33 



Retrieving a Swarm. 



The handling of a swarm is not a serious proposition, provided it does not settle in 

 a rather inaecesible place. Until it does cluster nothing can be done with it ; therefore 

 it is utterly viseless, so far as the bees are concerned, to beat tin pans, ring bells, or 

 otherwise make a hideous noise. Such strenuosity may provide occupation for the bee- 

 keeper at a time when he feels he ought to be doing something to show he is in control 

 of the situation, but he will display more wisdom if he sedately waits until they settle, 

 in the meantime providing himself with a bushel or clothes basket and a large apron or 

 similar covering. When the cluster is at the end of a low branch the basket is held 

 close under it, then the branch is given a sudden downward jerk that tumbles the bees 



Fig. 18. Retrieving a Swarm. 



into the basket, which is then quickly covered with the apron. For a higher branch a 

 stepladder is almost a necessity ; sometimes one must climb the tree to reach the bees. 

 In windy weather they may gather on a thick branch, or even on the trunk, in which 

 case they must be brushed off with the hands. When the branch happens to be a small 

 one the speediest way is often to cut it off. In any case, it is always as well to have a 

 small saw handy when gathering in a swarm, to cut away twigs and sprays that 

 interfere. 



Once the swarm has been secured it is carried to the new hive, in front of which a 

 sheet has been spread or boards laid to form a runway. A small lot of the bees is 

 dumped out close to the entrance, the rest farther away, or they may be left in the 

 basket, which is stood on edge leaning against the hive-front. In a few minutes some 

 daring spirit will venture into the entrance and soon all will follow. In warm weather 

 C 



