34 



it is always wise to have the cover a little raised at the back, to provide plenty of 

 ventilation ; otherwise the lack of air may tempt the bees to make a second flight. Do 

 not use smoke while hiving a swarm. 



Prevention of Swarming. 



The prevention of swarming is to the bee-keeper a regular will-o'-the-wisp. He 

 wants surplus honey, but he knows by experience that he will get far more from a 

 colony that does not swarm than he will get from one that does, even with the aid of 

 all its offshoots. Therefore, he tries hard to get rousing strong hives by the beginning 

 of the honey-flow, and to hold the forces intact all through the season. 



Thousands are wrestling seriously with the swarming problem every summer, 

 striving to understand the immediate cause. It is not enough to say it is the bees' 

 method of reproducing the species, for all strong colonies in an apiary do not throw off 

 swarms in the season ; often the majority do not. Again, it is not a problem of sex 

 instincit, for the queen has no desires but to lay ; in fact, the decision whether to divide 

 or not to divide the colony is determined by the workers, who are free of the sex 

 impulse. 



Uneasiness, discomfort, practically sums up the conditions that develop the 

 swarming impulse. It is caused : — 



1. By the want of room in the combs, and this is the most important cause of all. 

 There must be readily accessible cells for the queen in early June if the bees are to be 

 coatented, hence the importance of giving the colony a second chamber as soon as the 

 bees are crowding the first. To put an extracting super over a brood-chamber, but with 

 a queen-excluder between, is no preventive, for this is giving more room for honey when 

 there is none, while it gives no additional room for egg-laying, which is what is wanted. 

 Once the swarming fever has developed, the only cure is swarming, so that giving 

 additional space at this stage is too late. 



2. By the heat of the summer sun. This is not enough in itself, but it encourages 

 the impulse. 



3. By the presence of an army of drones in the hive, who crowd it and make it 

 uncomfortable. Therefore, keep down the amount of drone-comb. 



4. By poor ventilation. It is simply impossible during hot weather for a small 

 entrance to give sufficient circulation of air to satisfy the needs of say 50,000 bees and 

 about as many in the baby stage. Therefore, let the entrance after the 1st of May be 

 at least an inch high and as wide as that part of the combs on which the bees are 

 clustered. In most cases this will be the full width of the hive. In the hot weather 

 periotl the brood-chamber may be pulled back or pushed forward a couple of inches to 

 clear the end of the bottom board and thus give a free current of air under the frames. 

 In extreme cases a through draught in the brood-chamber can be given by pushing 

 forward the super enough to make a crack about a quarter of an inch wide. 



5. Colonies run for extracted are very much less liable to swarm than those run for 



comb honey. Since extracted honey is more profitable in this Province and is produced 



with less labour, the beginner is advised to devote his energy to securing his crop in 



this form. 



To Prevent Second Swarms. 



The principle involved in the prevention of second swarms is to weaken the parent 

 hive, strengthen the swarm, and secure as much surplus honey as possible. Remove 

 the old hive from the stand and set it in a new location, the sooner the better, as we 

 want to catch all the Ihjcs that are coming in from the fields with nectar. Set the new 

 hive in its place, using only starters or full foundation in the frames. Then secure the 

 swarm and hive it in the new hive on the old stand. The bees will at once proceed to 



