Junk, 192: 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



373 



to separate tlieni still further from the col- 

 ony. (See Gleanings, 1908, pages 640-641.) 

 This was further emphasized by A. C. Allen 

 in 1910 (A. B. J., 1910, page 94) and by 

 Chalon Fowls in 191;3 (Gleanings, 1915, page 

 574). 



The Aspinwall non-swarming hive was 

 based upon the young-bee theory as the 

 cause of swarming. It provided extra room 

 for these young bees between the combs. 



Gerstung, however, carried his theory so 

 far as to attempt to explain swarming as 

 caused by an excess of nurse bees in propor- 

 tion to the number of larvae to be fed, the 

 unused larval food causing a physiological 

 condition in the nurse bees bringing on the 

 swarming impulse. He evidently quite for- 

 got that when an artificial swarm is made by 

 shaking there are no larvae to feed during 

 the first three days; yet the bees are willing 

 to give up swarming if properly handled, 

 even though these same nurse bees are 

 shaken with the older bees and there should 

 be a much greater excess of larval food than 

 before shaking. 

 How Field Bees Contribute to Swarming. 



In 1916 I had several normal prime 

 swarms from colonics that were made up en- 

 tirely of bees old enough to work in the 

 fields. This, of course, was unusual. In- 

 stead of there being an excess of larval food 

 in these cases there should have been a de- 

 ficiency, for old bees are supposed to elab- 

 orate larval food with difficulty. While a 

 large proportion of young bees, no doubt, 

 contribute to bringing on swarming, they 

 alone evidently are not always the cause. 



During the honey flow from clover in 1916 

 the plants apparently did not begin to yield 

 nectar during the forenoons, since the bees 

 did not go to the fields until about 11 

 o'clock. During these hot forenoons the 

 field bees remained in the hives, crowded 

 into the space below the frames and push- 

 ing upward among the combs, apparently 

 waiting for the signal to rush to the fields. 

 But few, if an}-, field bees could be found in 

 the supers during the forenoons, but the 

 brood-chambers, especially the lower por- 

 tion, were literally jammed with these old 

 workers. Just previous to the honey flow the 

 field bees had been confined to their hives 

 by several weeks of almost continuous rain, 

 and when the honey flow finally came they 

 staid at home during the sultrj^ forenoons 

 waiting for the nectar to come. The season 

 was the worst for swarming I have ever 

 seen. 



Since that time I have carefully gone 

 over the back volumes of the bee journals 

 for reports of seasons of excessive swarm- 

 ing; and thus far I find that, in every case, 

 excessive swarming was attended by some 

 factor which caused the field bees to stay 

 in the hives during the heat of the day, such 

 as rain or the flowers yielding only a part 

 of the day. 



While a large proportion of bees too young 

 for field work is apparently conducive to 



swarming, if to these is added the great 

 horde of field bees all trying to stay within 

 the already crowded brood-chamber, the con- 

 gestion and discomfort are too much for 

 even the best-bred bees, which at such times 

 often forget their manners and swarm most 

 unreasonably. 



One Factor Always Present in Swarming. 

 Is it not now time to announce that the 

 cause of swarming has at last been discov- 

 ered? Fifty years of accumulated experi- 

 ence of beekeepers waging a bitter fight 

 against swarming indicates that one thing 

 is always present in normal swarming, so 

 far as the prime swarm is concerned, wheth- 

 er the hive is large or small, whether the 

 colony is weak or strong, whether the queen 

 is two years old or two weeks old. This 

 one thing that is always present is a con- 

 gestion of bees within the brood-nest, bring- 

 ing to the colony a feeling of strength or a 

 need for expansion. 



If this congestion is brought about in 

 weak and medium colonies by the colony's 

 confining its work to the brood-chamber, 

 leaving the supers and remote brood-combs 

 vacant and crowding the queen by surround- 

 ing the brood-nest with honey, the conges- 

 tion within this little brood-nest is as real 

 and as potent in bringing on the swarming 

 impulse as though the colony were 20 times 

 as strong. The remedy is stronger colonies 

 or a strain of bees less inclined to crowd 

 the queen in this manner. If the congestion 

 and discomfort are brought about by a lack 

 of ventilation or shade, the remedy is ob-- 

 vious. If the congestion is brought about 

 by a preponderance of young bees which are 

 inclined to stay in the brood-nest too long, 

 the remedy is to invite these youngsters up- 

 stairs by giving a set of attractive empty 

 combs immediately above the brood-combs. 

 If the congestion is brought about by field 

 bees staying at home as they often do, even 

 when nectar is plentiful, because the hive is 

 already crowded and uncomfortable, the 

 remedy is to invite more bees upstairs and 

 give more ventilation if needed. -How fool- 

 ish for field bees to stay at home because 

 the hive is not comfortable, when by doing 

 so they only add to the discomfort! 



Congestion of the brood-nest is a matter 

 of distribution of the bees rather than num- 

 bers, for the hive can be expanded to ac- 

 commodate all; but the bees must be in- 

 duced to expand also as the hive is expand- 

 ed. If most of the bees can be induced 

 to leave the brood-nest, going either into 

 the supers or to the fields, all is well. If 

 the congestion in the brood-nest is caused 

 by field bees staying at home during. the 

 heat of the day waiting for the flowers to 

 begin to yield, the problem becomes more 

 difficult; but here again anything that adds 

 to the comfort of the colony should help. 

 Anj^way, it is some comfort to know the 

 cause of swarming even though we have not 

 yet lc;ini(>il how to remove it in every case. 



