BEES. 



old queen perceives evidence of this, 

 she becomes uneasy, and communi- 

 cates her apprehension to tlie neu- 

 ters, many of which share in her 

 anxiety : thus she collects many faith- 

 ful followers, and leaves the hive, 

 carrying off the firs t su-ann, which is 

 always led by the old queen. The 

 first young queen now comes forth, 

 and quickly discovers the cells of her 

 sisters, which she attempts to de- 

 stroy, but is hindered by the bees ; 

 whereon she runs to and fro among 

 the hive and succeeds in carrying off 

 another swarm. After this, the next 

 queen usually succeeds in destroying 

 her rivals, and remains in the old hive. 

 The first swarm may be known by 

 the presence of drones in June, soon- 

 er or later, according to the season. 

 This is the swarmmg season, and 

 measures are now to be taken to re- 

 cover the bees and form new hives. 

 The two swarms come out at in- 

 tervals of a few days ; occasionally 

 there are more, but they are not suf- 

 ficiently numerous to form a new 

 hive, and should be returned. The 

 bees come out in large numbers, and 

 make their way to an adjoining bush 

 or tree, where they accumulate in a 

 dense cluster, usual!}' on one branch. 

 The loaded branch is now to be care- 

 fully cut without disturbance, and the 

 whole swarm laid upon a white cloth, 

 or a table, on the ground, and a hive 

 inverted over the bees ; if everything 

 is favourable, the swarm enters the 

 new hive, and may be removed in a 

 few hours to the stands ; but this is 

 not always the case, for should there 

 be more than one queen present, the 

 swarm is kept in great turmoil, and 

 battles ensue until the nuznber is re- 

 duced to one ; but in these conflicts it 

 sometimes occurs that all the queens 

 are kdled, and the young swarm re- 

 turns to the parent hive to wait for a 

 new sovereign. The skUful apiarian, 

 therefore, always takes care, before 

 hiving a swarm, that the queen is 

 present, and only one, removing ev- 

 ery other and putting her to death 

 instantly. In the swarming season, i 

 certain ancient practices prevail, of ; 

 beating iron pans, shouting, blowing j 



trumpets, and throwing sand into the 

 air, intended as a means of frighten- 

 ing the bees and hindering them from 

 flying too far from the hive ground ; 

 but it is unnecessary if sufficient 

 shrubs be in the neighbourhood. The 

 hive in which the new swarm is re- 

 ceived should be provided with cross 

 sticks in the upper part, to afford 

 them a starting point for their archi- 

 tecture ; it should be without chinks 

 or crevices, for these have to be fill- 

 ed by the colony with propolis, and 

 cause a waste of time ; moreover, to 

 give them a fair start, they should be 

 fed with sirup for a few days. The 

 labourers begin at the roof with their 

 comb, arranging a number of different 

 parallel structures in the direction 

 marked out by the sticks introduced. 

 The cells have an hexagonal section 

 and are prismatic in form, so arran- 

 ged as to admit of the introduction of 

 honey until full, when they are sealed 

 with wax: in the lower division of 

 the hive, the cells for eggs are arran- 

 ged ; these are filled with the farina, 

 or bee bread. About August, the 

 bees of the preceding year die, the 

 drones are expelled, and the hive is 

 fully under the control of the new 

 generation ; honey is stored as long 

 as flowers are abundant, and where 

 buckwheat and clover abound this 

 takes place into October. As soon, 

 however, as flowers become scarce, 

 the colony begins to consume its own 

 sweets, and should be supplied with 

 sirup. The position of the apiary 

 should be sheltered from the great 

 heat of the day, and rapid alternations 

 of temperature ; they love plenty of 

 free air, but should not be liable to 

 chilly winds. In the winter they 

 should be removed to a dry cellar, 

 lest, being tempted by an occasional 

 gleam of sunshine, they leave the 

 hive and suffer death. The temper- 

 ature should be above the freezing 

 point. As then they require less food 

 to sustain life, it is advisable, also, to 

 keep the hives covered with straw, 

 &c., provided always there be a free 

 draught of air, for an entire colony is 

 frequently suffocated by stopping up 

 the door of the hive. The hives 



83 



