be allowed to build whole 

 combs. The building instinct be- 

 ing satisfied and the colony being 

 obliged to form cells for brood and 

 honey as rapidly as possible, the 

 energy of the bees is unusually 

 aroused, and this continues for 

 some time during the main honey- 

 harvest. Such colonies therefore 

 surpass very often not only an 

 artificially formed colon}', but 

 sometimes even a colony which 

 was prevented from swarming. 



If we consider this well when 

 forming artificial colonies we shall 

 be able to get the advantages of 

 both methods without their disad- 

 vantages.- I know of three methods 

 of forming artificial colonies which 

 meet the above mentioned condi- 

 tions, and which are, to my knowl- 

 edge, but little known and little or 

 never applied in this countr3\ 



1. Brushed swarms. This meth- 

 od of forming colonies was first 

 established by friend Gravenhorst, 

 and the method is as follows : at 

 any place of the apiary, but not 

 too near the old colonj'^, place an 

 empty hive provided with seven 

 or eight Langstroth frames (con- 



taining exclusively starters) and a 

 division board, which separates 

 the space occupied by these 

 frames. 



Then the hive containing the old 

 colony is opened and all its frames 

 together with the bees are put in 

 comb-baskets. In this proceeding 

 we must not be very cautious, in 

 order that the bees may fill them- 

 selves sufficiently with honey. If 

 many bees have remained in the 

 otherwise empty hive or box, we 

 must brush them out of it into the 

 new hive and place the old hive 

 forthwith back to its old stand. 

 Then all the bees are brushed 

 from the frames into the new box, 

 without minding the queen, and 

 the brushed-off combs are replaced 

 in the old hive. It is well to 

 sprinkle the bees thus brushed oflf, 

 with some sugar water, whereupon 

 both hives are closed. The whole 

 thing may be done in a few minutes. 

 A great part indeed of the brushed- 

 off bees will return to the old hive ; 

 they ought to be given a young 

 queen forthwith on the second or 

 third day, and they will be rein- 

 forced by runaway bees in a short 

 time. However, a great part of 

 the bees will remain with the 

 queen of the new hive, especially 

 all the young bees. Shortly the 

 new colony will become lively 

 with the bees flying to and fro. 

 Such colonies are easily and rapidly 

 formed and if no mistake be made, 

 the}' surpass natural swarms not 

 unfrequently. I tried about twenty 

 diflE^erent methods to form artificial 

 colonies in my long practice as 

 apiarist, and according to my ex- 



