600 



eggs per day often results in temporary 

 exhaustion of fertility, causing the imme- 

 diate construction of supersedure cells. This 

 condition is likely to occur during the 

 height of breeding, known as the swarming 

 period. 



THE LAW OF SWARMING. 



It is well known that a capped queen-cell 

 is an element of antagonism to a vigorous 

 queen, and that, during her period of tem- 

 porary exhaustion, or broodiness, a queen 

 will tolerate queen-cells and assist in her 

 own supersedure by laying eggs in them — 

 a purely normal impulse analogous to that 

 of a broody hen wherein the mother instinct 

 predominates — and will lay eggs in queen- 

 cells under no other conditions. By the 

 same law of nature and physiology, the 

 queen usually passes the broody stage and 

 regains her wonted power of fecundity in a 

 few days, in which condition the presence 

 of capped queen-cells is an element of dis- 

 cord, and a reaction occurs which culmi- 

 nates in the precipitation of a swarm if 

 other conditions are favorable; otherwise 

 the queen will destroy the cells and resume 

 her duties with rejuvenated energy. An 

 open cell is not an element of antagonism; 

 therefore the reaction occurs, and the swarm 

 usually issues shortly after the first queen- 

 cell is capped. The potency of capped 

 queen-cells to precipitate swarms is abun- 

 dantly demonstrated by the issuing of after- 



GLEAIIINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



swarms, often repeated as long as a quart 

 of bees and a queen-cell remain. 



From these observations the following de- 

 ductions are drawn : 1, swarming is a mo- 

 mentary impulse and not a premeditated 

 act; 2, preconstructed queen-cells are the 

 cause of swarming, not the effect;' 3, every 

 queen born is cradled in a supersedure cell ; 

 4, special swarm-cells, other than post-con- 

 structed, are purely nominal; 5, the pres- 

 ence of a queen of undiminished fecundity 

 is jiroof against queen-cells, therefore im- 

 mune from swarming. We prevent swarm- 

 ing by requeening before the zenith of fer- 

 tility merges into broodiness, thereby equal- 

 izing the breeding season between two 

 queens without exhausting the fertility of 

 either. This method simplifies manipulation 

 .and keeps the brood and bees together with- 

 out developing the swarming impulse, which 

 is purely a matter of diminished queen fe- 

 cundity. It would seem that colonies in 

 large hives would be more likely to swarm 

 than in smaller ones; but there is another 

 angle to the situation. Queens cannot con- 

 trol egg production ; and if time is wasted 

 in looking for available breeding-cells, eggs 

 are promiscuously scattered over the surface 

 of combs much more rapidly than in normal 

 laying; therefore such hives tax the fertil- 

 ity of queens more severely than larger 

 ones. Under such conditions some queens 

 drop several eggs in a bunch. 



Birmingham, Ohio. 



Our Ford runabout converted into a light truck, as mentioned editorially June 15. 



