SYMPTOMS PRIOR TO SWARMING. 127 



CHAPTER XV. 



SYMPTOMS WHICH PRECEDE SWARMING. 



" See where with hurry'd step, th' impassion'd throng 

 Pace o'er the hive, and seem with plaintive song 

 T' invite their loitering queen ; now range the floor, 

 And hang in cluster'd columns from the door ; 

 Or now in restless rings around they fly, 

 Nor spoil they sip, nor load the hollow'd thigh : 

 E'en the dull drone his wonted ease gives o'er, 

 Flaps the unwieldy wing, and longs to soar." 



EVANS. 



NOTWITHSTANDING what I have said in the last 

 chapter on the subject of clustering, it is too 

 important a circumstance to be omitted in the 

 following enumeration of the signs of swarming. 



1. Clustering or hanging out, if taken singly, 

 may be regarded as a fallacious symptom, but 

 when conjoined with other indications, it may be 

 considered as a sign of swarming, particularly if 

 accompanied by the signs enumerated at the 

 commencement of my motto. 



2. The drones being visible in greater numbers 

 than usual, and in great commotion, especially in 

 the afternoon. 



3. The inactivity of the working bees, who 



