June, 1922 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



371 



The reason for this is the demoralizing ef- 

 fect that is almost sure to take place when 

 bees are worked in large yards during poor 

 boo weatlior. Small vards elevate the mor- 



ale of the bees and their keeper and, with 

 the home extracting plant, actually cut down 

 the cost of production. 

 Big 8ur, Tnlil 



Pig. 4. — In the low lands along the river in the great valleys bees must be elevated, owing to the overflow 

 along the bottom during winter and in May and June when the snows melt in the Sierras. 



THE CAUSE OF SWARMING 



Has This Elusive Thing Been Dis- 

 covered at Last After Fifty Years 

 of Searching? 



By Geo. S. Demuth 



EVEE since 

 bee keepers 

 quit looking 

 upon swarming 

 as desirable in 

 adding to the 

 number of colo- 

 nies for the 

 brimstone pit in 

 the fall, they 



have been struggling with the problem of 

 swarm control, which in some localities is 

 still one of the most difficult problems in 

 honey production. Instead of the old-time 

 thrill of pleasure at the announcement that 

 the bees are swarming, the progressive bee- 

 keeper of today hears such an announcement 

 Avith disgust. It is interesting to note that 

 some of the terms he uses in connection 

 with swarming indicate that he looks upon 

 swarming as an abnormal thing. He speaks 

 of the "swarming fever" and talks about 

 treatment for swarming colonies as though 

 swarming were a disease. 



In the fight against swarming, naturally 

 one of the first questions is that of its cause. 

 The back volumes of bee journals are re- 

 plete with suggested causes of swarming. 

 Thousands of pages have been filled with 

 plans for the prevention of swarming, each 

 plan based largely upon some theory as to 

 the cause of swarming. 



Swarming Instinct Sometimes Dormant 

 Through Season. 



Since swarming is the natural method of 

 reproduction of colonies, upon which the ex- 

 istence of the species depends in nature, bee- 

 keepers are willing to accept this deeply 

 seated reproductive instinct as the funda- 

 mental cause of swarming, but tliey want to 



know just what 

 it is that calls 

 forth this in- 

 stinct at certain 

 times and why it 

 is apparently dor- 

 mant at other 

 times. They 

 know that some 

 colonies go 

 through the season piling up a large surplus 

 of honey, apparently without a thought of 

 swarming; while other colonies in the same 

 apiary waste their energy in swarming; that 

 some seasons practically all colonies go 

 through the season without attempting to 

 swarm, while in other seasons a majority of 

 the colonies try to swarm; and tliat in some 

 localities, as in some parts of tjie tropics, 

 well-managed colonies seldom swarm, while 

 in otlier localities, especially in the far 

 north, swarming is troublesome nearly every 

 year. No wonder that beekeepers have been 

 searching for the thing that throws the 

 switch which leads some colonies headlong 

 into swarming while others continue on the 

 main track of gathering and storing. 

 Many Things Have Been Put Forth a^ 



Cause. 

 In the search for the thing that throws 

 the switch, some have looked upon swarm- 

 ing as a taint in the blood that might be 

 bred out, and- at one time American bee- 

 keepers made serious efforts to eliminate 

 swarming by breeding. Some even claimed 

 to liave actually accomplished this, but to- 

 day no one really hopes that a swarm-proof 

 strain of bees will ever be developed. 

 Swarming has, of course, been reduced by 

 tlie elimination of stock that shows a great 



